Six tips for mindfulness

MindfulnessHere are some ways you can practice mindfulness without meditating to improve a sense of wellbeing even while you are on the go.

Eat mindfully

Take a few minutes during the day to just eat. Not multi-tasking lunch with conversation, the computer or phone. Just absorb the taste and textures of the food. Take in the smells. You’re much more likely to feel satisfied and nourished.

Walk mindfully

Be aware of your movement, the contact with the ground, and the stretching and contracting of the muscles. Notice the sights, sounds, smells, temperature. This gives you respite and a break from negative thinking.

Observe your breathing

Paying attention to breathing can also slow down repetitive thoughts and worries. When the thinking slows down, there can be more clarity and creativity. Notice the air enter the body, the movement of the body as it breathes. Follow a full in-breath and a full out-breath. Repeat this a few times.

Practice mini pauses

Before automatically opening an email, answering the phone, or pushing the button in the lift… pause. Notice with full awareness the actions you are taking. This develops your ability to not just react unthinkingly. This is a valuable skill when you are under pressure.

Listen with all of you

Open up fully to hear what someone is saying. Put on hold what you want to say next or any immediate judgements. Just take in the words. Listen with what you see and observe the tone, pitch, pauses, and expressions. This will give you much more information to find the right response.

Break the routine

Getting out of your routine for a while can bring you back to your senses more. Do something new, such as trying a different type of coffee or tea in the morning, taking a slightly different route to work, or rearranging your desk or a room at home slightly.
The BeingWell is a mindfulness social enterprise, that offers mindfulness courses in one-to-one and group settings for to the general public as well as workplace wellbeing programmes. A proportion of profits goes towards rolling out mindfulness courses to economically excluded people in Tower Hamlets. Log onto www.thebeingwell.org, email: be@thebeingwell.org

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