mindfulness practices

“Do not lose yourself in the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. Do not get caught in your anger, worries, or fears. Come back to the present moment, and touch life deeply. This is mindfulness.” Thich Nhat Hanh.

How much part of your day do you spend in the past or the future rather than the present? Think about it. If your answer is “quite a lot” or something close to it, you should try and inculcate the practice of mindfulness in your routine.

Mindfulness simply means to be present in the present. It means to live in the moment without dwelling on the past or the future. Mindfulness is to be aware of the present moment completely and wholeheartedly.

But why do we need to be present in the present moment or practice mindfulness at all? Well, there are numerous benefits that the art of mindful living can bring to our lives.

WHY PRACTICE MINDFULNESS AT ALL?

Mindfulness makes your daily chores and tasks more joyous.
Practicing mindfulness makes you a stronger individual.
You become a calmer person with the practice of mindfulness.
Your life becomes more simple and stress-free.

There are many more positive changes that mindfulness can bring into your life but for me, it makes my life more complete. I feel living mindfully fills all the voids and gaps that may have been created knowingly or unknowingly. My life feels more fuller and wholesome with the practice of mindfulness in my day.

It is of course not easy for us to stay mindful throughout the day, but stealing some moments of mindfulness from your day is also not as difficult as you may think.

You do not need to set aside a particular time in your day to be able to practice mindfulness. You don’t have to do anything different, you can just continue doing the same thing that you do in your day but this time do it mindfully.

Once you try it you will understand that it is more easier to live life this way. Saying this, let us now see how we can practice mindfulness in our daily lives.

10 MINDFULNESS PRACTICE YOU CAN ADOPT IN YOUR LIFE

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1. PRACTICE MINDFUL BREATHING

I know this sounds very basic but have you tried it? As simple as it may sound, it sure is a game changer. You can become mindful at any moment just by bringing your focus to your breath.

Just close your eyes, and breathe normally but, putting your focus on your breath. Notice the air entering your nostrils, be aware of the sensation in your nose when you breathe in. Feel your chest rise up and then down as you let the air in from your nose and out through your mouth. You can do this three times at a time or for 10 minutes at a go it is totally up to you.

It is as easy as that. And the best part is that you can practice this anywhere and anytime (closing your eyes being optional in some cases)

I practice mindful meditation every night (except for a few) before I go to bed. This gives me a perfect way to end my day mindfully and helps me sleep better with a calm state of mind.

I turn off the light, put a timer on my phone for 10 mins(so I don’t keep looking at the time in between the meditation) then close my eyes and try to focus on my breath for that much amount of time. To be honest it is sometimes quite difficult for me to do this exercise and for half of the time I am just trying to bring my focus back to my breath. But it is worth the time. Totally worth it.

2. READ IN MINDFULNESS

Do you flip through the pages of a book without understanding the content? Sometimes it so happens that we are reading and turning the pages while there are other thoughts in our mind. Make it a habit of reading mindfully.

Reading with understanding makes it a more enjoyable activity. Try to put your focus on the content and let the content sink in.

You can try this right now by reading this blog mindfully. Give it a try! It makes the whole experience more richer.

3. EAT YOUR MEALS MINDFULLY

You do not always have to take time from your day to practice mindfulness separately. You can embed mindfulness in all the tasks that you carry out during the day. The best one I feel is eating your meals mindfully.

I love a good meal and I always feel happier after one. I always feel so grateful when I have food on my plate and thank god for the same.

Take your time to eat your meals. Chew your food mindfully and savor the flavor that it has to offer. Eating food mindlessly while scrolling through your phone or while working on something is like disrespecting it.

Think about how the food came to your plate, how much time and hard work it took to grow, and then finally be cooked and served on your plate ready to be eaten.

Give it the respect it deserves. Enjoy your meal and be thankful for it. You will also start to develop a healthy relationship with food just by the practice of eating your food mindfully.

4. LISTEN TO A SONG MINDFULLY

How often is it that you Just listen to a song and do nothing else along with it?

Try listening to at least one song mindfully. Put on your headphones, lie down, and listen to the beat and the lyrics. Give yourself the freedom and liberty to soak in the song.

Try and observe various sensations and feelings that arise in your body while you listen to the song. Do not react to it but observe and let it go.

It is totally understandable how we love listening to our favorite playlist while doing various activities like traveling, exercising, etc. Some people listen to music even when they are reading and that is cool. Music does make everything more interesting and entertaining. But you can listen to at least one song mindfully in your day.

5. SKIP MULTITASKING AND EMBRACE UNITSAKING

Do you know that multitasking is not possible for our brains? Our brains can think only one thought at a time so multitasking is your brain switching from one task to the other real quick.

This steals the joy away from your tasks and also makes you more tired than when you focus on one task at a time.

Focusing on one task at a time without the hurry for the result it will bear, is one of the simplest ways you can bring the magic of mindfulness into your routine.

Try to just think about the task while you carry it out without judgment or the hurry to complete it. Try and enjoy every little task that you get to do during your day.

If you are cleaning your room, do so mindfully. Clean each object by fully being present in doing just that. Wipe off the dust from your table and the things kept on it one by one. See the dusty surfaces turn squeaky clean and take pleasure in it.

Even when you do the dishes apply the soap and scrub it by being fully present in the moment. Do it with love and gratitude in your heart. Be thankful for your hands that you can carry out such tasks, for the soap that helps you keep your dishes clean, and for the clean water that makes life possible.

Doing your tasks mindfully makes it more joyful and interesting.

6. YOU CAN CARRY YOUR WORKOUTS WITH MINDFULNESS

You can also practice mindfulness while you are getting your daily workout done.

Feel the burn in your thighs and abs while you work out. Observe your heart rate rise and your muscle stretch.

I love this, particularly while carrying out stretching exercises. I feel like the stress accumulated in my body is getting released when I stretch my body in a certain manner.

It is such a relaxing feeling and observing the tension in your body relax is oh such a satisfaction.

Give it a try next time you are exercising. (This will also make you fall in love with exercising)

7. MINDFULNESS WHILE YOU TAKE A SHOWER!

Taking a shower mindfully does not necessarily mean that you have to spend hours in the bathroom. You can do it mindfully in the same amount of time.

Wet your body and feel the water on your skin. Observe the temperature of the water and its effect on your senses.

Apply the soap and scrub your skin, being fully present while doing so. Feel your skin getting cleansed of all the dirt and dead cells that had accumulated on it.

Let the water wash away your negativities along with the dirt and give you a fresh start.

8. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS WHILE HAVING A CONVERSATION

Mindfulness is the key to have meaningful conversations. You need to be fully present when someone is sharing their feelings or thoughts with you else it can be a turn off and you may leave the other person feeling neglected.

There are many ways you can have a good conversation but the basic one is to be present in that conversation. You can also have a read my post on how to become a better listener where I share some tips on how you can upscale your listening skill.

9. PRACTICE MINDFUL MEDITATION

You can also practice mindfulness in your meditation. In fact I doubt if there is any kind of meditation where mindfulness in not required. Sit down in a quiet place, close your eyes, and just breathe.

Focus on your breath and be aware of the various sensations in your body. Even if you feel itchy or fidgety, do nothing about it. Simply observe your various thoughts at the moment without any judgment and let it be.

10. PUT YOURSELF TO SLEEP MINDFULLY

Do you end your day in mindfulness when you put yourself to sleep or do you just doze off scrolling through your phone?

Put your phone aside one hour before you sleep. Even if it is not possible for you because of some obligations you can put it aside 10 minutes before you sleep.

Allow yourself to relax and unwind. Say a short prayer before you end your day. This life is a gift to you so that you can explore and enjoy it. Don’t take your life so seriously and start to retrospect all your decisions at night.

Simply let go of all the things and surrender!

Be grateful for the day that you got to live today and give yourself the pleasure of a sound and restful night.

Tell yourself that it is now time for you to give your body the rest it deserves and snuggle in your blanket with a smile on your face as you fall into your dreamland.

I end my post here on how you can practice mindfulness in your everyday life. I hope this post helps you somewhere to embed mindfulness in your everyday life.