17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

The formal practice of mindfulness is training so that this state of presence can be extended to your daily life. May you live every moment of your day to the full. How is it done in practice? I propose 17 exercises that you can do at any time. You decide when it is best for you. If you persevere, they will help you reduce anxiety and stress.

What differentiates the formal and informal practice of mindfulness?

Formal practice is what we do in stillness, sitting or lying down. Formal practice is what we do in stillness, sitting or lying down. We stop for a few minutes, calm the body-mind with our breath and observe our interior without judging. We learn to recognize the thoughts and emotions that make up our vital experiences. We recognize these phenomena as transitory and let them pass. We do not drive them out or set them apart. We allow them to disappear and surrender to reality: everything is impermanent.

We do the informal practice when we are present in our daily life: when we eat, say hello, and walk. When you are in what you must be, living in the present instead of filling it with mental noise, constant self-criticism, and anxiety.

A MINDFUL DAY: 17 EXERCISES IN 24 HOURS

In the morning

1.- You emerge from the dream. Even in bed, ensure you are present for a few seconds, here and now. Before launching into the future of all the tasks that await you, ask yourself kindly how you slept and how you are. You can also “feel” yourself waking up to a new day, paying full attention to the physical sensations.

2.- Shower with full attention: appreciating the touch of the water, the changes in temperature, and the smell of the soap.

3.- Comb your hair paying attention to the experience in your scalp, the changes in your hair, and the movements of your arms.

4.- Brush your teeth, paying full attention to your hand, the brush, the toothpaste, and the sensations in your teeth, gums, tongue…

5.- Concentrated coffee: tea, juice, water… whatever you have for breakfast. Listen to the sound of the coffee or teapot, observe the process of making your drink, and awaken your sense of smell with its aroma. Watch the changing colors if you do any mixing. Feel the heat of the cup in your hands, the touch of the steam on your face. Finally, analyze the taste by taking small sips.

6.- Any food or drink throughout the day is good for this mindfulness exercise. Use food to make a prearranged tour of your senses.

7.- Move to connect with the Body. Physical exercise is an opportunity to practice mindfulness. Put your attention, especially on three aspects: breathing, the postures you adopt, and the movements you make, moment by moment. If you are running, listen to the sound of your feet on the ground, and feel the air on your skin. If you lift weights, feel the cold metal bar in your hands. Don’t let negative thoughts and distractions take over your Body. Let them pass and focus on the Body.

8. Stretch. Take a break at noon, get out of the office or wherever you are, and do some basic stretching. Wake up like a cat, well at ease. In addition to being a very healthy exercise, it is a great opportunity for full attention. Notice how your muscles move and appreciate each sensation.

9. Listening attentively: in case you didn’t know, if you have two ears and one mouth, it is to listen twice as much as you speak. At least one conversation a day with anyone you interact with; make it a point to listen to it with your full attention. When they address you, she breathes, lands in the present, and opens your sense of hearing. Listen without interrupting, without giving your opinion, and without auto-complete the sentences to your interlocutor. This exercise is essential to transform relationships. You will tell me.

10. Scribble  ._ A conversation between you and me could be this:

-Take a notebook and a pencil, choose a subject, and start drawing.

-I need to learn how to draw. Copied in pre-technology (art education)

-We all can draw. But we have practiced expression with words much more than with images.

-If it is about expressing myself verbally, I have a university level. But in visual expression, I do not pass preschool

-Well, let’s put aside the word draw. Release yourself from responsibility. Pick an idea and start doodling. Make lines on a piece of paper concentrating on what is emerging. Draw a little when you have spent enough time in front of the screens (they recommend resting every hour). Put your full attention there and allow this exercise a short break.

Finding the visual form of a vague idea helps to focus on it and exposes non-existent ideas. Sketching requires concentration and trains mindfulness.

11. The self-check. Pause and assess the state of your body and mind. How is your posture? Are you clenching your jaws? Are you thirsty? If you practice regularly, you will be amazed at what you learn about yourself through these logs. Try introducing these mini-checkups every hour or so. If it works for you, you can set an alarm that alerts you. Ding-dong: connect with your intimacy. Ding Dong: keep going.

12. Empty the hard drive. Spend 10-15 minutes sitting down with just a pencil and notebook. During this time, he writes whatever comes into his head. Put black on white the thoughts that swirl in your mind. All who arrived were Not selected. Like the exercise of putting images to an idea, putting words to it helps to clarify it. It is like clearing the forest of the mind. Then it is clearer, and you can discover treasures hidden by the undergrowth.

13. Headphones out. When you go from home to work or vice versa, avoid the temptation to escape from the environment through your headphones. Instead, pay attention to what’s going on around you. Listen to the birds sing, watch the children playing in the park, and appreciate the different smells on the road. Be fully present.

14. One minute of deep breathing. Focusing on the breath is the quintessential mantra in any meditation school. And it makes all the sense. We breathe constantly, but we almost always do it unconsciously. Focus for a single minute on your breath. Taking that time is a great help in finding the connection with your Body. Try this simple breathing exercise: Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, drawing air in from your abdomen instead of your chest. Pause, holding your breath, before letting the air slowly through your mouth. As simple as that. Repeat several times and continue with your mindful day!

15. Clean the dishes mindfully. Coming home and being greeted by a mountain of dirty dishes is no fun. But approaching that task and any other around the house as an exercise in full awareness can be. Feel the water on your hands (or gloves) and study the texture of the sponge as you scrub the dishes with it. This exercise removes dust, hangs clothes, and makes the bed. Remember to savor order and cleanliness when you’re done.

16. Musical practice: Music can also be a useful tool to exercise mindfulness in everyday life. The idea is to choose a song you have never heard before and press play. Do not fuel the thoughts that arise by evaluating the interpreter’s style or the lyrics if you understand them. Let go of all those ideas that appear and listen with an open mind and senses.

17. Try a guided meditation. At this point, we recommend you practice with intimin 10 minutes a day. You have to follow the itinerary that we have made for you.

5 basic mindfulness exercises to start 2022: take care of yourself inside and out

Mindfulness consists of full attention. They are a series of exercises that help us be aware of the present and accept what is happening thanks to different relaxation and acceptance techniques, keeping our feelings calm and well-being.

Why is mindfulness so important?

The importance of mindfulness is much easier to explain if we use an example. If we experience an unpleasant situation that we cannot avoid, mindfulness techniques will allow us to “flow” and help us save ourselves from added suffering. We will learn to stay only with what we experience without adding negative, obsessive thoughts or increasing the backpack of emotions that each of us carries.

In this way, we can separate the person from their feelings to recognize mental patterns and achieve an “attack” or “defense” focused on the “here and now” without making it easier for our minds to configure imaginary scenarios that can increase our suffering, stress, or nervousness.

Practicing mindfulness will give us calm and mental well-being, which also translates into physical health.

Benefits of mindfulness to take care of yourself inside and out

In addition to helping us become aware of our mental processes and prevent the mind from dominating us, mindfulness has numerous benefits, including the following:

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

It helps control stress and anxiety.

Mindfulness reduces cortisol levels, a hormone activated by stressful situations. Cortisol is necessary for the Body because it regulates and mobilizes energy in these situations, but if we have too much, it can cause side effects.

Considering lifestyle, we have mistakenly normalized mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, or even high-stress levels. Mindfulness, therefore, can help us to have a better lifestyle.

A more pleasant dream

Practicing mindfulness before going to sleep helps us have greater control of emotions and slow down the daily rhythm, which reduces stress and cortisol levels. Relaxation and meditation translate into a higher quality of sleep and rest.

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Protects the brain and improves memory

Mindfulness is a powerful tool to help us strengthen our daily memory and improve reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and concentration.

Exercise concentration

One of the great benefits is training awareness and full attention to voluntarily direct our mental processes. It positively affects cognitive flexibility and attentional functioning.

Improves emotional intelligence and interpersonal relationships

With the practice of mindfulness, we evolve internally so that the actions of our environment do not affect us so much, in addition to helping us respond appropriately to stress and improving the ability to communicate our emotions to another person.

5 basic and essential exercises to Start this new year, 2023

These 5 exercises are easy to comply with and include in your daily routine. Try them, and you will see how practicing mindfulness will help you feel good and care for yourself inside and out.

1| A conscious awakening

Mindfulness begins with a new day. One of the exercises you can practice this 2022 is to have a conscious awakening. How can you do it? Without getting out of bed, take a few seconds to feel your body and your breath and identify how you feel. Ask yourself how you slept and what energy you have, on a scale of 1 to 10, to start a new day.

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

2| Is there a correct way to breathe?

An agitated breath is not the same as a relaxed, conscious breath. Breathing is an action that we do in a cyclical, constant way, and many times we forget that it is one of the most used relaxation techniques, in addition to the fact that it is the basis of mindfulness.

We share an exercise with you so that your breathing goes from being a cyclical act to a technique that helps you improve your physical and mental well-being:

1. Lie, fully stretched out, on a flat surface. The idea is that the closer you are to the ground, the better. A mat is an excellent option.
2. Place one hand on your chest, at the level of your heart, and another on your belly.
3. Close your eyes, breathe through your nose, and feel your belly swell (diaphragmatic breathing).
4. Once your belly has inflated, it has filled you with air, expanding the capacity towards your chest. Do it slowly and hold your breath for 2 seconds.
5. Begin to exhale slowly through the mouth.

Repeat this exercise several times throughout the day.

3| Your emotions say much more than you think

Innumerable events disperse us in our day-to-day: stress, conflicts, nervousness… Many times we try to mask these feelings or emotions to continue with our day-to-day, resulting in repressing them and carrying them in a backpack that we endure day after day. The effect this has on our mind and Body is that the moment we are left alone, we let our guard down, and those repressed emotions and feelings flare up again. Let’s learn to manage them with our breath and with guided meditation.

4| Visualize it and analyze it

How many things go through your head daily? It is not surprising that within all the feelings and thoughts we have throughout the day, we give more importance to the negative than the positive ones. To work and practice mindfulness, we must “empty the hard drive.”

We will dedicate 10 minutes a day to write or scribble in a notebook everything that comes to mind at that moment. The simile best explains this exercise: once you prune a tree, the garden gets more light. The same thing happens with our minds. Empty it of everything that takes up space in vain or generates an uncomfortable feeling so you can have space for full relaxation, awareness, and happiness.

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

5| self-knowledge

You do not need to stand in front of the mirror; we are not talking about external self-knowledge. He takes 5 minutes and thinks: what is your posture like? Is it comfortable? Are you clenching your jaws? Are you doing it out of nervousness, stress, or tension…? Are you hungry or thirsty?

You are likely ignoring the signals your Body sends you; use this little knowledge as an “alarm” or warning to connect with your inner self.

Remember that taking care of your mind is necessary to take care of yourself on the outside. Health always has to be our priority.

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

MINDFULNESS EXERCISES FOR CHILDREN.

MINDFULNESS, FULL CONSCIOUSNESS, or FULL ATTENTION is the ability to focus on the present moment through a tool to achieve full attention. The practice of mindfulness supposes the mastery of the mind to focus on what is in the here and now in the present moment. Training boys and girls in mindfulness mean giving them the skills to improve their concentration and focus their attention.  

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the focus of attention on the present moment. It is a technique with many years of tradition associated with Buddhism. Through the method, the mind focuses on what is happening here and now, accepting what happens without judging without wanting to change it. It means being fully aware of the moment we live, concentrating on what is happening in oneself and the environment, and renouncing noise and distractions.  

Mindfulness helps bring inner peace, recognizing and accepting emotions and reactions without judgment from consciousness. 

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

Benefits of mindfulness for boys and girls.

Mindfulness is a very appropriate technique for little ones. In childhood, the brain has incredible plasticity, and mindfulness training will benefit your mind in learning to concentrate and focus. Some of the benefits of mindfulness practice in boys and girls are: 

• The capacity for attention and concentration is favored. 
• Mindfulness helps self-reflection and awareness of what happens inside and outside. 
• It is a tool with great potential for managing emotions. Reflection helps to identify, understand and regulate emotions. 
• Through mindfulness, the connection with oneself is developed with thoughts, emotions, and sensations.

17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine

Mindfulness exercises for boys and girls.

• Listen to sounds. One way to practice mindfulness involves listening to and focusing on a sound—for example, the sound of an instrument, such as a bell. The task is to keep quiet and focus on the instrument’s sound.  
• Bee breathe. It is an exercise focused on breathing that helps one become aware of one’s own breathing and promotes relaxation. They are told to cover their ears with their hands, close their eyes and imitate the sound of bees, the buzz (zzzzzz). This simple exercise allows them to look inside while focusing on a breathing task.  
• Frog meditation. The frog meditation is based on telling the boy or girl to act like a frog, being able to remain still and observe what is happening around them. The frog’s belly swells when air gets in and deflates when it comes out. They have to breathe like a frog and notice the movement of their belly, concentrating only on that.  
• Focus on the other. This task consists of focusing attention on the other; it is about looking into each other’s eyes without doing anything, just observing and focusing on the other. It is a very good technique to develop attention and also serves to develop empathy and create affective bonds. It simply consists of looking at each other for a few minutes, just paying attention.  
• Stop and find 5 things in each direction. It is a fun technique. It is about stopping and focusing on what is happening around you in the present moment. We tell the boy or girl that we stop and say 5 things we see (sight), 5 things we hear (hearing), 5 things we feel on our skin (touch), 5 things we smell (smell), and 5 things we taste (taste), for example, something blue, the noise of a car on the street, the feel of the sweater on the skin, the smell of cologne and a dry mouth. With this exercise, they can situate themselves in the here and now.  
• Focus on the Body. This task consists of moving for one minute. They can jump, run, walk, etc. After the minute they sit down, and with their hands on their chests, they notice the sensations of their Body, their heartbeat, breathing, temperature, etc. 

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17 mindfulness exercises for your daily routine