How to Establish a Daily Mindfulness Routine

Do you constantly get caught up in your thoughts and lose track of what’s happening around you?  Are you anxious about the future? Or stressing about your past?

We live in a busy world and our minds get distracted easily.  This is further exacerbated by our constant access to technology.  This is where mindfulness comes in. It is defined as the psychological process of fully attending to what’s happening around you in the present moment, and accepting it without judgment.

Mindfulness brings awareness of our feelings, thoughts, bodily stimulations, and the surrounding environment into the present moment.

Benefits of being mindful.

1. Improves physical health.

Studies show that mindfulness meditation can decrease the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, manage chronic pain, reduce stress, foster a healthy body image, and help you sleep better. With chronic disease so rampant in the U.S. mindfulness is a great way to help combat them.

The daily practice of mindfulness will not only protect you from diseases but will make you feel better and protect your health for the long-term.

Related read: 7 Ways to Raise Your Health Consciousness

2. Improves mental health.

This fast-paced society brings about threats to mental health such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Mindfulness is an integrative mind-body based approach that helps manage our feeling, thoughts, and mental health.

Different mindfulness meditations help in different ways. Mindfulness Based Stress Relief (MBSR) helps people coping with stress, while Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) helps with depression. The two provide the required skills to manage mental health and enhance well-being.

3. Boosts attention span and focus.

Focus means getting things done faster and more efficiently. One of the main challenges to getting things done is distraction of the mind. Mindfulness incorporates activities that bring the present moment into consciousness and liberates the mind from all other thoughts, worries or stresses.

Related read: The Health Benefits of Good Reading Habits

4. Enhances relationships.

It’s possible to get distracted during interactions with a partner, close friends or family. However, with mindfulness, you become more open, understanding, compassionate, and self aware.

Wondering how to develop a mindfulness routine? Here’s how:

1. Mindful wakeup

Practicing mindfulness in the morning has many benefits, including increased energy, better healing, enhanced awareness, and setting you up to thrive. Do it first thing in the morning before checking your emails and messages to optimize these benefits. 

• Sit up straight on your bed and be relaxed. Connect (some people find this easier with their eyes closed) and feel all the body sensations.
• Take three long and deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through the mouth. Follow the breath in and out, noticing the chest and belly movements.
• Set your goals for the day.
• Check-in with yourself every few hours. Pause, take a deep breath, and revisit your goals.

2. Mindful eating.

How many times have you eaten without noticing what you’re actually doing? Most of the time, we indulge without taking the time to connect deeply with our meals.

Eating mindfully brings a better experience which leads to us satisfying all our hunger with less overeating and better food choices. Here’s how to do it:

• Pause and take a few deep breaths before indulging.
• Listen to your body. This will allow a physical sensation of hunger, make you recognize your personal hunger signals, and let you know how hungry (or full!) you are.
• Eat according to your hunger.
• Don’t eat it if you don’t enjoy it. Eating mindfully brings all your senses to your food and allows you to “feel” all the flavors in your food.

3. Let your mind wander.

Inevitably, the mind will leave your breathing sensations and wander to other places. Notice when this happens and slowly try to bring it back without judging or obsessing over your thoughts. This is a natural part of any mindfulness practice. It’s the simple awareness of the wandering mind that matters.

4. Practice yoga

Yoga can help us be more mindful to deal better with everyday stresses. Practicing mindful yoga isn’t about escaping our problems, but more about changing the normal thought processes and realizing that all is well.

5. Be mindful with any of your daily activities.

Planned meditation, mindful driving, mindful walking, mindful showers, and mindful listening. You can turn any activity into a mindfulness practice. All you need to do is frequently pause, take deep breaths and bring awareness to what is going on in your environment.

Related read: 8 Reasons Why Health Consciousness is Important

And finally…

Mindfulness is a vital ingredient to healthy living. Whatever you do, be present. Focus your attention on actual experiences, be patient and kind to yourself, be consistent, and practice regularly. It is not about what is right or wrong, but just awareness.  This type of awareness can bring calm and help you live your best life. 

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