Mindfulness Meditation For Mental Wellness

In the hustle and bustle of life, we often cease to notice the small things around us. We either always worry about tomorrow or regret the past. While shifting gears between these two extremes, our present slips away from our hands. A calm mind helps in focusing on the ‘now’ and in seizing the moment.

Here’s What You Should Know:

• What is mindfulness?
• How can you practice mindfulness meditation?
• Different mindfulness exercises

1. What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of calming your mind and body and being in the moment. It is a technique through which you can acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without any sense of judgement or negativity. Mindfulness makes you aware of your being and also helps you focus and concentrate better.

It is a way to explore the deepest corners of your mental, emotional, and physical being and you can achieve this through meditation. Instead of repressing the thoughts that cross your mind, meditation helps you to acknowledge them. 

2. How Can You Practice Mindfulness Meditation?

Meditation is only a subset that helps in attaining mindfulness. Mindfulness meditation plays a significant role in keeping your mental health in check. It helps in managing depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress, and hypertension. You can meditate on your own from the comfort of your home. Take a look at how you can practice mindfulness meditation:

• Set aside a particular meditation time. It can either be early in the morning or at night to calm your thoughts before sleeping. Just 10 minutes of meditation a day can work wonders.
• Get comfortable. Wearing loose clothes helps in easing the whole process and averts any distraction.
• Posture is important. Sit cross-legged on the bed or the floor with your head, neck, and back straight. Rest your arms on your knee and touch the thumb to the index finger like a yogic posture and close your eyes.
• Focus on your breathing. Feel your chest rise and fall as you inhale and exhale. This sense of calmness will also help in self-retrospection. 
• Pay attention. Be aware of how the wind touches your skin. Let your other senses be heightened and experience the little joys of the world.

3.Different Mindfulness Exercises

• Do one thing at a time. Give your attention to one task at a time and you will see the quality of output.
• Practising yoga or simply stretching loosens tension in your body, which is a great start to a day.

• Put down your phone while travelling or walking and just observe the surroundings and spend time with your thoughts. 
• Be Grateful. Even if you are having a bad day, be grateful for the little things that matter, like having a family, a roof over your head, food to eat, and clothes to wear.

Making mindfulness a regular practice can help you nurture positive thoughts and can help change your outlook towards life. It also helps in reconnecting with yourself and with nature. Learn more about ways to lead a healthy lifestyle and pay attention to your fitness with the Activ Living Health Blog.