Healthy Living
12 steps for Mindfulness in day to day life leading to calmness, productivity and happiness
Mindfulness is the art of keeping in mind what you are currently experiencing. It’s an accepting, non-judgmental and compassionate awareness of what is going on right at this moment in time. When practising mindfulness, you bring your attention to the present moment without trying to change it . You are simply conscious of whatever is being experienced. You actively your thoughts, feelings and sensations.
The cultivation of mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, but most religions include some type of prayer or meditation technique that helps shift your thoughts away from your usual preoccupations toward an appreciation of the moment and a larger perspective on life.
Key benefits of the Mindful activities
- It helps in satisfied life ,brings calmness to mind leading to happiness and productivity. Being mindful makes it easier to enjoy the pleasures in life as they occur, helps you become fully engaged in activities, and creates a greater capacity to deal with adverse events.
- It improves physical health by reliving the stress , treat heart diseases ,controls blood pressure ,improves the quality of sleep .
- It helps in removing the depression , conflicts and anxiety in day to day life.
Daily Steps For Practising The Mindfulness
- Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or on a word that you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or word. Do daily for 15-20 minutes and slowly increase the time period. The effects of mindfulness meditation tend to be dose-related — the more you do, the more effect it usually has. Most people find that it takes at least 20 minutes for the mind to begin to settle, so this is a reasonable way to start. If you’re ready for a more serious commitment, 45 minutes of meditation at least six days a week. But you can get started by practicing the techniques described here for shorter periods.
- Do one thing at a time as same will lead you to focus on one job thus increasing the power of concentrations .It’s a practice of giving all your attention to job at hand with all the awareness body can command. Try to find mindful moments in Everyday tasks -Next time you are brushing your teeth , driving or cooking the daily mundane jobs try to be mindful of the job and enjoy the focus , sounds and sensations of doing the job.
- One of the most important tools for managing the productivity and stress is managing your breathing .How to breathe effectively : Being aware of the breathing process , just observe the patterns of breathing and observe calmly where it will lead to you , understand the patterns of the breathing and get fascinated by the process. If you have a calmer breathing pattern ,you will have relaxed mind which is less likely to overreact to whatever is going around you. Daily for 10 minutes in the morning and evening ,sit in relaxed position and observe your breath with closed eyes. Throughout the day bring conscious steps to remind yourself the awareness of the breathing.
- Once your breath is smoother , calmer and deeper you feel more relaxed .When you become upset or some extreme emotional activity your breath becomes irregular and shallow. Hence try to duplicate the activity which brings breath to deep and even in nature leading to getting yourself relaxed .Instead of just observing you are taking steps to in gentle way for making it calmer.
- Deep breathing -In this type of breathing the diaphragm moves down and lungs are allowed more air to breath. Air moves deeply into the lower part of the lungs ,which are better suited for utilizing the oxygen than the upper lungs. Try consciously to deep breath whenever you get time , or when you fell stress or anxiety is there , start breathing from the deeper lungs.
- Observing the physical sensations in the body – Every day as you focus on breathing start to focus on the bodies various parts and how they are behaving. Focus on the area of pain or just focus on the area randomly but try to reman their for next 5 to 10 minutes. Scan the body for the awareness of your body and promote physical relaxation. During the day be aware of the physical sensations in your body and during upsetting events observe how your body is behaving.
- Mindful mornings -In morning when you start the day focus on the purpose of the day .Close your eyes and think deeply what I intend to achieve today by asking yourself questions which activities will help me to be more productive and worthy of my time. This five minute exercise with a short remind me note will help you achieving a lot in day of work .Try and see the result.
- As day passes take a moment back , go to your reminder list , pause and analyse what you have achieved in the day and what is hampering you achieving to your potential.Intially you will observe not much chamge but if you continue the process slowly it will become a habit leading to productivity and calmness.
- Mindfulness while eating -Key mindfulness activities during eating are :
- Focus on Breathe before eating by closing your eyes , take 8 to 10 belly breaths .
- Be aware of your hunger. Now listen to your body , how hungry are you and ask yourself how much is sufficient to meet your requirements. It will help to regulate overeating and focusing on the right nutrition as per the body demand.
- Recalibration of the brain-Our brain’s 95% of the activities are from the subconscious mind .In the mindfulness process we are reversing the process and controlling our subconscious activities with the conscious mind . We are slowing the process and this is important for controlling our mind .As soon as we slow the brain activity we generate new neurons which during the slowing process get used to the activity leading to wiring of the activity in brain. By slowing the brain by mindfulness we are mastering the skill on which we are focussing. For example if you are walking and exercising the mindfulness you will start to notice your breath , the breeze going across your face and sun shining. This will help you to enjoy the walking process leading to relaxation and calmness of mind.
- While walking or running focus on the steps taken -There are many ways to practice mindfulness with movement, and you can make it as active as you want. If you already run or dance or exercise in some way that helps you to feel more focussed d and present, that can be mindfulness practice. Or practice as simple as paying attention to the feeling of your feet on the floor as you walk up the stairs to work. It is not about what you focus your attention on, but rather that you take the time to consistently practice holding your awareness on one thing and notice what comes up.
- Five senses exercise – This exercise provides you to practice mindfulness whenever you want to practice the same.
- Notice five things that you can see.
- Notice four things that you can feel.
- Notice three things you can hear.
- Notice two things you can smell.
- Notice one thing you can taste.
These exercises done on a frequent basis will help in observational power, calming yourself and getting energized to refocus on the job at hand.
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