Are cloudy thoughts bothering you? Is making silly mistakes without being aware causing a turmoil in life? Is missing important dates, special days of your loved ones disturbing you? But you need not to worry. Here, lack of mindfulness is the culprit. Lack of mindfulness happens when your mind is full of thoughts, stories or narratives. At times, your mind is caught up with stories that are not even based on reality. This is very common as you are trying to cope up with the hectic schedules daily.
As you know, your mind is designed in such a way that it keeps on thinking, analyzing and planning when left on its own. Your mind is always bound to find new ways to check out from reality. Mindfulness is not just a trend to follow, it is indeed a necessity in this fast-paced life. Mindfulness in everyday life has become essential for maintaining mental clarity, emotional balance and enhancing your self esteem and confidence. Want to learn mindfulness and how you can incorporate it into your daily life? Here you go.
Understanding Mindfulness in Everyday Life
To begin with, let us learn what exactly mindfulness is? Mindfulness is the practice of focusing your mind in the present time over and over again. In simple words, mindfulness is to limit your thoughts to the present situation. Practicing mindfulness brings peace to your life. As most of us are juggling our roles on a daily basis, practicing mindfulness would be such a relief. The best part is you can practice mindfulness anywhere and anytime, be it from your office during your busy days or during daily activities such as cooking, cleaning or simply walking. And the impact of practicing mindfulness is immense.
Well, one best way to achieve mindfulness is meditation. By this you can teach your mind to be at present and stay still. It is completely human nature to live in the past or in the future. It is only when you are present physically and mentally at one place does moments in your life become cherish able.
Ways to Practice Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Have you noticed, 95% of our actions are on autopilot mode? You are rushing into everything just to get it done. Being completely in every task you do brings the best out of you. Here are some techniques to bring mindfulness in all you do.
- Just focusing on the breath, concentrating on the exhalation and inhalation is the most ancient technique and is the easiest and most effective way to practice mindfulness. This technique is detailed in the Siva Sutras which is a text book written in the 9th century. Even Though this technique is of ancient origin, it is as fresh and relevant in today’s world.
- However, ways to practice mindfulness are limitless. You can have mindful eating in which you enjoy every bite you take, noticing the flavours and textures of the meal you have. This will make you feel full with smaller portions which is good for your physical health as well. You just need to focus on what you are doing. It is normal at times for your mind to wonder how hard you try to focus but the key is to bring back the focus over and over again. Incorporating mindfulness into routine tasks like walking or cleaning. One good thing about practicing mindfulness is you do not need hours of meditation. You just need to bring your mind to what you are doing at present.
- If you are drawn to sit with yourself and focus, then meditation is a very good option. There are many ways to meditate which includes seated meditation, mantra meditation, zazen meditation, mala or prayer bead meditation. However, for complete effectiveness, you might need to make meditation a habit.
How to practice mindfulness
You can start your mindfulness journey today by trying these simple practices. Below is a table which shows different ways to practice mindfulness and its benefits
| PRACTICE | DURATION | BENEFITS |
| Intention breathing | 5 minutes | Clarity, Focus |
| Mindful breathing | 10 minutes | Stress reduction |
| Present moment awareness | Through out day | Improved focus |
| Body scan meditation | 15 minutes | Relaxation, Body awareness |
| Mindful walking | 20 minutes | Physical activity, Mental clarity |
Adding these practices to your daily life can bring an immense change in your physical as well as mental health.
Top Benefits of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Having read, let us now dive into the benefits of practicing mindfulness. The benefits of mindfulness are well documented by many researchers.
- John Kabat Zinn developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre which was actually an initiative to bring mindfulness to the people.
- A 2019 study of first time meditators who underwent 40 days of mindfulness meditation had a huge impact on the brain. In fact there were changes seen in their brain structure which stated lower depression scores when compared to non-meditators.
- A 2020 study of 50 long term meditation practitioners found significantly lower rates of annual brain tissue loss in meditators, specifically in areas of the brain which controlled mood regulation, emotional integration and nervous system processing.
Both these studies prove mindfulness slows down brain aging and improves brain health. In addition, mindfulness also helps in reducing anxiety, depression and stress symptoms. Mindfulness in everyday life also helps you to overcome negative thoughts. In some, mindfulness has helped in pain management and given a sense of well being. A 2019 study found that MBSR has played an important role in reducing stress and other mental health issues and thus improving the quality of life. Introducing mindfulness and meditation practice has proved to be of great help during the pandemic in 2020 enhancing positive mindset in people..
A 2019 review showed introducing mindfulness in individuals with cancer has helped them a lot in:
- Reducing pain and stress
- Improving quality of life
- Reducing fatigue
- Improving symptoms of sleep disorders.
Mindfulness also helps to increase the levels of melatonin, a hormone having anticancer properties.
In simpler words, mindfulness helps you declutter your mind. Cluttering your mind causes stress which can affect not only you but the people around you as well.
FAQs
1.What is mindfulness in everyday life?
Mindfulness in everyday life is the simple practice of focusing your mind on the things you do. Be it any activity as simple as walking, running, eating. Practicing mindfulness brings mental peace and reduces stress, anxiety and pain.
2. Can mindfulness reduce stress?
Yes, mindfulness reduces stress by relaxing the body and mind through breathing methods. Practicing mindfulness helps in building inner strength to cope with future stressors.
3. How do I start practicing mindfulness?
To begin with, start noticing your breath. Bringing your mind’s focus on breathing is the simplest method to start practicing mindfulness. Then you can incorporate mindfulness in your daily tasks as well. For example, bring mindfulness while drinking your morning coffee by enjoying your coffee, noticing its taste and aroma.
Reference
https://www.healthline.com/health/mind-body/what-is-mindfulness
https://scienceofmind.org/5-simple-mindfulness-practices-for-daily-life/
