Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and acceptance. It can help you reduce stress, improve your well-being, and enhance your performance. But how can you deepen your mindfulness practice and make it more effective and enjoyable? Here are some techniques that you can use to take your mindfulness to the next level.
Before you start your mindfulness practice, set a clear intention for what you want to achieve or experience. For example, you might want to cultivate more compassion, gratitude, or joy. Or you might want to focus on a specific challenge or goal that you are facing. Setting an intention can help you align your attention and motivation with your values and purpose. It can also help you notice when your mind wanders and gently bring it back to your chosen object of awareness.
I've been studying and practising mindfulness a great deal recently and much to my surprise am finding it very helpful to calm anxiety and stress. I didn't expect to so this is a revelation for me. While I'm still learning how to do this well, I have discovered that coming to it with an open mind and immersing myself in the experience has led to an enjoyment of the process that has given me insights I didn't expect.
There are many different methods of practicing mindfulness, such as breathing, body scan, meditation, yoga, or walking. You can choose a method that suits your preferences, needs, and goals. For example, if you want to relax and calm your nervous system, you might choose a breathing or body scan method. If you want to increase your awareness and insight, you might choose a meditation or yoga method. If you want to integrate mindfulness into your daily activities, you might choose a walking or mindful eating method. Experiment with different methods and find what works best for you.
To me the easiest way is incorporating our daily routine with mindfulness. It helps us to stay in the present, use our 5 senses and observe our thoughts +emotions. Such as: Mindful coffee drinking Mindful eating Mindful walk Mindful listening Mindful shower We don’t need to put the word “mindful” before the activity. Simply Focus on the task without multitasking, that’s all. To me this method works the best.
It's easy to overthink the hows and whys of being mindful. We overcomplicate and then don't do it. Try making a habit of simply checking in. What is here right now? What do I see, feel, hear? There. You've been mindful! We call it mindfulness practice for a reason. Practice in small ways and it grows on you. Keep an open mind to other ways to practice, to be aware, and you'll soon begin to see which of the many, many options appeal to your interests. Do that.
One of the challenges of practicing mindfulness is to maintain a consistent and regular schedule. It can be easy to get distracted, forget, or skip your practice. To overcome this challenge, you can use a timer or an app to remind you and guide you through your practice. For example, you can set a timer for 10 minutes and commit to practice every day at the same time. Or you can use an app that offers guided mindfulness sessions, tips, and feedback. A timer or an app can help you create a habit and track your progress.
Embedding mindfulness into your daily routines is another way to start a mindfulness practice. Taking a moment to slow down and think about the aspects of the food you are eating or the hygiene routine as you complete it will increase mindful awareness and decrease the redundancy of everyday tasks. From there it will become easier to use mindfulness for contemplation, meditation and emotionally development.
It's important to know that you may not experience the benefits of mindfulness right away. Just like anything else, it takes practice. We have to train our mind and body to know how to relax. Research shows it can take up to 4-6 weeks of daily practice before the benefits are noticeable. It is well with the wait!
Another challenge of practicing mindfulness is to deal with the difficulties and doubts that might arise. You might feel bored, frustrated, or restless. You might wonder if you are doing it right or if it is worth it. To cope with these challenges, you can find a supportive community of like-minded people who practice mindfulness. For example, you can join a local or online mindfulness group, class, or course. Or you can find a friend, partner, or mentor who can practice with you or share your experiences. A supportive community can help you learn, motivate, and inspire you.
Practicing Tara Brach’s RAIN partner meditation with my mentee and friend who I met through the Power of Awareness course (presented by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach) really helped me deepen my commitment to keep feeling what I am unwilling to feel, and to experience a container of trust and safety within a relationship where compassion for self and one another could emerge.
Finally, one of the benefits of practicing mindfulness is that it can help you cultivate a flexible and creative mindset. You can apply mindfulness to any situation, activity, or emotion that you encounter. You can also experiment with different ways of practicing mindfulness that suit your personality and interests. For example, you can practice mindfulness with music , art, nature, or games. You can also practice mindfulness with different attitudes, such as curiosity, kindness, or humor. Be flexible and creative and discover how mindfulness can enrich your life.
One thing I have found helpful is reminding myself that I can be mindful at any moment. It is a choice I make the moment I become consciously aware and decide that I can let go of everything and just be right here right now. So to be mindful moment by moment is allowing the self to have flexibility when you are not and practicing in adopting a mindfulness attitude. Cooking can be a mindfulness practice, doing basic chores and tasks can be a mindfulness practice. It is all around us anytime we chose it.
Mindfulness practices can be established with all ages. In my practice, I teach mindful awareness to toddlers and young children by cueing them to think about what they want to do or say while they are practicing a skill. I also cue then into the sensory aspects of the items they are exploring or of the daily activity they are completing. I have paired picture cues and stories to help with breath control and establishing a mindful routine. Mindfulness practices have been very successful in teaching children to overcome fight, flight or freeze responses.
MINDfulness builds CONSCIOUSness and is all about awareness with a slowed and purposeful attention of mind. I teach and facilitate 3 unique ways to develop mindfulness: ☆ musical experience ~ Learning to play an instrument focusses the mind and exposes the to brain to alpha brainwave phases. ☆ elements and nature ~ Using fire, water, earth and air deliberately, with intention strengthens mind over matter and mind with matter. ☆ morning evening rituals ~ Connecting the day with a regular start stop activity helps bring much needed presence and grounding into the body mind system. These methods also help increase productivity. Moreover they become extremely helpful in regaining strength in times of distress and help to process trauma.
In my experience to really benefit from Mindfulness you should stop trying. Yes that's the most useful way to practice. Make being mindful part of your life, pay attention to your thoughts as you wash the dishes. Are you thinking of the next plate while still washing this one? If so, go back to the plate in your hands. Are you walking to get somewhere or are you just walking? Yes take a little time to sit in silence and observe your mind but if you can't take mindfulness into your life, what good is it? Ignore the big words and complicated instructions around mindfulness, that's just conceptualisation. Just be with whatever is present, nothing else is needed.
When I practiced mindful meditation in the past on a consistent basis, I recall experiencing my thoughts slowing down over time. When I first started my thoughts were like the constant flow of traffic on a highway. In time my thoughts became more like birds singing a sweet song. I also came to experience a deep inner peace. I remember saying to my meditation teacher, "If everyone practiced this we would have a much more peaceful world!"