3 Tips for Mindfulness that are Easy, Simple and Effective
Have you ever tried to meditate, tried to be more present in the moment or tried to be more still and calm?
It sort of seems like these practices were set up for frustration and failure.
But I think we all know that there is value in mindfulness - being more present, relaxed and aware - the question is, how do we actually get there?
Trying, or using our will power to increase mindfulness doesn’t work.
But there are some ways to relax into feeling more calm, expanding your awareness and being more present in the moment without using willpower at all.
Because it’s supposed to reduce stress, not create more, right?!
Three Tips for Relaxing into Mindfulness
1.) Breathing to Invoke Calm
Breathing, according to me, corresponds to taking charge of one’s own life.
Luce Irigaray
The breath is the greatest tool we have to create physical relaxation, mental clarity and emotional calm.
It’s because relaxed breathing creates these states AUTOMATICALLY.
You don’t have to try to be more clear, calm and relaxed. The breath actually does it for you.
Your breathing pattern tells the body if you’re in danger or it’s safe to relax, and your body complies.
For example, when you’re scared, you take quick, shallow breaths. When you do that, the body is on alert and intentionally keeps you in a stress state as a survival mechanism.
The problem is, we often breathe this way not just when we’re scared, but when we’re stressed at work, anxious about a fight we had with our partner, or concerned as we’re reading news headlines.
Here’s a simple way to shift into a relaxed breathing pattern:
Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth as if you’re blowing out through a straw. Do this SLOWLY.
If you need help breathing slowly, count to four as you breathe in, hold for four, breathe out for four, and hold for four again. Repeat for 2 minutes.
Your body will assume you’re safe, well and thriving, and your nervous system will begin to relax instantly. You will also shift out of a fight, flight survival mode and into a rest, digest and create mode, where you can now respond to whatever is going on from a more empowered and mindful place.
2.) Meditating to Welcome Awareness
Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers.
Unknown
The idea that meditation is meant to clear the mind is a misinterpretation.
The purpose of meditation is to be aware of the mind, by noticing your thoughts.
In doing so, you become the captain steering the ship, rather than the ship steering you.
The mind is not meant to control you, it is meant to be a tool for you to use.
The thoughts going through our mind are generally on autopilot, and they are often not very helpful. When left to its own devices, the mind typically generates fear, worry, and stress as a constant warning system of what might go wrong.
Because we have so much stimulation and so much to do in our modern lives, the mind is on overdrive compared to what it was processing when human life was exponentially less complex.
By getting quiet and simply noticing your thoughts as they appear, you become the observer of the mind, instead of being at the mercy of it.
When you are aware of what you’re thinking, you can engage with the thought, or let it go.
Like a muscle, the more you practice being the observer, the more you notice your thoughts and have control over the quality of your thinking in your day to day life.
You can notice negative thinking and choose to let it go, reinforcing a positive thought instead.
Or you can ask a question, and notice the answers that arise from within when you allow yourself to simply observe.
As you take the reins and choose the quality of your thinking, you will see it reflected back to you in the quality of your life.
3.) Getting Present to Find Peace
Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time.
Herman Hesse
When we are present, the whirlwind stops. Life is just here and now. Simple.
You’re not thinking about what you have to do tomorrow, wondering if your boss liked your pitch or replaying a conversation in your head and wishing it went differently.
There is an inherent stillness in being present.
But stillness doesn’t mean sitting still, stopping your thoughts, or isolating yourself from the world so you don’t get disrupted.
It’s having an awareness that there is an inner stillness within you that is always there.
Practice slowing down your breathing and and going within, where you may notice a sense of your infinite nature, the part of you that has no beginning or end, and that is completely still, whole and eternal.
You’ll know it when you find it, because you’ll feel a deep sense of peace.
It’s the You with a capital Y. And you can go within and find that inner peace any time.
When you’re connected to that stillness, and feel the peace within, you’re automatically in your present moment awareness. Without even trying.