You don’t have to spend an hour in the lotus position trying hard not to twitch, whilst desperately fighting the urge to scratch that itch on your nose, to become more mindful…these easy everyday mindfulness exercises can be developed into wonderful mindful experiences – and you don’t need any meditation or mindfulness experience to do them!
Just Breathe!
This is the best tool available in your mindful and meditation tool-kit! Sounds obvious but we are usually very unaware of our breathing. By focussing on inhaling and exhaling – even for a few minutes, you’ll feel calmer, more peaceful and less stressed. All meditations start with the breath as it’s the one thing we have with us all the time. You don’t need any special equipment and the beauty of this is you can do it anywhere – in a queue at the supermarket (or waiting to get in one at the moment!) washing up, in the bath, before you go to bed. Breathing is fundamental to meditation and there are quite a few different techniques you can use, but for now, let’s try something ‘simple’.
How do I do it?
Well, I start by taking a deep breath in through my nose, and then gently releasing it out through my nose. I do this a few times and then try to really focus my attention on the inbreath, and the outbreath. You might be able to feel cooler air coming into your nose, and maybe the air feels a little warmer on the way out. Just try and be aware of these sensations for a while. Thoughts will come into your mind but that’s ok, acknowledge it with a smile and let it go. The more you practice noticing your breath, the sooner you’ll realise that a thought has wandered in, and the sooner you can bring your attention back to your breath. Try it now!
Gratitude is huge at the moment - and there's a really good reason for that - it's because it's so fabulous at instantly changing your mindset! Life throws so many curve balls at us and we all have days when we just want to crawl back into bed, pull the duvet over our head, and wish the world away. But even in these gloomy moments it's so beneficial, uplifting, and grounding just to be able to think of one or two things you can be grateful for - even if it's the duvet you're currently hiding under! By cultivating the habit of being thankful for even the simplest things, a snowball effect is created, so the more you are grateful the more things come into your life to be grateful for!
So grab yourself our free little guide with some fabulous little ideas, quotes, and exercise to get those gratitude juices flowing!