10 Tips to Make Mindfulness Part of Your Normal Life
By Kim Benedicto, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Founder of With Love & Thyme
Photo courtesy of Kim Benedicto, mindful movement. in real life.
We often pressure ourselves to make transformational changes in January, eliciting a cascade of emotions and creating an enormous amount of stress. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Rather than a make or break approach (aka good me or bad me), there are more seamless ways to integrate health and mindfulness into your daily life that are a bit more forgiving. It all starts with gifting your very self the most precious thing of all: a little time.
Breathe: Taking five minutes to focus on your breath can profoundly affect your mood and help center yourself when your mind is racing. Many apps like Insight Timer, Headspace, and Calm offer breathwork exercises. Or you can do box-breathing. Take a deep breath in through your nose for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, exhale out through the mouth for four seconds, hold the breath out for four seconds. Five minutes of focused breathing can help alleviate stress, keep you present, and create a different physiological response in your body.
Get outside: One of the easiest ways to practice mindfulness is to get outside and connect with nature. Being outdoors has been such a lifeline for so many throughout the COVID pandemic, and now that winter is upon us in many parts of the country, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can kick in to bring you down. It’s more important than ever to get outside for a little Vitamin D and to take in all that nature has to offer for your mind, body, and soul. Bundling up to take a long walk and letting the sun warm your face or feeling a brisk rush of air on your skin can help you stay present and sane during the darker days of winter.
Be present: Whether you’re washing the dishes, walking the dog, or taking a shower, taking the time to be present in whatever task at hand, allows you to experience life rather than simply passing through it. It’s easy to get caught up in multitasking and going through to-do lists in your head, but focusing on living in the moment and allowing the senses to be present in the “here and now” is the very essence of mindfulness.
The power of smell: Using your sense of smell to ground you in the present moment can be a powerful experience that elicits memories and impacts your mood.
“When you’re first using a new scent, like the essential oil blends in Mindalt deodorant, you can establish an intention or a certain mood that your brain can then associate with that scent.” says scent scientist and Ph.D. Rachel Herz. “I think that people should appreciate the smells around them — to take little moments throughout the day to breathe in scents and appreciate their effects”.
I couldn’t agree more. Starting your day by hanging eucalyptus in your shower, diffusing your favorite essential oil blend to fill your home with a cozy scent, or applying essential oils to the body as part of your self-care routine is an instant way to check in with yourself. For instance, when you apply Mindalt to your underarms, the essential oils will absorb via the bloodstream and inhalation and the body will experience the benefits all day long.
Journaling: Taking a few moments in the morning to set your intentions for the day and a few minutes in the evening to jot down five things you’re grateful for can be a powerful mindfulness exercise. It will help you reframe any negative thoughts you may be having and shift your mindset to the positive.
Practice self-compassion: 2020 was hard. Really, really hard. And 2021 still holds bumps ahead. More than ever it’s essential to create space for acceptance and self-love. Under the best circumstances, dealing with the challenges of work, taking care of family, or the unexpected curveballs life throws at you can create feelings of doubt and inadequacy. Taking time for reflection and giving yourself some credit for big and small accomplishments can shine a bright light on all you do (or don’t) have in your life. You don’t have to write a book or cross everything off your to-do list. Just getting through the day is enough.
Movement: Making time to exercise and keep the body in motion is key to health and wellness. Whether you prefer a long run, doing yoga, or hitting your Peloton, allowing yourself to be present while exercising will help your mind and body reap the benefits. Focus on your breathing, muscle movement, and the sounds around you. Try to avoid future think.
Meditate: This goes without saying, but establishing a meditation practice is an incredibly valuable way to practice mindfulness, t can be practiced anywhere and for any length of time. You can do a guided meditation using an app or just sit with yourself and be fully present in that moment. What’s most important is finding time, every day or as often as possible, to meditate and be open and aware of the moment without any self-judgment.
Active Listening: Communication is the foundation of any relationship. That means not just listening, but actually hearing what the other person in the relationship is saying. Practicing active listening will make the other party feel heard and encourage you to stay engaged. It’s easy to think one step ahead while the other person is speaking, especially when juggling so much with WFH. But with a simple nod, asking a question, or reflecting back on what the other person has shared, you will make them feel supported and feel better in return.
Take time to unplug: It’s easy to get sucked into staring at our devices all day, especially now when so many of us are still working from home and our main way of connecting with family and friends is on Zoom or FaceTime. Going down a rabbit hole on Instagram can do a number on our feelings of self-worth. So much stress is caused by the overload of stimulation. Taking time to step away from technology each day will help you focus on reconnecting with yourself and slowing down to create more peace in your life.
Questions about nutrition, fitness or need holistic health tips? E-mail: Kim@withloveandthyme.ne
