Everybody is talking about Mindfulness, even chefs and business leaders, but what really does this word mean and how can we benefit from it in our every day lives.
Mindfulness is the act of paying attention to our senses, with the idea of training our mind to live and experience the now, the present moment. Our mind is very volatile, it can travel between the past, present and future in a second, and when we are not able to control it, it can cause us stress, anxiety, ego or jealousy.
The same way we need to take care of our body with exercise and healthy food, or our skin from the sun and winter; our mind needs also care to keep it calm and happy. If our mind is not calm or balanced, it can cause us problems such as stress and anxiety, but more important health problems. Our body directly responds to all impulses of our mind, if we are stressed, immediately our body organs contract and they can develop problems like low defenses, pain and bad functionality.
When we practice mindfulness, we can train our mind to stay calm and react correctly to a challenging situation. We certainly cannot change what the world has in store for us, but we can change the way we react to each challenge, keeping calm and taking the better and wiser decisions will help us to grow and accept any of life's changes.
Mindfulness teaches our mind to use our senses to maintain balance in our mind. Like meditation, mindfulness uses simple exercises to slow down the crazy flow of ideas that can disturb our mind and cause us anxiety.
When we slow down, we can appreciate simple things in our daily life, we find joy in observation and we can learn to disconnect from states of anxiety or stress by practicing mindfulness or meditation practices. When our body and mind are in balance, we can find the real happiness that our body and mind needs to make us feel completed.
Lets concentrate now on how we can practice mindfulness, in 7 easy steps. Please read all the steps and then find the place and required elements to start practicing this simple but effective routine. The idea of mindfulness is to use our 5 senses to train our mind to be in the present moment.
1) Find a quite place and sit comfortably in a chair or in the floor. Breathe in, breathe out and repeat this exercise in a sequence of 4 breaths and then 7. Listen to each exhalation, put total attention to the sound of your breathing and the sequence. Try to clear your mind and just keep the breathing and sequence in your mind.
2) Now that your mind is calmer, lets start with Taste: Take a glass of water your hands, close your eyes and take a sip. Start by feeling the temperature of the water, the texture or sensation that it produces on your tongue and mouth. Feel the sensation but more importantly try to find a taste that defines it. Sip as much water as you want and repeat the exercise This will help you to calm your mind while slowing things down, and by living in the moment of tasting water.
3) With your eyes closed, lets start with exercise our Sound: Start by carefully listening to all the sound around you, listen carefully to any variation of sound, any tone and any other eco around you. Pay attention to that sound, it could be your breathing or a bird outside or the sound of the fan. Pay attention to how the sound makes you feel, bring that sensation into your mind. Repeat the exercise noticing the different sounds around you.
4) Open your eyes and lets use our Sight: See what is around you, pay special attention to the details of the elements. Pick one object and try to feel the textures and colours of it with your eyes, try to memorize the shapes, understand the form and memorize the moment. Use your eyes like scanners to bring the sensation of the image into your mind. Repeat the exercise with another object. Deep breath and relax.
5) Take an object in your hands, or if you have the opportunity walk into a garden barefoot, feel the grass, and put your sense of touch into action. Feel the object or grass touching your hands or feet. Feeling the temperature the texture and bring the sensation into your mind. Try to picture in your mind what your hands are telling you about the object. Feel it and create a memory to your mind. Repeat the exercise with another object or plant. Deep breathing and relax.
6) Close your eyes and Smell: In the garden or in your room, experience the smells around you, pay attention to the fragrance, try to identify what it is, where it comes from. Discover as many details of the fragrance that you can, find the sensation and bring it into you mind. Make your mind feel the moment. Repeat the exercise with another smell or another place. Deep breathing and relax.
After this session, your mind and body will feel calmer and relaxed. So find a place in your daily agenda and start practicing this technique to train your mind as well as your body. Take care of the mind, it control everything in our lives.
Created by D.Oballos /Huellas de Luz Blog.
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