So, you’ve heard a thing or two about mindfulness? Now, you are intrigued by the idea of using mindfulness as a tool to help reduce stress, anger, and frustration while helping you feel good? In this post, we share 10 easy ways to practice mindfulness every day so you can pay attention to the present in a non-judgmental way.
There’s a high possibility that when you think of mindfulness, you’re imagining a spiritual person sitting on a mountain top meditating for hours. While mindfulness has roots that go back 2,500 years, the basic principles can be applied to our everyday lives. (source)
Along with self-care, self-love and mindset. Mindfulness has been a trending topic for some time now. Therefore, it’s not surprising that you are keen to learn more about mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is living in the present moment. Bringing awareness to your emotions, feelings and experiences. While – this may sound quite simple. It’s not!
You see, many of us are weighed down with stress, worries and anxieties from our daily activities. To facilitate everything we have going on, we often multi-task.
Multi-tasking tends to make us worry about many things all at once, resulting in us not being present in the moment. As a result, we go about doing things mindlessly.
Like worrying about the next meeting on your agenda, while still sitting in one. What about spending hours searching for your keys, only to later realize you left them hanging outside the door? Or, maybe leaving an entire load of laundry in the dryer while searching for an outfit to wear?
Practicing mindfulness in our daily activities helps us to improve our self-awareness. And become more focused on what’s happening in the now.
Related content on mindfulness
Absence of Mindfulness in Our Everday Life
Many of us are busy. We are going through life without knowing our true selves.
Let’s face reality. We are living in times that glorify the hustle and bustle lifestyle. Resulting in our minds being overloaded, we are constantly overthinking things becoming easily stress and angry. Reacting to situations in a haste only to have regrets later!
Our minds are easily distracted. We are constantly thinking about the “what ifs” and the future, while dwelling on our past, walking around “mindlessly”.
When we are “mindless,” it makes it difficult to be present in the now and appreciate the goodness of life. We are rather disconnected from ourselves and those around us. Making us feel stress, anxious, frustrated and lost. We are unable to turn off the background noises and make time for rest without guilt. Making it difficult to foster deeper connections and relationships with ourselves and those around us.
Importance of Practicing Mindfulness Every Day
Mindfulness practices support us in bringing our awareness into the present moment and our bodies. It allows us to free our minds from the past and put the future on hold while paying attention to the present moment without judgment.
Practicing mindfulness helps us to feel more connected with ourselves. Knowing and understanding our mind, our inner self and motivation without judgment. It teaches us how to trust our intuition and be guided by our higher self. It helps foster a deeper connection with the people and things we surround ourselves with. Practicing mindfulness will help you to feel soul-aligned while being more attune with life.
Here are 10 easy ways to practice mindfulness every day. Let’s dive in!
10 Easy Ways To Practice Mindfulness Every Day
1. Mindful wakeup
Practicing mindful wakeup allows you to take control of your day by setting intentions for the day. This is one of my most favorite ways to practice mindfulness every day.
When we set an intention for the day ahead – we are often driven, we feel more aligned and purposeful. We can be more understanding and compassionate with unexpected circumstances.
Mornings are a great time to practice mindfulness because it offers us a fresh start. As you wake in the morning, sit in an upright position and take at least three deep breaths. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Then choose an affirmation that you will use to compliment yourself throughout your day.
Here’s some example:
- ” I am kind.”
- ” I am capable of achieving anything I set my heart on.”
- ” Putting my needs first doesn’t make me selfish.”
- ” Today, I will be patient with myself.”
- ” I choose to stay grounded today.”
You can continue setting intentions for your day by using journal prompts like these as well:
- ” How do I want to feel today?”
- ” What do I want to do today?”
- ” What qualities of thoughts do I want to have today?”
- ” How can I feel more purposeful and soul-aligned today?”
You can also do morning pages. Morning pages are basically writing your conscious thoughts into three pages, without judgment or holding back. You can write about anything that worries and drain you to what your ambitions are. You can choose the artist’s way morning pages journal or opt-in for a composition notebook. Either one works well!
2. Practicing breathing mindfully every day
This is a powerful way to practice mindfulness every day. In this form of mindfulness, you are focusing your attention on your breath. You are consciously recognizing your breath as you inhale and your out-breath as you exhale.
Sitting comfortably on a chair or mat, with your back supported and your body relax. Gently bring your awareness to your breath. Breathing in one big deep nourishing breath for a count of 4. Then hold that breath for a count of 4 and exhale through your mouth for a count of 4. As you pay focus to your breathing, observe the sensations you are feeling in your body. Do this mindful breathing technique for at least 5 minutes.
As you continue to bring your awareness to your breathing, thoughts will pop up. Do not judge or criticize these thoughts. Allow them to leave by bringing your mind into the present moment where you are doing nothing but breathing.
3. Meditation practice
Here’s the good thing with mediation. You can do it anywhere and anytime!
Sitting in a comfortable position with your back straight up on a chair or the floor or cross-legged on a mat. Lower your gaze to the tip of your nose. This will allow you to relax your eyes muscles and ease tensions or emotions. Closing your eyes, place your palms facing up on your thighs and keeping your fingers relaxed. Focus on your breathing and becoming aware of your thoughts and sensations. These may include emotions towards something or someone, pain, heaviness, sadness, happiness, desires. Do not judge or try to figure these thoughts out. Simply acknowledge these thoughts and release them. Sit in meditation for at least 15 minutes. If you are new to meditation, just go for as long as you can. Even if it’s for 5 minutes!
Gradually come back into awareness by taking three deep breaths and gently opening your eyes.
Try meditating before going to bed, first thing in the morning, or during stressful situations.
Need help learning how to meditate?
My mentor, Emily Fletcher @zivameditation created zivaONLINE. The Ziva Technique; mindfulness, meditation, and manifestation will help you to sleep better, experience a burst of energy, and improve your immunity. And, yes! Even enjoy better sex life!
ZivaONLINE has personally changed my life and I’m sure it will do the same for you if you allow it to.
Pssssst (Emily Fletcher is the author of the popular book – Stress Less Accomplish More)
4. Connect with your five senses
It’s very common for us moms to worry about many things at once. When we do this, we limit our ability to focus on the present moment. And what do you think happens when we are unable to focus on the present moment?
That’s right!
We function on autopilot and become unaware of what’s happening around us.
Spend several minutes every day connecting with your five senses. Take in the aroma of your morning coffee or mid-day snack. How does your body feel as the sunlight hits your skin? Spend a few minutes noticing nature by steering into the skies or flowers. Gently wipe your skin after having a shower, tuning in with your senses. Take a few minutes to enjoy your meals. (more on this later down the post)
5. Daily mindful walking
Walking allows you to focus on the external factor while enjoying nature. Get into the habit of walking every day. Whether it 5 minutes of walking or 25 minutes. As you walk pay attention to nature. The wind hitting on your hair and the sun beaming down on your skin. Pay attention to the way you walk and the way your body feels as you walk.
6. Expressing gratification
A few years ago, someone referred me to Rhonda Bryne’s book; the secret. This book completely changed my life. Since reading this book I have learned to maintain an abundant mindset vs a lack mindset. Appreciating the smaller things in life.
Think about it! If you are unable to appreciate the little things in life, do you think nature will keep blessing you with more?
When we can wake up every day and appreciate the things we have. As little as it may be, we will begin to attract greater things and opportunities into our lives. And this is no fluff! It really works.
Spend the next month expressing gratifications for the things you already have existing in your life. Be thankful for the random person who greeted you lovingly or smiled at you while you were running errands. Express gratification for being able to access this post you are reading. For the food in your pantry, your family, the sunshine.
The truth is, you got nothing to lose by expressing gratitude. So why not try it?!
The 5-minute journal is a phenomenal tool to help you master gratification!
Practicing gratification is one of the easiest ways to practice mindfulness every day. Go ahead and give thanks every day! Believe me, you have so much to be grateful for.
7. Mindful pause before making an intention
As I mentioned above, many times we try to do more than one thing at the same time. As a result, we walk around mindlessly. You can practice mindfulness every day by taking a 90-second pause – whenever you are faced with a difficult situation. Doing this will allow you to think through the situation before reacting impulsively. And we all know what can happen when we act impulsively, right?!
Related post:
8. Commit to what you love mindfully
Did you know that it’s easier to be mindful when you are doing something that you are passionate about?
Yeah, it is!
When we love what we are doing, we put so much effort into doing it. Take some time and really engage in that hobby of yours. When we commit to doing what we love, we learn to trust our intuition and tap into our creative side. We become grounded in what we are doing. And when we are grounded we are aligned with our purpose and are present in the moment.
Related post:
9. Mindfully invest in yourself every day
There’s no reason why you should put of investing in yourself. Allow every day to be a learning curve. Whether that is listening to a podcast mindfully or showing up to an; online or in-person training and really soaking up what is being taught.
Personally, I commit to reading for 30 minutes daily. I love reading! Reading is one of the best and easiest ways I can take care of myself while committing to my personal growth. As you read, pay attention to your emotions and focus on the message that is being shared.
Here are some of my favorite reads on mindfulness:
- Stress less, accomplish more by Emily Fletcher
- Think like a monk: train your mind for peace and purpose every day by Jay Shetty
- The power of now by Echart Tolle
- The book of joy: lasting happiness in a changing world by Dalai Lama
- Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain
My all-time favorite mindset and mindfulness podcast is Jay Shetty’s On Purpose.
10. Eat mindfully
We live in a world where we are constantly on the run, and that includes eating on the run. But why can’t we sit and really enjoy our meals mindfully? When was the last time you sat and ate your meal cherishing every bite of it? Have you ever heard of mindful eating? If you’re thinking this sounds a bit buzzard. It’s actually not!
Mindful eating works the same way as being present with your breath. The only difference is you are present with your food. Mindful eating helps you to build back trust with your mind, body, and food. It helps you to stay in tune with your body, recognizing cues as to when you are full or still hungry.
You can practice mindful eating by eliminating distractions before eating. This is putting your cellphone down and switching the television off. Eat on your dinner table and not your couch. Slowing down while eating and chew your food rather than swallow it.
Make mindfulness a part of your life, by slowing down and being present in the moment. Take small actions to live a meaningful life rather than big steps towards living a “mindless” life.
You can incorporate all of these 10 steps to practicing mindfulness into your everyday routine or start with the ones that resonate with you and can easily fit into your lifestyle. You may find it easier to be mindful in one way over the other, and that’s okay. Once you experience the benefits of practicing mindfulness you will be able to take bigger leaps.
The goal here is to start practicing mindfulness.
Now, share with us in the comments. Do you already practice mindfulness? If not, which practice do you think will be the easiest for you to start with to be mindful today?
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