7 Strategies for Making Mindfulness a Way of Life
Take advantage of these ideas to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life:
1. Start your day with mindfulness. If you want to make mindfulness a habit, it’s important to practice being mindful throughout the day.
● Begin your day with mindfulness before you even get out of bed. Notice all the physical sensations of your body. Do you have any aches or pains? What part of your body feels the most pressure on your bed?
● See how long you can lie still before your thoughts drift to something other than your body or your immediate surroundings.
2. Be mindful of your body. Continue to be mindful of your body throughout the remainder of the day. This is a great way to anchor your attention to the present. When you find your attention wandering, put your focus on your breath. Or notice the parts of your body that are touching the floor. Are you hot or cold?
3. Use routine activities to hone your mindfulness skills. One of the best ways to create a mindfulness habit is to be mindful during your daily tasks. This includes things like brushing your teeth, using the restroom, showering, driving, mowing the grass, and so on.
● Eating. Be especially mindful during eating. Chew your food slowly and be fully aware of how your food tastes and smells.
● Conversing. Give your full attention to your conversations and the other people involved. Are you listening with your full awareness, or are you impatiently waiting to speak again?
4. Use music as mindfulness practice. Listening to music is another great opportunity to practice mindfulness with your sense of hearing. Try to identify each instrument in the song. See how well you can keep your focus on the music instead of allowing other thoughts to intrude.
5. Ride out cravings. When you suddenly have an urge to do or eat something you know you shouldn’t, resist that urge. Notice your thoughts and body sensations. Keep your attention on them until they fade away. It happens quicker than you think.
● This can be helpful when you have the urge to eat unhealthy food or text your ex.
6. Put your phone away. Your smartphone can be a huge distraction and obstacle to mindfulness. Avoid checking your email or social media accounts until a suitable time. This is another opportunity to ride out your urges, too.
● Do a little experiment and see how long you can go without checking your phone. See how long you can go without thinking about your phone. You might be surprised by the results.
7. Set a reminder. A timer can be an effective way of cueing you to be mindful. When the timer alerts you, remind yourself to be mindful and immediately practice mindfulness. Refocus your attention on whatever you’re doing at that moment.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation are deeply rooted in the great civilizations and religious traditions of Asia.
In the twentieth century hippies and spiritual voyagers started bringing these practices to the west.
Now we have several scientific studies that proved to be mindful massively boosts our happiness and well-being, and that is especially true in today´s fast-paced and hyper connected world.
Also can help everyone find peace of mind and contentment. It will also end up boosting your physical health, memory and motivation.
Because of the stress at work more and more companies are catching on to mindfulness. You can think of mindfulness as the easiest form of meditation. Basically, it means paying attention to the present moment and noticing your thoughts without judgement.
Mindfulness is a popular subject these days. While there are many proponents of mindfulness extolling its many virtues, there’s a lack of information on how to make mindfulness a part of your life.
Mindfulness is a skill and a way of life. It’s one thing to learn the skill. It’s another to make it part of your life. For example, you can know how to read without being a “reader.”
Common misconceptions about Mindfulness
Before giving you the strategies I would like to break down some of the most common misconceptions- beginning with the idea that it is a religion.
It is not a religion, though it is a popular practice within many religions.
Mindfulness is a mental training technique that is compatible with all sorts of beliefs and ideas.
Do you have to sit cross-legged on the floor to practice mindfulness?
If you like you can, but most people practice it wherever they feel most comfortable.
What about time?
You can be mindful anywhere from a minute to an entire day. it is completely up to you. As for distracting you from your goals, it is been shown that mindfulness actually helps to focus your mind.
What mindfulness actually is?
Essentially, it is all about compassionate awareness. You observe your thoughts and the feelings they evoke like you would cloud in the sky, without criticizing or taking action.
As an example: As you are in the bus coming home from work, you think about how your boss was rude to you before lunch time.
You could want to send an email complaining about that when you get home. But what would happen if you just watched your negative thought take shape before flying away- wouldn’t it be better to simply let it pass? And in another opportunity, when you are not angry anymore, you could talk to your boss and discuss what made you upset?
Mindfulness is about the ability to let negativity pass over you like a raincloud. It grounds you in the present and keeps you attentive to what’s happening now.
Until the 1990s, it was difficult for fans of mindfulness to get others on board with the idea. The benefits they were experiencing with the technique weren´t quantifiable and there was no scientific study to support the practice.
However, since the invention of functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI- a technology that can measure brain activity through blood flow- the benefits of mindfulness can now be scientifically proven.
Psychological studies back up the claim that mindfulness is extraordinarily effective in enhancing well-being.
Mindfulness has been shown to boost physical health and ease pain.
Take it from the authors of a 2003 study published in the peer-reviewed American Medical Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine. They found that mindfulness strengthened the immune system- preventing and battling flu, colds and other viruses.
Another research paper published in 2008 by Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues showed that mindful meditation can help ease chronic pain.
A study carried out by Belgian professor Kees Van Heeringen established that participants were much less likely to relapse into depression when they combined mindfulness with antidepressants- the overall chance of relapse plummeting from 68 to 30 percent!
One Study carried out in 2006 found that regularly practicing mindful meditation reduced anxiety, irritability and depression.
Another group of scientists led by psychologist Amishi Jha established additional mental benefits in 2007. He concluded that Mindfulness boosted its practitioner’s memory, reaction times and physical endurance.
Finally, an article by Norman Farb and his associates in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Journal, published in 2007, found that meditation strengthens and expands the part of the brain responsible for empathy.
Mindfulness is all about taking a break from doing and simply being.
The doing mode is an analytical frame of mind, and when you are in it, you are comparing things, focusing on goals or going over past events.
All that thinking is very tiring. All that energy expended on contemplating difficulties doesn´t necessarily achieve much, in many times you can stay long time reflecting without actually doing anything.
It is a different picture when you are in the being mode. Why is different? Because you are present in the moment, you can experience feelings more intensely rather than trying to escape them, meaning they also dissipate more quickly. You break the negative cycle associate with the doing mode.
That´s what mindfulness is all about, taking a break form doing and simply being?
Start with this meditation called “mindfulness of the body and breath”
It is a simple eight-minute exercise designed to fully center you in the present.
HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?
First at all you need to feel comfortable. Whether you want to lie down or sit up in a chair, the most important thing is that it´s a relaxing position.
And then close your eyes and concentrating on the act of breathing, slowly and purposefully.
It´s an absolute certainty that, while you´re focusing on your breathing, thoughts and feelings will pop into your head from time to time
Now start paying attention to your sensations. Move slowly from your toes all the way up to your head, pausing to register what your body is telling you.
Once you´ve done that, turn your attention to your breath. Take note of the way the air enters and exits your body. It´s natural for your mind to wander at this point, but try to gently refocus it n your breathing.
By being mindful of your thoughts and feeling without letting them take the reins, you will start to recognize them as being separate from your consciousness, and thus you won´t be driven by them.
The 9 Most Popular Titles in Mindfulness & Happiness:
- Say What You Mean (Oren Jay Sofer): A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- Unwinding Anxiety (Judson Brewer, MD, PhD): New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your.Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- Wherever You Go, There You Are (Jon Kabat-Zinn): Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- Your Turn(Julie Lythcott-Haims: How to Be an Adult. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi): The Psycology of Optimal Experience. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment.Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- The Sweet Spot Paul Bloom : The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search For Meaninng. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- Mindfulness Joseph Goldstein: A Practical Guide to Awakening. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
- The Gap and the Gain Dan Sullivan with Benjamin Hardy: The High Achievers ‘ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success. Receive a free audiobook with your Audible trial.
Conclusion
Mindfulness is a state of being present and aware of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. It can help us to better manage our emotions and cope with stress.
When we are mindful, we are able to observe our thoughts and feelings without judgment, and we can choose how to respond to them. research has shown that mindfulness can have a positive impact on our mental and physical health.
It can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and it can also improve our sleep quality and focus.
Additionally, mindfulness has been linked to lower blood pressure and a stronger immune system. Ultimately, mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help us to improve our wellbeing.
Watch the Video below ” Guided Meditation: Body Scan Meditation 17 minutes”.
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