I make it a point to add informal mindfulness practices to each day. Meditation is a part of my daily morning routine, but it wasn’t always that way for me. I found it difficult to sit down and take a moment for myself. If you don’t have a formal meditation practice, start with these simple mindfulness exercises. And if you do meditate daily, you can add these two informal practices to your day. This is a great way to begin incorporating small moments of mindfulness into your life.
Here are two simple steps that you can use to be more mindful.
1.) Deep Breathing
Start each day with a few deep big breaths. Inhale, allow the chest and belly to expand fully with air. Exhale, release all the air from the lungs allowing the body to soften. Do this 3 more times. Deep breathing has many benefits for the body including decreasing stress and it can even improve energy and reduce blood pressure. Breathing is something that we all know how to do. We breathe all day every day without ever thinking about it. By intentionally starting each day with a few deep breaths you can have a calm, grounded, and mindful start to your morning.
2.) Mindful Walking
Mindful walking is one of my favorite informal practices. It requires you to bring your full attention to walking. Perhaps adding this in as you walk to get your coffee in the morning or on your way to your car, noticing how the body automatically knows what to do and how to do it. Acknowledging the moment each foot lifts off the ground and reconnects to the earth beneath it. Being present with the breath and the body as you move from one place to another. If you have time, checking in with all the senses. What do you see, feel, smell, taste, hear? That is mindful walking!
I encourage you to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life, by starting with these two simple steps. Give it a try one day this week! I would like to hear how it went for you.
Mindfully Yours,
Elizabeth Nicolle
