6 Top Tips for everyday Mindfulness Practise
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Do you ever get that feeling that life is passing you by? We rush our way through our busy lives forgetting to actually stop and take it all in. We live in the moment. We do not live in the past, and we do not live in the future. This is where mindfulness practise comes in to focus our attentions on the now.
“It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us. It’s also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living ‘in our heads’ – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour.”
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness, in essence, means awareness
Accepting the moment without judgement, noticing and accepting the experience as it is. Mindfulness is about knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.
When we practise mindfulness, we encourage our attention to focus on a particular area, on purpose and with intention. We may choose to focus on our breathing, movement, bodily sensations, senses, thoughts, feelings, emotions or on a visualisation. Thoughts, distractions and sometimes discomfort arises, but rather than avoiding or suppressing, we notice and gently guide our attention back. This too is part of being mindful.
What are the benefits of mindfulness?
The headline for mindfulness is that it really helps our mental wellbeing. Living in and becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better.
Mindfulness is proven to reduce stress, depression and anxiety according to clinical research.* In another study**, mindfulness meditation was also shown to lower blood pressure suggesting that it could help people at risk of heart disease as well as being a preventive.
Mindfulness training was proven*** to increase the experience of momentary positive emotions as well as create greater appreciation of, and enhanced responsiveness to, pleasant daily-life activities, in adults vulnerable to depression. It is considered that mindfulness may also help to prevent future depressive relapses.
*Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res. 2015 Jun.
**Hughes JW, Fresco DM, Myerscough R, van Dulmen MH, Carlson LE, Josephson R. Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction for prehypertension. Psychosom Med. 2013 Oct.
*** Geschwind N, Peeters F, Drukker M, van Os J, Wichers M., (2011)
How can we be more mindful in our everyday lives?
6 tips to everyday mindfulness
According to the NHS Mental Health support, there are 6 ways in which we can use mindful practise in our everyday lives:
1. Notice the everyday
2. Keep it regular
3. Try something new
4. Watch your thoughts
5. Name thoughts and feelings
6. Free yourself from the past and future
How do you do it?
Start small and try the 3 minute breathing space meditation:
Sitting, lying down or standing, take a moment to focus on your breath. Allow your body to relax, and let your attention follow your breathing. When you feel ready invite your attention to these 3 areas.
1. Wide awareness - attending to what you are feeling both emotionally and physically . Noting and observing your experiences (body, thoughts, emotions) without the need to change anything and judge.
2. Narrow awareness - focusing on the breath and spotlight where you can feel it in the body. Can you feel the air entering and leaving your nostrils? Can you notice the rise and fall of your abdomen? Perhaps you feel it most in your chest.
3. Widening awareness - expand the awareness to include your hold body. Can you feel your whole body breathing at once? Can you be aware of your posture and your facial expression? Do you notice any areas of tension? Can you breath into them? What other sensations do you notice.
This meditation was designed to last 3 minutes (but can be longer if you chose). It is a quick and flexible meditation to do.
Because we are shifting our attention in specific ways, it's a simple yet structured way to help us to wake up from automatic pilot mode. It can provide some calm during stressful moments, helps to reduce our heart rates and ease feelings of anxiety.
Another benefit is it's easy to remember by thinking of the hourglass or wide-narrow-wide.
Why join a Mindfulness group?
At Mindfulness with Clare, we run 8-week online programmes for group mindful practice
. This is a place where you can relax, feel safe, and live in the moment. You will learn techniques to be more mindful in your everyday life and reduce unwanted stress and anxiety. The benefits of mindful group practice are:
Groups are most effective for learning and developing a habit.
People who join groups are generally more likely to succeed in developing long lasting change.
Plus, you get to meet like-minded people.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our online 8-week Mindfulness courses, click here or follow us on Instagram for mindful inspiration and tips.