Creating a mindfulness practice you can ace!

When we hear the word mindfulness, we know it is something helpful, but the misconception is that it requires a whole lot of time and effort. That is far from true, though! You don’t have to go out of your way to inculcate mindfulness in your daily routine. It, of course, requires patience and practice- just like the 21-day rule to form a habit. The more we practice mindfulness, the more we feel moments of being in the present moment which in turn helps our productivity and balance.

Beginning your day with a purpose

It has ideal that we have a morning routine for healthy living, however simple it may be. Your routine could include the smallest things such as drinking a glass of warm water, sitting quietly and taking deep breaths in the calming morning breeze, a few stretches, reading or a walk. The point is to begin your day with an intention- it could be an affirmation on how you want your day to be. Our minds are fresh in the morning and the attitude with which we begin our morning stays with us throughout the day.

Re-centre your thoughts

Our minds tend to wander quite often. Most of the time we’re either living in past moments or worries of the future, forgetting the present that is right here. A simple exercise can help wake us up from our running thoughts. Just think your thoughts are a heavy cloud. Visualize your over thinking as yourself in the midst of that cloud. Each time you find yourself lost in them, imagine yourself stepping out of the heavy cloud down a staircase to the present. You will instantly find a weight lifted off of you and your mind feeling much clearer. Doing this as many times as you need makes sure we have more mindful moments in a day.

Mindfulness in eating

We’re all guilty of eating our food in big bites when we’re in a hurry, not even looking at our plate, our eyes sometimes glued to our favourite show, talking on the phone or checking our emails- basically just eating passively because we need to do other things. Taking a few deep breaths before we eat relaxes our mind and body. Listen to your body and choose your meals accordingly. Set aside time even if it is ten minutes just for eating, with no gadgets or other activities to accompany it. Enjoy the taste, texture, aroma and colours of the food with all your senses. You will begin to notice the effect of mindful eating. Even ten minutes focused purely on the meal gives a whole new richer experience to eating.

Keep refreshing to create new patterns

Creating a mindfulness practice involves very doable things but remembering to keep at them can be a little tricky. Make use of sticky notes to write little reminders, your intention for the day, affirmations, or just positive thoughts to motivate you when things get difficult. Use these notes as a reality check each time you see them and ‘step out of the cloud of thoughts.’

Gratitude

Why is this point written last?! Although we’ve mentioned a few points here, gratitude is something that should run through each and every activity we do all day. Think of it like breathing. Use a gratitude journal if you like or recall just one thing, you’re grateful for as the day comes to a close. Even on the worst day ever we can find something to be grateful for if we just pause and look. Gratitude makes mindfulness easier.

95% of our brain runs on autopilot and mindfulness is the opposite of this- doing things consciously, deliberately and with intent.One size doesn’t fit all but with a little thought you can create the mindfulness practice that is perfect for you and go on to add more fulfilment to your life.