Mindfulness practices to add into your daily life
Have you ever been told to “cherish each moment” or “find joy in the present”? Usually I’ll make a mental note to start writing down three things I’m grateful for each day or do some meditation. However, I slowly start to miss a few days, leading me to ultimately forget those goals and never see any results.
This idea, called practicing mindfulness, can actually help individuals manage stress, illness, anxiety and depression. Individuals who take time to practice often relax better, are happier about life and find improvement in their self-esteem, per the National Institutes of Health’s News in Health.
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Furthermore, over 400 prior studies revealed mindfulness to be a beneficial mental health practice for physical and psychological well-being, according to a comprehensive review published in Nature Human Behavior.
So how can we improve our mindfulness daily, long enough to see results? Here’s a helpful list of practices and tips to begin.
How do you practice mindfulness?
There are many practices that you can do throughout the day, without needing to set aside dedicated time. Examples include:
Paying attention: Experience the world with all of your senses. Find joy in small and large sights, sounds and smells, per the Mayo Clinic.
Accept yourself: Be kind to yourself in how you talk and think.
Breathe: When anxious, fearful or worried, take deep breaths to calm down and focus.
Mindful eating: During a regular meal or snack, focus on the taste and texture to help you slow down and pay attention to what you are eating. Listen to your body’s hunger signals, per News In Health.
Structured mindfulness practices
Some practices might need to be placed into your daily schedule as they require more time. Examples include:
Going on a walk: Focus on what you see or hear, instead of other worries and thoughts, per News In Health.
Classes: Your local community may have yoga or meditation classes.
Apps: You can practice meditation on apps such as Headspace, Calm or with YouTube videos.
Create a schedule
Being someone who likes to have my schedule worked out for the entire week, planning comes easy. However, not everyone is the same. Here are some tips I use to help me schedule in goals or activities throughout the week.
Be realistic: While dreaming big can help you jumpstart a change in your life, it doesn’t help if the goal is impossible to achieve. Try making mindfulness SMART goals. Instructions on creating SMART goals can be found on Atlassian.
Find a partner: Consider getting members of your family, a friend or a neighbor involved. While it is good to practice mindfulness by yourself, it doesn’t always need to be that way. Having a partner can help keep you accountable. Find 13 group activities on Happier Human.
Get a planner: Sometimes it helps to write stuff down to remember what you want to do for the day. First, block out sections where you will be unavailable such as work, classes or meal times. Next, check where you have space. Even if it is only 10 minutes, knowing where you have time makes excuses not viable.
Be committed: While I’m not always good at continuing my mindfulness practices, I have seen how commitment helps me improve in other areas of life. Practice makes perfect and I can start again, just like you. Try scheduling a regular time for practice, never being afraid to pick a new time or start from the beginning once again.
Pick something you enjoy: If you dislike yoga, there’s a good chance it won’t help. Picking something you do like will make it easier to accomplish the task each week. Try lots of different mindfulness practices to see what works best for you.
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