Do you love being busy? I have always enjoyed having a lot on the calendar and yet sometimes it starts to get frenetic and overwhelming. It got me to researching ways to keep calm yet keep moving - to grasp fun moments while avoiding stress of a crazy schedule. One of the items that kept coming up was mindfulness.
From John Hopkins Medicine, "Mindfulness is a form of present-moment awareness, or simply living in the moment."* The idea that mindfulness skills can be used any time of day to stay present and reduce stress. In addition, mindfulness practices can help with sleep disturbance, pain and anxiety to improve an overall sense of well-being.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, researcher in the field of mindfulness, sums up the practice like this: "Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally...in the service of self-understanding and wisdom." **
Try This: Practice Mindfulness to Reduce Stress!
There are easy ways to include mindfulness practice in your day, and some people prefer to use meditation. However, you can use mindfulness any time. When you need to calm down, relieve stress or simply stay present, here are four ways to get started this week:
- Focused breathing: Take slow, deep breaths. Feel the air move in and out of your body for just one minute to lower stress.
- Body scan: Mentally check in with your body. Start at your head or your toes, noticing physical sensations without trying to change them.
- Mindful walking: Walk slowly and pay close attention to the physical feeling of each step and your surrounding environment.
- Everyday observation: Pick a single ordinary object or task - like eating a meal or watching a leaf - and fully engage your senses with it.
As a morning walker, I use simple things like touching bushes, leaves, and flowers as well as whistle to birds on the wires. This keeps me present with nature and its peacefulness.
* Mindfulness Meditation, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/mindfulness-meditation
** Jon Kabat-Zinn, https://inspiringquotes.com/what-is-mindfulness/