5 Simple Ways to Incorporate Mindfulness to Your Days
Mindfulness is the practice of being fully aware of the present. I like to think of it as committing your full mind to observing your current state of being and circumstances. You can practice being mindful by attending to your external sensations (e.g., taste, sound, smell, external touch) or your internal ones (e.g., feelings, thoughts, internal sensations like heat or tightness). Both are effective tools for cultivating a healthy mind.
“Mindfulness is attending your full mind to what is happening right now.”
Becoming more mindful is a daily practice, but mindfulness exercises don’t have to be complicated. The more we intentionally choose mindfulness, the more natural it becomes.
Here are five ways you can incorporate mindfulness into your day:
Pause before getting out of bed in the morning
Most of us jump out of bed the minute our alarms (or children) wake us. We have a full day ahead and many of us begin our days driven by a mindset of scarcity–we didn’t get enough sleep and we don’t have enough time to accomplish all we need, or want, to do.
Rather than fueling this sense of rush and urgency, pause for a second. You can count to a certain number, set an intention for your day, or simply take a few deep breaths. Try bringing awareness to your senses–what do you hear, smell, see, feel, and maybe even taste–before you get out of bed. This added pause, begins your days with mindfulness instead of mindlessness and disrupts the autopilot that we operate from so much of the time.
Eat your lunch without distraction
This practice is probably the most difficult for me. We get in the habit of rushing everywhere. We have so much to do and, seemingly, so little time, that we become accustomed to being busy every second of our days. Even if we aren’t “doing” out of habit, it seems wasteful to spend valuable time being unproductive. Doing seems so much more valuable than being.
Maybe you can’t commit your whole lunch to simply sitting and eating. If you can, great! Listen to what you hear, smell your food, taste your food, and be aware of what you are doing, rather than giving all your attention to your phone, work, or even to reading. If you can’t, then try dedicating a smaller amount of time, say the first or last five minutes of your meal.
Leave your phone behind
Our phones have become our livelihoods. When everyone can be reached at all times, it’s hard to set boundaries around our availability. What if someone else replies faster? Will we seem incompetent or invaluable? What might we miss? None of us want to be on the outside or out of the loop. We also have become so used to having information and entertainment in our hands at all times, that it’s hard to sit with the discomfort of boredom or unknowing. When we can get knowledge and news so quickly, it feels uncomfortable to wait. Our attention spans have shortened, our boredom tolerance has lessened, and we have lost our ability to sit with our thoughts.
Try leaving your phone behind just once. Do you absentmindedly grab it and scroll Instagram every time you walk up the stairs? Can you go to the bathroom without TikTok to pass the time? Does the thought of playing with your children and letting texts go unanswered give you anxiety? Commit to leaving it just once each day so that you regain control in the relationship, becoming more intentional about your use.
Count your breaths
When you’re at a stop light is your first instinct to grab your phone? I know, it’s tempting. Like we just talked about, technology has made it hard to pause. If you are commuting and running errands, choose one stop light, or every one on your trip if you’re feeling extra ambitious, to count your breaths. “Inhale, exhale, one. Inhale, exhale, two. Inhale, exhale, three.”
We become so accustomed to tuning our attention outwards that we rarely take time to notice that our bodies are working for us constantly. This mindfulness exercise gives us a chance to practice mindful breathing. Even if you aren’t driving anywhere, choose a time to temporarily pause and count your breaths. Doing so slows our reactions, brings our awareness to our internal state, and builds our mindfulness muscles.
Narrate your shower
If you’re still with me, first, congrats, and second, hear me out. I know this one sounds silly, but all I ask is for you to give it a try. Our minds often race in the shower. Whether you are listening to a podcast or simply rehashing your day, if you take time to watch your thoughts, you’ll likely notice that they are on everything but what you are doing.
Mindfulness is attending your full mind to what is happening right now. Narrating helps bring our brains to the present. “I am washing my hair. I am lathering the soap. The water is pouring down my face.” You can even comment on the sensations you experience, “the soap smells like lavender. The water feels warm.” Even if you feel silly, you are helping improve your capacity for mindfulness.
“The more we intentionally choose mindfulness, the more natural it becomes.”
The Takeaway
Mindfulness has many benefits, and we don’t have to overhaul our days to improve our mind-body connection. Adding simple exercises into our days (e.g., pause before getting out of the bed in the morning, eat your lunch without distraction, leave your phone behind, count your breaths, narrate your shower) can build our mindfulness muscles and help us reap the benefits of a regular mindful practice.
