If you have a pulse on wellness, you’ve likely heard about mindfulness exercises. These meditation techniques can help you bring more presence, calm, and connection into your day-to-day life.
Start with a simple exercise like gazing at a candle, and then gradually expand your focus, including sounds and sensations in the body. These mindfulness exercises can be done on the go, such as while walking to work or home from the gym.
Deep Seeing
Deep seeing is a simple mindfulness exercise that helps people engage with their sense of sight. It asks participants to pick a food or object and focus on it. They are encouraged to look at it closely, taking in the colors, shapes, textures and smells. If their thoughts wander, they are asked to gently guide their attention back to the object.
This mindfulness exercise is a great way to help kids understand that their negative emotions are just passing clouds, and they should not dwell on them. It also gives them an easy tool they can use to manage their stress and feelings.
Mindfulness might be a new concept to many of your clients, but these group mindfulness activities can help them gain from age-old Eastern stress-reduction techniques. Whether your clients are struggling with chronic illness or just need a break from the hustle and bustle of life, these exercises can help them find more peace in their lives. They are even more effective when used regularly to reduce stress levels. Increasing mindfulness is a journey, but with regular practice these exercises can help your clients feel more at ease in their daily lives.
Doorknob Meditation
Using your hands to become aware of the sensations of touching a door knob or other object can help you focus your attention on what’s in front of you. This mindfulness exercise can also be done with other objects, including your body.
During this exercise, you can expand your awareness to the environment around you by noticing the colors, shapes, and patterns of objects you see with your eyes closed. Then, when you’re ready to finish the activity, open your eyes and try to carry this mindfulness with you throughout your day.
Practicing self-compassion during this mindfulness exercise can help you ease the hold that anxiety has on your mental state. Anxiety often involves feeling upset with yourself, which can make you feel like you’re not good enough or that you’ll never get better. To counter this, practice releasing these negative thoughts and replacing them with positive affirmations or feelings of pride. You can even use a breathing technique known as box breathing, or four square breaths, which involves taking full, deep breaths for four counts to calm your mind.
Mindful Breathing
Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, stress or other mental health issues, mindfulness exercises can help. Mindful breathing, also known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing, helps reduce anxiety by activating the parasympathetic nervous system or “rest and digest” mode. It’s a simple way to feel more relaxed and calm.
One minute of mindful breathing can be a great place to start. It’s a short practice that can be done in almost any position, but many people find it helpful to sit down in the meditation (lotus) pose or on a chair while they’re doing it.
It’s important to choose a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed or distracted by anything. It may be helpful to have a timer handy or to set an alarm. You can begin by simply focusing on the feeling of the breath in your body, noticing each inhalation and exhalation, noticing if thoughts come up in your mind and gently returning your attention to the sensations of the breath when you get distracted. Repeat this process for a full breath cycle.
Counting Breaths
One of the most fundamental mindfulness exercises is the calming practice of mindful breathing. This exercise involves counting each breath and noticing the nuances of your body’s sensations as you inhale and exhale. This type of meditation can be done anywhere and anytime, as long as you are able to concentrate on your breath.
To begin, find a comfortable place where you will not be interrupted for about 10 minutes. Sit or lie down, and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, and on the next slow exhale count “one”. Repeat this until you get to five. If your mind wanders, just notice it and without self-criticism return to counting each inhalation and exhalation.
This is a deceptively simple mindfulness technique that has been used in Zen meditation for centuries, and it’s an excellent tool to quiet discriminative thoughts and bring the mind to single-pointed concentration. It’s even helpful to practice this meditation while getting a chiropractic adjustment, as you can focus on the calming feeling of your breath as the chiropractor adjusts your spine.
Deep Listening
Deep listening is a mindfulness practice that helps us to listen in more ways than just hearing the words of another person. It’s a practice that the late avant-garde composer and hippy theorist Pauline Oliveros developed in the 1970s, initially as a means of responding to horrors like the Vietnam War and the self-immolation of a student activist.
To do this meditation, put on some music and listen intently to the sounds that surround you. Notice the tones and textures that each sound brings, as well as how your own body responds. For best results, use headphones.
Practicing deep listening with others helps cultivate a non-judgmental attitude toward your own feelings and circumstances, so you can avoid reacting in unhealthy ways that sabotage physical and emotional wellbeing. It also helps you develop a deeper relationship with yourself, and can be used in interpersonal interactions such as chatting with friends or practicing psychotherapy.
