When we hear the term "self-care", the body is often prioritized over the brain. Overused joints and muscles make pains known to us more and more often than the subtle messages of our mind, while the aches are much more concrete and easy to identify the source of than our emotions and emotional pain. Most of us have never been taught or have never really practiced it enough and ultimately are not very good at being mindful.
Mindfulness has become one of the trendiest words out there and has become the new term for meditation. It is so much more than meditation now. It centers now more on paying attention in a particular way: on purpose in the present moment and non judgmentally. Mindfulness can help you be more productive, less stressed and more effective in any situation. One of the best things about mindfulness like so many self-care ideologies it is something you can learn on your own with some guidance and solid research.
How to get started.
Breathing exercises. Start working on your breath and your breathing, observing the movement patterns of your breath in and out. You don’t need a coach to begin practicing mindfulness. The goal is to observe the thoughts, feelings and sensations that you identify with your breath. Between the awareness of your breathing and your awareness of your self is a practice that is always available to us, however most of us don’t practice this enough. It falls to the way side like going to the gym or nutrition plans, but in reality, fitness, nutrition and mindfulness are major parts of a good self-care plan.
From more than 100 studies (take a search on Google scholar) we do know that practicing mindfulness has a startling array of benefits: It reduces symptoms of chronic pain, increases psychological hardiness and improves the effectiveness of existing treatments for psoriasis to name a few. It can help reduce stress, anxiety and conflict while increasing resilience and emotional intelligence.
Let me offer this list of my favorite and practical tips to start being more mindful right now:
1. Notice your breathing. Become aware of the flow of your breath in and out and the movement of your diaphragm
2. What you are doing? Yes, notice what you are doing as you are doing it. Try to pay attention and get in touch with your senses. When eating, notice the color, texture, smell in addition to the taste of the food. The next time you are bathing, notice the texture, smell, feeling of the soap, the water the temperature against you and the feelings and sensations it generates.
3. When you are walking or running, tune into how your weight shifts and the sensations from the bottom of your feet, calves, hips. Focus less on where you are headed but the experience of the journey.
4. Don’t feel like you need to fill up all your time with doing. Take some time to just be” “. It is ok to just exist in the current space and time with yourself.
5. When your mind wanders into thinking about a million other things, take a deep breath and draw it back in.
6. Recognize thoughts are just thoughts. You don’t need to believe them or react to every single one of them.
7. Practice listening without making judgments.
8. Begin to notice where you tend to zone out: driving, emailing or texting, walking the dog, doing dishes, etc. Practice bringing more awareness to that activity.
9. Spend time in nature. Nature doesn’t always mean on a trail in the mountains. Nature occurs in your backyard and even in the city. One of the most peaceful things is to observe or find that bit of nature in a big concrete jungle.
10. Notice how the mind likes to constantly judge. Don’t take it seriously. It is not who you are.
Thereis no wrong or right way to be mindful. It is an iterative process and only you can determine the best state of mindfulness for yourself. No professor or teacher is going establish your benchmark for you. However absorb information around the subject and most importantly like anything else. Practice it. Practice mindfulness daily.
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