How to practice mindfulness each day

Do you ever find yourself constantly overthinking? Like your thoughts tend to control you more than you control them?

According to a Harvard study, people spend 46.9% of their waking hours thinking about something else other than what they are doing. This can lead to unhappiness when the brain runs on autopilot like this.

Many of us struggle with remaining present as our thoughts rush by and grab our attention. We often get caught up in worries, fears, anger, or regrets and detach from the present. 

There is a way to bring ourselves back to the here and now and improve our happiness through practicing mindfulness. 

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is achieving a mental state of awareness focused on the present moment. This state of consciousness can be reached by acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

One of the major benefits of practicing mindfulness is that it can be applied throughout the day, unlike meditation, which usually lasts for a particular length of time.

“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” – Eckhart Tolle.

Benefits of practicing mindfulness

By incorporating mindfulness into our daily lives we can have an impact on our:

• Overall wellbeing through supporting positive attitudes you will find your life to be more satisfying. 

• Mental health through treatment of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse and other mental health related problems. 

• Physical health through relieving stress, reducing chronic pain, improving sleep and lowering blood pressure. 

How to practice mindfulness everyday

Here are a few practices you can do to be more mindful throughout the day: 

• Engage your five senses through sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. When you notice your mind drifting away, try to bring your attention back by noticing sounds around you. This can help you bring your attention back to the present moment.
• Practice gratitude through focusing your attention on all the good things in your life and you’ll open yourself to experiencing more abundance.
• Observe your body’s signals through your heartbeat, your breathing, or any aches and pains that you may have been ignoring. This can help you direct your focus on taking better care of your body.
• Paying attention to your emotions. Allow yourself to feel those emotions and avoid bottling them up.
• Take a moment to focus on your breathing. Do you notice if it’s shallow or deep? Since our breathing happens unconsciously, we can use our conscious focus to strengthen our mindfulness.
• Become aware of your thoughts. Are they negative? Anxious of the future? or dribbling in the past? Notice them and allow them to flow past without judgement.
• Eating with mindfulness through awareness around what the food you’re eating tastes like. What does it smell like and the different textures in your mouth. How does your body feel after you eat a certain type of food? You may be surprised at how you start enjoying your meals and consciously choosing foods that are good for you, and ultimately your overall health.
• Engage in active listening. Some people may tune out during conversations thinking about how they want to respond and lose the opportunity to truly identify what the other person is trying to say. Give them a chance to complete their thoughts and give them your full attention.

Right here, right now

When starting your mindfulness journey, remember that it takes practice, patience and perseverance to continuously be present and awake in your life.

It’s not about being positive all the time but more hyper aware of what happens in each moment of your life including the joyful and painful experiences.

If you’re looking for help to achieve a higher state of mindfulness through mindfulness coaching, view Conrati’s wide range of experts who can offer you the best practical skills and support.