Mindfulness is something that is being spoken about a lot more lately and access to resources around this are becoming a lot easier to get!
We thought we'd put together a quick list of our top Mindfulness practices, their benefits and how they work. So here it is, our top tips for cultivating mindfulness (in no particular order):
The raisin technique: This is a great practice for beginners, simply the process is find a common food, and from here, pretend you've never seen it before. Mentally you will then take note of how the food looks, smells, feels, reacts to touch and tastes. Describing each in great detail mentally. Focussing on the food will bring your mind back to the present and stop you focusing on stressors and distractions.
The body scan: Lay flat on your back with your arms and legs out straight and your palms facing up. Slowly you will move focus from different internal parts of the self, first focusing on your breath and your breathing, not changing it, just taking notice of how it occurs. After this you will focus on your body, how it feels, how your clothes feel, the air against your skin, the temperature. Finally, your focus will move to any areas that are sore, tingling, feeling light or heavy. Doing this process until focus has been on all areas of the body. This technique aims to bring focus away from external distractors and centre your thoughts on how you and your body feel.
The observer meditation: Take a comfortable seated position and close your eyes. First you are going to imagine yourself outside your body, looking around the room that you are sitting in, pay attention to the surroundings and what you can see. Then you will shift your attention to inside your skin, the physical sensations you are feeling, note each one and then let it go and move on to the next. Follow this process for the whole body. This technique is similar to the body scan in that it aims to remove the focus from external distractors by focusing on your physical feelings.
These are just a few easy mindfulness techniques that we use. What are your favourites to use when you're stressed?
Comments