Daily Mindfulness Practices

In our busy lives, we often find ourselves between worrying about the future and thinking about the past. This leaves us little time to enjoy the present moment. Mindfulness is a simple way to take a break and focus on what is happening. Small practices can bring peace and relaxation into your daily routine. In this article, we will talk about easy ways to practice mindfulness and make life a little calmer and happier.

• Mindful Breathing: It is a useful practice to get freedom from the anxieties and overthinking of the world for some time. In this practice, you sit in a comfortable seated position with your spine straight and take deep breaths. Focus on the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you inhale and exhale. You can also count your breaths or feel the sensation of your body as the air leaves into and out of it.

• Mindful Walking: Walking is a wholesome experience when you do this with your entire mind. Instead of scrolling your phone, listening to the songs in the headsets, or just overthinking what might come next, if you focus on the sound of the ground/street when you place your foot on it, the movement of your legs and contraction and relaxation in its muscle, and the effort they produce by doing a subtle shift of the weight of your body and noticing the surroundings with all your senses will be an energizing and refreshing experience for you.

• Body Scan Meditation: Instead of feeling everything in your heart or keeping your head busy all the time, you can also feel other areas of your physical being by doing a body scan meditation. In this type of meditation, you lie on your back or sit comfortably keeping your spine straight, and begin feeling from your toes by focusing all your attention on that part of your body. Feel the sensation in that area, if there is any tingling or tightness. Take breaths and allow that area to relax and soften. Then move up to the next part of your body in line, that is the feet, before coming to the rest of the part of your body. Spend more time on parts, which are uncomfortable or tense.

• Journaling: We as humans having a very complex mindset think a lot. Our brain is continuously thinking about the actions and possible reactions of many things we have done in the past and what we are going to do in the future. Sometimes, this leads to overthinking and anxiety, which overwhelms some of us. The best thing in this regard is journaling, in which we copy, on the page, every thought that comes into our mind. Dedicate a few minutes of your day (maybe before going to bed at night) to this practice. The idea is to write everything that you are thinking at the moment, how rough or wild it may be. Do not care for sentence structure or grammatical mistakes. Do this every day. Then analyze the difference between your thoughts after some days. You might also get to know your evolution of thought process or the directions in which your thoughts are going on the different days of the week and month.

• Mindful Eating: No doubt, food is what keeps us going but sometimes we take it for granted. In the morning, at noon, and in the evening we eat food most of the time only to keep ourselves energetic so that we can continue working. This is a productivity-obsessed world and we take meal breaks just as our fuel stops and do not think about appreciating the food that we eat. Instead, we must understand our food every time we sit to eat. You can feel its aroma, and notice its texture, and color. When eating, take small bites, and chew them slowly and deliberately to enjoy the taste of each bite you take in. You should avoid any distractions like mobile phones or TVs but fully focus on the experience of nourishing your physical being. Your soul will also be delighted in this process.

• Living in the Present: It is an interesting experience when you schedule your day according to a set routine. Getting fully involved in the work, play, prayers, domestic chores, social relationships, etc. gives a better feeling when these are done with full focus. Thinking about past events and worrying about the future too much just waste your time, ruin that time of your day and you do not get to live and feel your life according to your will.

Apart from these practices, you can also cultivate gratitude and a positive mindset, develop a love for yourself, practice self-care, visualize a peaceful place, do compassion meditation, and access nature to let go of your wild thoughts and enjoy your life fully and rightfully. Mindfulness is a powerful way to bring peace and focus into your daily life. By practicing simple techniques, you can stay connected to the present moment and reduce stress. Start small, and you will see how these habits can make your life more balanced and joyful.