Daily Mindfulness: How Can It Help You Slow Down & Be In The Present

Throughout our day, we are bombarded with constant stimulation. That, coupled with the fast-paced world we live in, most of us feel that we are simply moving through life, never really finding time to enjoy it.

This is because we don’t allow our bodies and minds time to really relax. But this is something that our bodies need, and one way to begin training your body and mind to combat this overstimulating world we live in is through mindfulness.

There are plenty of ways to practice mindfulness, and they can be incorporated into your daily life to build a daily mindfulness practice. By doing this, you can be assured that your stress and anxiety will be reduced, and you will find that you can enjoy life fully.

We want to give you the tools you need to incorporate several ways of practicing mindfulness into your daily life, so we have created this quick guide to daily mindfulness.

Mindfulness: Is It the Same as Meditation?

Meditation can be used in your mindfulness practice, but it is not the only tool.
Many people associate mindfulness with one of two things: meditation and journaling. This may be why most think getting into meditation is the only way to practice mindfulness.

When it comes to mindfulness, the are many different ways to practice it. The whole idea of mindfulness is to simply teach yourself to be aware of your body and its surroundings. Though setting a time for mindfulness exercises like meditation and journaling is a great way to build a consistent mindfulness practice, some things can be done easily throughout your day.

Why Practice Daily Mindfulness: Benefits of Mindfulness

No matter which of the ways you choose to practice your mindfulness, there is a whole slew of benefits that will help you live a happier, healthier life.

Before we give you a few ways to practice mindfulness throughout your day, we thought we would start with the good stuff – the advantages!

Here are five ways you will see your life improve when you add a mindfulness practice into your daily life:

• Helps with Overthinking – One of the biggest culprits in our lives of leaving us anxious and stressed out is overthinking. It is easy to see why most of us do this. Our brain is in constant overload and never gets a chance to rest properly. But by slowing down and taking in all our thoughts and surroundings, we allow our brain a moment to gather itself. So you will find that by adding mindfulness into your daily life, you won't be overthinking everything as much.
• Creates Better Emotion Reactivity – You will see that your relationships will improve. Instead of always reacting, you will be training your mind to slow down. This slow down will allow you to have better emotional reactivity. Basically, mindfulness will help you learn to go with the flow better and this will lead to less stress and anxiety.
• Can Open Up Your Creativity – For those that have jobs in the creative field or just like to be creative in their downtime might see an improvement in their creativity. Mindfulness helps build a better balance in your brain when it comes to thinking, and this will help break free some of those creative blocks you may have been struggling with.
• Reduces the Chance of Burnout – When you have a stressful job, your body is flooded with all kinds of hormones that are not conducive to a healthy life. By including some of the different ways to practice mindfulness we will talk about next into your daily life, you will be able to calm those down. This, in turn, will help you reduce the chance of burnout.
• Build the Ability to Self-Reflect – By learning to step away from the situation, you become not only less reactive but able to self-reflect. This makes it much easier to deal with conflicts and stressful situations as you see them while picturing and empathizing with the other party.

Ways to Practice Mindfulness In Your Daily Life

So now that we have talked about just a few advantages a good mindfulness practice can bring to you, let's dive into some of the ways to practice mindfulness in your daily life.

Gratitude Practice

By taking time to really sit with your thoughts and look at what is good in your life, you are going away from the negative thought pattern you have been wrapped up in. Allowing yourself to look at what you are grateful for puts you in the present, which is where you should live.

Things like a gratitude journal or simply saying what you are grateful for as you brush your teeth every morning will help you focus on the positive.

Body Scanning

Body scanning is an exercise that can be quite a helpful way to practice mindfulness. It is where you stop and take the time to listen and feel how your body is communicating to you. By using this mindfulness practice, you will be able to locate the area that is causing the stress and anxiety and find a way to relieve that tension.

This can be done by stopping every now and then throughout the day and taking a few deep breaths. You can do this in the hallway or at your desk, and it only takes a few minutes.

Use All Your Senses

Mindfulness is about being aware of where you are in the present. There are a few ways that are better to do this than to use the five senses you were given. Much like a body scan, this can be quite easy to do multiple times throughout the day.

When you find yourself feeling a little tense, stop and in your mind while doing some deep breathes, think about your surroundings. Think about what you hear, see, smell, touch, and taste. This will bring you back to the moment and allow you to go on with your day.

Actively Listen

Too often, when we are in a conversation with someone, we are not paying attention to what they are saying completely. Rather, our mind is trying to concoct what we are going to say in response. This can lead to a breakdown in communication, and that is not good for anybody’s stress.

So try when you find your mind drifting off to do that, to pull it back and actively listen to what the other person is saying. Do not respond until they have finished their train of thought. You will definitely feel better after this, and your relationships will improve drastically.

Think About Thinking

It might sound weird, but one of the best ways to practice mindfulness throughout the day is to think about what you are thinking. Take a few minutes every now and then to just close your eyes and listen to what happens in your brain. This exercise might be hectic and chaotic at first, but as you practice, you will find that your mind slows down when you are doing this. Often you will find your mind drifting to what is stressing you out, and then you can address it and move back into the present.

Final Thoughts

There are many ways to practice mindfulness, each of them is designed to make you more aware of the here and now. Because, as they say, the past is done and the future is not written, so you can only live in the present. This is where peace of mind can be found, and we hope we have helped you find a bit of that with this information.

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