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Mindfulness in your everyday life – the joy of simplicity

When everything feels in a deep hole, just come back, and read this piece again.

Have you ever just walked or biked and felt the wind breeze on your cheeks? Maybe even put some thought into it? Where do you feel it? How does it make you feel? What are the sensations?

When you start asking yourself questions about consciousness, you discover that your mind creates most of your reality. What you call life is just a reflection, determined by how distorted and dirty your mirror is. The good thing is, that you are the only one who can clean it.

What is Mindfulness in the first place?

It is a state of being present in the current moment, realizing and accepting your thoughts and emotions. When you are mindful, you are paying attention to what is happening internally and externally yourself. The focus is on accepting your thoughts and emotions, without any judgment.

What are the Benefits of Practising Mindfulness?

It improves psychological and general well-being as well as helps to relieve stress. It is a good tool to lower blood pressure and improve the quality of sleep and additionally decrease the symptoms of depression. It helps to improve the general focus. Mindfulness can be even used to cope with the food cravings, but also drugs and alcohol after the addiction treatment.

Overall, incorporating mindfulness into your everyday life helps you to live a happier and healthier, but also more grateful, accepting, and relaxed life.

What are the Techniques for Practising Mindfulness?

Sit down quietly for a few minutes, focus on your breathing and just let your thoughts come and go. Imagine it being like Tinder, where you swipe your thoughts. The thoughts swiped to left could be unnecessary, self-harming, or negative, and thoughts swiped right could be some things you need to do, positive things, etc., so the thoughts to go back to later. Let them flow without any judgment, just acknowledge them existing and passing.

This practice can be done in all meditations but can be a meditation on its own. You can also just focus on your breathing and all the sensations it comes along with. Feel the belly and/or chest rise, maybe even put a hand on your belly or chest and feel the air flowing in and out through your nose

into the atmosphere or to your body. Imagine the air just nourishing you from the inside even to the smallest cell.

During the Day:

Instead of scrolling on your phone and listening to the music on the bus, before a class or a meeting, or just standing in line, etc., look around for a little and observe. What are you hearing and seeing? What are your thoughts? Acknowledge them and let your mind wander. Nowadays it is so easy to just turn off your thoughts and almost even forget that they exist with all the surrounding ‘noise’.

Before starting to eat, close your eyes, smell the wonderfully delicious and nutritious food you have put together and take a moment to be grateful for all the people who have helped you to have this delightful meal. All the farmers, helpers, truck drivers, shop assistants, packers, and of course yourself, for making it.

Just think that you are so lucky and blessed with everything you have, not something you are missing. To have a roof on top of your head, a bed to sleep in every night, and warm food on the table. It is a beautiful thing to have two lungs that allow you to breathe the fresh air, but also legs and a beautiful soul that allow you to climb the highest mountains, and take you to your biggest adventures.

Ideas for the Morning and/or Evening:

When lying down in your bed, think about what you did well today. There is always something to be grateful for, even if the day did not go as you wish. For example, making your bed in the morning is already an accomplishment, since there is already one task of the day done and it is not a mess.

While taking a shower, be grateful for having the opportunity to wash with clean water. Feel the water falling on your body, and purifying you from all the stress and worry of the day. Just cleansing your heart, body, and mind, inside out.

Also, name three things you are grateful about and give them a little thought (might be something you did that day, some people you are thankful for, the warmth of the sun, etc) right after you wake up or before you go to sleep, help you to fulfill your heart and mind with positivity and loving-kindness additionally to starting or ending your day with a smile on your face.

When doing something you are not that fond of, like cleaning, or washing the dishes, acknowledge the movement of your body, such as the air you feel when moving and the muscles working.

After waking up and before opening your social media, put on your favorite song and dance a little, this helps you to set the mood for the day and get the blood and oxygen moving in your body. This can be also done in the evening, but with a calm and cozy song. Maybe include some stretching and

feel yourself just flowing on the dance floor. Doing so in the evening helps you to relieve stress and calm your mind down.

What about Finding Joy in the Smallest Things?

The beauty is all around us. It can be found in sensations (smells, sounds, taste, and vision), thoughts, people, materials, art, nature, etc.

Being mindful does not mean that you have to sit down and meditate. It can be done for a moment or even just a second, just ‘pausing’ everything. There are so many little things to be mindful of. For example, the hair movement in the wind or when you move your head, the smell of fresh bread, the first sip of coffee in the morning after having a pleasant night of sleep, due to which you have the energy and the beautiful smile on your face for the rest of the day. But also, the acknowledgment of the smell of your favorite shower gel, the laughter of your favorite people, the sensation of various materials you touch, and the weight of the clothes you are wearing.

Just take a moment and look around. Life is beautiful even during the biggest hardships you might be facing right now. Everything will work out in the end.

A podcast I would truly advise you to listen to: How To Use Mindfulness In Daily Life by Cory Allen at Modern Wisdom

Pleasant well being and meditation apps to use, which are free to use to some extent: Simple Habit (have used it for more than 5 years) and Headspace, which also collaborates with the Nike Running Club app, which helps you to be mindful and present during your walk or run.

Also, remember that it took us time to learn to walk when we were younger. Do not worry if the meditation did not calm you down as you wanted to, the position was uncomfortable, or you could not rest your mind entirely or at all. Give it some time and do not punish yourself for something you are still getting used to.

I wish you all the best and may everything you wish, or manifest come to you sooner or later.

And remember, that you are only in competition with who you were, and every obstacle is an opportunity to dismiss who you have been. This experience called life was gifted to you, so be kind, always.

Lots of love,
Your Wellbeing Committee