Are you overwhelmed, stressed or just fed up with your everyday life? I feel you. I was there and know how it feels! The good news is, you don’t need to feel like this forever. You can be happier, calmer and patient, all you need to start doing is practising mindfulness.
I’ve mentioned mindfulness a few times now, heck it’s even in my business’ name! That can only mean one thing – I think it’s super important!
All of our lives are busy. Most of us are working full-time jobs, running households and families, studying, trying to keep up with friends and family all while also trying to take care of ourselves.
When we’re busy, we usually need to find time somewhere by cutting back on something else, right? In these situations, we usually choose to cut back on doing the things that help us be mindful.
There are loads of benefits to mindfulness, but the following are my favourites:
- Lower stress levels
- Calmer
- Better sleep
- More productive and better concentration
- Helps with depression and anxiety
So, by bringing more mindfulness into your life, you’ll have a much better mental health state with heaps of physical benefits too!
Becoming mindful can be a little tough to start off with because our minds are used to running 100 miles a minute. Imagine mindfulness as a muscle, the more you use it and strengthen it, the easier it will become! It also means that you need to continually work on the mindful-muscle to keep it fit and healthy.
There are so many ways you can practise mindfulness, but I wanted to share what I personally do for mindfulness.
♡ Meditation
Are you guys tired of me talking about meditation yet? Haha.
I’m not even sorry because the benefits of meditation are AMAZING. It is the most common and well-known exercise for mindfulness and I completely know why.
I meditate anywhere between 3-20 minutes a day. I personally find it most beneficial first thing in the morning, before I start my day.
♡ Walking
When I go for walks by myself (or with Ezra in the pram), I like to walk slowly and enjoy the small things. I love to look at the beautiful flowers as I’m walking past somebody’s garden. I love to feel the cold wind on my face. I love listening to wind brushing through trees beside me. I choose to take in all of my surroundings and feel the movement of my body.
♡ Breathing
Of course, we all breathe every day, but a few times a day, I remind myself to take deep breaths. By taking deep, long breathes, my body is getting signalled to remember how important and calming those deep breaths are and they make SUCH a difference to my mood.
As you take deep breathes, feel the oxygen come in through your nose, down your throat, into your belly and then spread out through the rest of your body.
♡ Journaling
Each morning, I get out my two journals. One is specifically for brain-dumping, the other is for gratitude journaling.
When I am journaling, I sit at my dining room table, in the peace and quiet (while Ezra is still sleeping), with the window beside me opened and just write. I take my time and enjoy the process. Some days it takes 5 minutes, other days it takes 20.
♡ Doing one thing at a time
I usually have quite a few things happening at once with plenty of things needing to be done. This usually causes stress and I get overwhelmed, unhappy and it just all crumbles beneath me.
BUT, I’ve found that I am much more mindful when I don’t multi-task. If I just spend the time to do one thing at a time, I’m so much calmer and the work is usually much better quality.
♡ Enjoy the small things
And finally, my favourite mindful activity of all – enjoying the small things! By this, I mean, wake up each morning and choose to just enjoy the little things you do each day without thinking about it. For example, take a little longer to drink and really taste the coffee that you pick up each morning on the way to work or sit down with your kids and read a book with the silliest voices and watch their faces fill with joy and love.
It’s the small stuff that makes the biggest difference!
Everybody will find their own little ways of practising mindfulness and that’s okay, just remember to take the time to do the mindful exercises and you’ll feel like a completely different person in no time!
With love
Shorina xo
Counsellor + Wellness & Mental Health Coach
Hi, I'm Shorina and I'm an Australian Counsellor + Wellness & Mental Health Coach. I'm here to support you to redefine your relationship to self and life! I incorporate a mind, body and soul wellness approach to my work with a focus on healing and mindfulness ♡