Mindfulness became absolutely essential in my life when my daughter was born and I can't even put it into words how life changing my daily meditations have become. So I thought now is the perfect time to share with you some of the practices I do in hope that maybe one or two may help you.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness simply means to pay attention, to have the ability to see things as they are, free from the filter of our conditioning. This is the practice of presence. No matter where we are or what we are doing we can always take a few moments to become mindful.
Thich Nhat Hanh explained mindfulness this way:
Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment. To be mindful is to be truly alive and at one with those around us. Practicing mindfulness does not require that we go anywhere different.
Benefits of mindfulness
The benefits of finding more mindful moments throughout your day may include:
Lowers anxiety and stress levels.
Express more gratitude.
Can help control blood pressure.
Improved digestion.
Improved immune system.
Reduced Inflammation.
Reduced fight-or-flight stress response.
Activated rest-and-digest response.
Here are 10 mindful moments and meditations that work for me. Perhaps try one or two today.
1). Take a breath - Introducing Pranayama.
Sounds easy right...just take a breath...but when you do mindfully take a breath it can do so much more than just provide you with oxygen. This is where the benefits of mindfulness start kicking in! By bringing your awareness to the start of your inhale and to the end of your exhale, you arrive right here in the present moment. No where to go but being here right now, not thinking about the past or the future. As Patanjali says:
Yoga takes you into the present moment, the only place where life exists. - Patanjali.
Once you have become aware of your breath perhaps practice some pranayama. One of my favourites is inhaling for the count of 3 and exhaling for the count of 5. I find this really helps to regulate and restore your nervous system.
Begin by sitting in a comfortable position. You may close your eyes if you like.
Bringing your awareness to your breath inhale for 3...2...1... then exhale for 5...4...3...2...1... Repeat how ever many times you like. Please remember if at any time you feel out of breath or dizzy, stop the counting and come back to your natural inhale and exhale.
2). Connect with nature.
Every morning one of the first things I do is go outside and drink my cup of tea. Here I welcome the new day by taking everything in and expressing gratitude. I notice the colours of the sky, the contrast of the trees, I place my feet gently onto the grass feeling the support of the Earth below and my most favourite part is watching the many different species of birds drinking water or having their morning bath. I try and spend as much time as I can outside as it really does feel like a breath of fresh air!
Perhaps you would like to create a moment to go outside and connect with nature. It doesn't have to be in the morning, it can be at anytime of the day when you are able to.
3). Eat mindfully.
How often do you eat whilst scrolling through your phone?
Or eating whilst working/tidying up?
Perhaps next time you sit down to eat, focus all your awareness on just that - eating!
Notice the textures of the food, the tastes, how lucky you are for being able to eat this food. Express gratitude to all the different processes it took to get this food to you at this moment.
4). Metta - loving kindness
Our own suffering brings us, eventually, to the practice of compassion. Metta meditation or loving kindness is the Buddha's response to the suffering he observed during mindfulness practice. This has to be one of my favourites that I do daily, offering loving kindness truly works. I have found many of my relationships with people have shifted towards kindness as I continue to practice Metta meditation.
To practice this meditation we begin by offering ourselves loving kindness, then to someone you love, then to someone you feel neutral towards and finally to someone you find difficult.
To begin find a comfortable position and close your eyes. Bring your awareness to your breath to help anchor you into the present moment. The phrases for loving kindness are:
"May you be safe"
"May you be healthy"
"May you be happy"
"May you be at ease in your community"
Begin by offering yourself these phrases and repeating them how ever many times you like. Now begin to offer these phrases to a loved one, then a neutral person, then to a difficult person. When you are done, sit quietly for a while and really feel into the loving kindness humming through your body and mind.
5). Belly breathing
This is a fantastic breathing exercise that brings your focus into the present moment whilst also reaping many benefits such as strengthening your diaphragm and providing increased oxygen and nutrients to every cell throughout your body. We practice this breath in both my adult and kids classes which we also call balloon breath.
You can practice this breathing either sitting upright or laying down. I prefer to lie down on my back with a bolster under my knees.
Once you have found your comfortable position, begin by placing one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
Breathe in slowly through your nose, feeling the air filling your ribcage and belly, then exhaling slowly through your nose or mouth. Perhaps you would like to imagine inflating your belly like a balloon on your inhale and feeling it deflate on your exhale. Repeat as many times as you would like.
6).Move from thinking to feeling.
To help quieten your mind from all the thoughts that keep running around and around, it can be helpful to bring your awareness to the sensations you feel. One way of doing this is by bringing your awareness to a particular area, which can also stimulate energy to flow there.
For example, bring your awareness to the tip of your finger, really begin to focus and feel it. Perhaps you begin to feel a slightly warmer sensation or a slight tingling. Now begin to bring your awareness to your whole hand. Continue to feel the sensations that arise without using your thinking mind. By sending our energy to certain areas we can help heal our body.
7). Returning to an anchor.
Also known as one pointed attention, this is one of the more well known styles but I personally believe this can also be one of the hardest styles, especially for beginners as the monkey mind can appear to be quite loud when you are trying to concentrate. This is why they say meditation is a practice! Once you have gotten beyond that state and are totally absorbed into the anchor this is when the magic begins.
You may have already experienced these serene moments without even trying! Perhaps when you were gardening, creating something or watching a sunset. It is well known for the Indian yogis to use the sun for this form of meditation at sunrise and sunset as this is the safest time to gaze at the sun. Once they have gazed at the sun for a safe amount of time, upon closing their eyes the image of the sun is still clear within their mind to continue to focus on during their meditation.
You can choose to use many different types of anchors to help bring you back into the present moment. These could include:
Your breath.
The rise and fall of your belly.
Sounds of nature outside such as a bird or the wind blowing through the trees.
A clock ticking.
An object that you like to focus on.
A mantra.
There are many different types of anchors you can use and you may prefer different ones on different days. Remember that we all wander off in thought during meditation and it's by using an anchor that we are able to train our mind to continue to come back into the present moment, over and over again.
8). Nadi Shodana - Alternate nostril breathing.
This is a great exercise to do to help reduce stress and anxiety and also to create balance within the body.
To begin sit in a comfortable position with your eyes open or closed. Rest your left hand in your lap and bring your right hand up to your nose, the thumb resting on your right nostril, the ring finger resting on your left nostril. (I personally use my little finger and fold my three fingers into my palm as I find this more comfortable. Just find what feels good for you.)
Close your left nostril with your finger, and exhale completely through your right nostril. Inhale through your right nostril, close your right nostril with your thumb, pause, then exhale through your left nostril, pause, then inhale with your left nostril, close the left nostril, pause, then exhale through your right nostril. This completes one full cycle. Continue for 10 - 20 cycles.
If at any time you begin to feel dizzy or this becomes difficult, stop, breathe freely and perhaps if you like begin again. This can feel a little strange at first, but once you get the hang of it and get into a groove you will begin to find this a very beneficial exercise.
9).Sensory body scan.
This is a great exercise to do either sitting or lying down. During this meditation you will bring your awareness to different locations throughout your body without moving them. I will use three dots to signal three seconds between body parts.
Finding a comfortable position begin to bring your awareness to your right hand...your lower arm...your upper arm...right shoulder...right waist...right hip...right thigh...knee...calf...foot...
Bring your awareness to your left hand...lower arm...upper arm...left shoulder...left waist...left hip...left thigh...knee...calf...foot...
Now bring your awareness to the top of your head...your forehead...face...throat...chest...
stomach...
Moving your awareness now to your upper back...middle back...lower back... Now bringing your awareness to your whole body.......your whole body as one piece.......
You can always choose your own body parts you would like to focus on by either making this more detailed or even just choosing whole body parts.
10). Becoming aware - Awareness of thoughts, emotions and surrounding sounds.
You may be thinking why would I want to become aware of my thoughts during meditation, shouldn't I be stilling them? By bringing your awareness to your thoughts and emotions without judgement, we learn to observe them rather than identifying with them.
You are not your thoughts. You are the knowing, not the condition that is known. - Eckhart Tolle.
To begin find a comfortable position and close down your eyes.
Just for now just be, no where to go but being here right now. Give yourself permission to notice your thoughts, no need to try and change them. Just for now simply notice and be aware. What ever you do notice, just let it be then let it go. You may even like to visualise your thoughts as clouds passing by. Once you have spent some time being aware of your thoughts, start to bring your awareness to the surrounding sounds. Sounds just outside your room.....Then to sounds inside your room.....Then to the sounds within you, perhaps your breathing.
Remember mindfulness is a practice, not something that just happens over night. The more you practice something the better you get at it and this is exactly the same with becoming more mindful. It can become second nature to you and you will find you can become more conscious than unconscious. If on the other hand you find that meditation and mindfulness does not provide you with the benefits you seek, find another approach that works for you!
I hope some of these mindful moments may be of use to you. As always feel free to email me at amy@believeyoga.com.au if you have any questions or would like any help with a particular meditation. Here's to becoming more at peace in the present moment.
Sending loving kindness,
Amy. x
Comments