Mindfulness is a technique which involves you focusing on what’s happening in the present moment. It can help you to be more self aware, calm, kinder to yourself, you are also more able to respond to your emotions rationally and cope with unhelpful thoughts. Mindfulness supports you to notice how your thoughts come and go, notice physical signs of stress and creates a reflective space where you can react more calmly.
Here are a few mindfulness exercise ideas:
- Mindful moving- while moving try to focus on different things around you for example smells and the body sensations of moving.
- Mindful colouring and drawing- focus on the colours and the sensation of your pencil against the paper, there are mindfulness colouring books and images.
- Do new experiences so you can notice the world in a different way
- Slow down try to take time to experience your environment with all your senses for example when in a restaurant take in the atmosphere and take time to really enjoy your food- its taste and smell.
- Mindful meditation- This involves sitting quietly to focus on your breathing, thoughts, sensations in your body or things you can sense around you.
2 minute mindfulness breathing exercise:
Settle- into a comfortable position, try to close your eyes or look down to avoid distractions.
Relax- try relaxing your body by dropping your shoulders, wiggling your fingers, relaxing the belly and softening the muscles around your head.
Check in- Notice different body sensations as you sit down and relax.
Breathe- Inhale through the nose, and exhale through the mouth.
Notice- the sensation of air passing through nostrils and mouth and the phases of inhalation and exhalation.
You can find lots more information about mindfulness using the following websites:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/mindfulness/about-mindfulness
https://www.ruh.nhs.uk/patients/services/physiotherapy/documents/Mindfulness_leaflet.pdf
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness
