Do you sometimes read a page and realize that you weren’t paying attention and then you find yourself reading the same thing all over again?
If yes, then you might be lacking focus, and building focus is one of the key elements of learning how to practice mindfulness.
First, let’s back up and understand what mindfulness is.
Mindfulness is the ability to be grounded in the present and not let your thought wander, but keeping them chained to the present to increase focus and reduce stress.
In this chaotic world, we are surrounded by various stimuli that can trigger us to overthink and ignore the beauty of the present. So, being mindful and focusing just on the present can help us keep our emotions sorted to be aware of the present.
Why Should We Practice Mindfulness
Learning about how mindfulness affects us helps you get more motivated while practicing it; here are some benefits of mindfulness.
- It enhances mental health
It has been noticed that many psychotherapists have found that mindfulness meditation is the key point of treatment for various issues like depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, etc.
- It helps in focusing
We all need 100% focus to complete a task. When doing any particular task, our mind always comes across other thoughts, and our brain is pulled in different directions. Practicing mindfulness will help slow down the mind, which helps us to focus on a particular thing at a time.
- It acts as a stress buster
It has been seen that those practicing mindfulness in the form of meditation have reported that it reduces their stress and anxiety, keeps the mind calm, and is relaxing. The Journal of American Medical Association reposted that according to their research on the effects of Meditation Based Stress Reduction on 342 people between the age of 20 and 70, people reported more positive results of the techniques.
- Improves emotional regularity
The practice of mindfulness daily may result in improving and managing feelings. Emotional regularity is mainly the ability to apply control over our own emotions. It plays an essential role in managing mental well-being and emotions.
How To Practice Mindfulness For Beginners
Mindfulness helps us maintain our calm and increase focus in all aspects of our life. Often, we instantly lose focus in life, and practicing ways to increase mindfulness becomes important. Here are some ways that you can opt for increasing mindfulness.
1. Enjoy the present!
The first step of learning how to practice mindfulness for beginners is living in the present and enjoying it.
We often get worried easily. but always remember to take things slow, and instead of losing focus on your present, enjoy it and live it as you wish. Mindfulness is entirely about being aware of the present, and once you start enjoying your present and forget the past, it makes you more focused and grounded.
2. Accept things as they are!
A vital step to learning how to practice mindfulness is starting to accept things as they are. Humans tend to wish for better things in life, but we often forget their true worth. There’s nothing good or bad; all these are mental tags created by us.
Acceptance is a challenging task to complete, but it is still achievable. It is not bad to wish for better things or life, but we shouldn’t forget that what we have isn’t worthless.
Everything has its value, and all we need is a better mindset and the ability to look for the good in things.
3. Start your day gadget-free!
All of us do the one thing when we wake up to check our phones! It might not seem like a deal, but somewhere it starts distracting us from our day.
Instead of checking your DMs, try meditating or getting out of bed, going for a walk, and enjoying the beauty of nature. It might seem like a drag at first, but it is essential for learning how to achieve mindfulness in life. This simple change in habit even makes you grateful for the small things in life.
4. Practice deep breathing exercises
Deep breathing isn’t a complicated procedure; anyone can do this in their daily lives.
This method is one of the most beneficial yet easy ways to learn how to achieve mindfulness.
Deep breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, mainly focuses on taking deeper and longer breaths and holding them for longer periods. This helps release hormones like dopamine making you happier and stimulating the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) to reduce stress hormones like cortisol. Deep breathing enables you to focus more on your breathing and removes any other distractions, making you more mindful in life.
5. Keep a journal!
Maintaining a journal helps you feel more grounded in the present. Journaling isn’t just an answer to how to practice mindfulness but also enables you to cultivate better habits and develop your mental health.
Journaling can help you become mindful and more emotionally and mentally healthy by clearing your mind of unnecessary thoughts. There are various journaling techniques, and journal prompts that you can use while writing.
6. Start exercising!
There are hundreds of benefits of exercising, one of which is making you more aware.
You don’t need to exercise a lot to be more mentally healthy; you can see the benefits just by exercising for 10 minutes. Besides the physical benefits of exercise, it also helps calm your mind from all the distracting environmental stimuli and sharpens your focus.
7. Set a reminder to be more present!
In this era of modern technology, where everything is digital, why not use it to be more mindful in your life?
This method helps ways how to practice mindfulness even when you are traveling or are too wrapped up in your schedule. Schedule a notification reminding you to be more present instead of being on autopilot.
8. Take a walk in nature!
Another great way to learn how to achieve mindfulness is by just walking in nature—walking releases endorphins in us, making us feel fresh and more focused.
If waking seems like a lot of work, start by doing it for 10 mins every day and then set the time as per your convenience. Walking is one of the most preferred forms of mental health activities that help you create a better mindset and focus on other aspects of your life.
9. Start sensing the bottom of your feet!
It is one of the simplest ways to learn how to practice mindfulness for beginners. As per Bethany Dotson, a yoga therapist and meditation teacher in St. Petersburg, Florida, simply feeling the soles of your feet on the ground helps you focus your awareness and wipe off the distractions caused by the chaos around you.
This simple exercise helps promote mental health awareness and tune in to your inner guidance system. It helps control your emotions and channel them in your way to help focus.
10. Practice the Body Scan technique!
One of the most popular methods to learn how to achieve mindfulness is the Body Scan Exercise. Here’s how you can do it:
- Lie on your back, completely still, and face your palm towards the sky.
- Try some breathing exercises to make you aware of your body.
- Be aware of your body; try concentrating on how your clothes feel against your body and how weird small thing in contact with you makes you think.
- Try focusing on the body parts that feel sore.
- Try gathering focus on every part of your body, from toes to head.
Once done with the process, go back to your initial position and explain how you feel.
11. End your day on a positive note!
Make a habit of recollecting all your precious memories of yours and relieve them in your head. This will not just help you increase mindfulness but help you become more optimistic in life.
Don’t spend your time in despair which could create more stress in you; instead, try thinking more positively to end your day on a positive note.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, learning how to practice mindfulness is one of the hundreds of steps for achieving good mental health.
The ways mentioned above can help you become aware slowly. You need to trust the process because you cannot attain mindfulness overnight. As we say, every good thing takes time.
In this modern era, we find ways to do every task online; here, we provide you with a list of free mindfulness apps you can use.
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