4 Easy Ways to Practice Mindfulness

If you read our blog post on how to become more mindful in just five minutes, you may be looking for ways to expand your practice to include more techniques than just meditation. If you’ve stumbled upon the blog, or are just curious about the method, I’ve added a brief description to refresh your memory:

Mindfulness Refresher

What is mindfulness? Being mindful means that you are making a concentrated effort to bring awareness to the present moment, without any judgment. It is a state of enhanced consciousness that requires heightened awareness from moment-to-moment.

It is connected to a host of both physical and mental benefits, including stress reduction, increased attention span, improved mood, and better overall emotional wellness. When someone is described as “mindful,” they are probably very focused on staying present and not letting distractions get in their way.

Time’s most recent publication even dedicated an entire issue to the practice, titled “Mindfulness: The New Science of Health and Happiness.”

How to Practice Mindfulness (Free Techniques)

It doesn’t take a lot of time during the day to practice mindfulness, just a few short minutes a day can allow you to progress on your journey. However, each of the following mindfulness practice techniques can be customized to whatever fits your lifestyle.

Some may not be as accessible to you, but each of these techniques is either absolutely free or at a very low cost. One of the great benefits of practicing mindfulness is its accessibility and customizability–just as each person is unique, their journey to mindfulness will be unique–so it is important to find out which of these techniques is best suited to your personality.

1. Practice Mindfulness Meditation

The most common technique associated with mindfulness, mindfulness meditation, differs from ‘standard’ meditation in its goal. While practitioners of standard meditation hope to achieve an altered state of consciousness, practitioners of mindfulness meditation go through a series of intentional guided breaths to relax and bring their thoughts to the present moment.

There are plenty of resources online that offer different routines, such as the “equal breathing” technique of inhaling four four seconds, pausing, then exhaling for the same amount of time. As you continue practicing, you will be able to take longer breaths and improve your ability to calm your nervous system.

For a fun way to practice guided breathing, inhale and exhale along with this geometric graphic designed to help you relax. If you’re wondering where to meditate, the answer is: anywhere. You can meditate wherever you feel most comfortable, whether that’s in your bedroom, on your porch, or on a park bench. However, it will probably work best if the area is cool and quiet to prevent outside distractions.

2. Start Journaling

Journaling doesn’t work for everyone, but the practice is commonly used to supplement mindfulness routines as an added practice of reflection. While it is more time intensive than guided breathing (most recommend journaling for about 20 minutes a day) it offers similar benefits.

Regular journaling reduces stress and allows you to sort through your thoughts and feelings in real time as you write them down. In the end, you have a written log of your emotions that you can look through to try and identify patterns in behavior and thoughts!

Beginners Tip:

Here’s a tip for beginners: start a mood journal. Every day for a week (or longer), write down your feelings throughout the day and why you experienced them.

Make sure you answer questions like:

• “Have I felt this way before? Why?”
• “When I feel this way, what do I need?”

Probing questions like these examples deepen your self-awareness and allow you to develop a better relationship with yourself.

3. Take a Walk

Walking is not only a great form of physical exercise, but it also allows you to take the time to reflect on how you’re feeling while you’re taking a stroll. Mindful walking gets you up and moving, unlike seated meditation, and you can integrate other techniques such as guided breathing and concentrated awareness into your walk to cover all your bases.

As you fall into the rhythm of your walk, allow your mind to start wandering or reflect on how you’re feeling that day. Encourage the flow of these thoughts just like you would if you were writing down your emotions in your mood journal.

You can walk for five minutes or an hour, it all depends on what you feel comfortable with and what can fit into your schedule. Try taking a quick walk during your lunch break, teaching break, subject break, after math, or take the whole family out for an evening stroll after dinner.

Find a local park you may not have known about and enjoy the flowers- don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. Encourage your loved ones to remain quiet during their walk, so that everyone can enjoy the peaceful moments associated with being present in nature. When you’re finished, you can congratulate yourself not only for meditating but for exercising!

4. Try a Body Scan

A body scan is a common meditation practice that allows you to reconnect with yourself by reconnecting with your physical body. It can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to almost an hour, depending on how much time you have. It is a systematic investigation of your bodily sensations. The practice requires you to close your eyes, focus your breathing, and dedicate your attention to different areas of the body.

As you do so, you will begin to take notice of various sensations; maybe an itch, a tightness in the muscles, or another feeling you were previously unaware of. The point of a body scan is to become curious about yourself and your physical sensations, pleasant and unpleasant alike, which allows a deeper personal connection to yourself.

Implementing These Mindfulness Practices

Each of these practices can be customized to your individual needs and schedules. Just as with any new skill, practice makes perfect, but even if you can only spend five minutes a day on each of these, you will still make progress in your journey to mindfulness.

Experimentation is key. So you may find that after a week of journaling it just isn’t for you. There’s nothing wrong with that! Don’t be discouraged, just try the next technique.

If you’re looking for more ways to practice mindfulness, there are plenty of websites designed to help you on your journey.

Some Additional Resources:

• 10 Tips for Being Mindful Right Now
• 7 Tips to Practice Mindfulness and Why You Should
• 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today
• 11 Easy Ways You Can Fit Mindfulness into Your Busy Life

Optimism

On any journey to self-improvement, it is critical to have a healthy dose of optimism. Forgive yourself easily if you miss a day of walking or journaling, and don’t let obstacles get in your way to happiness.