Being mindful means bringing your complete attention into ‘the moment’. Being more present within your environment, thoughts and feelings without judgement and without trying to change too much. Just acknowledge it and accept those thoughts and feelings.

It is said that practising mindfulness has many benefits including, increased empathy and compassion, increased happiness, improved sleep and greater focus. You may even notice reduced anxiety and stress, once you have developed a good mindful routine.

But how can we incorporate this mindful practice within our daily lives? I have come up with some top tips to help you!

Practice during routine activities

You can be mindful at any point in the day, right when you wake up, in the shower, on your way to work, or even just before you begin to unwind from the day. Picking a prompts to help you remember will also help, leave a sticker somewhere you will see it daily!

Let your mind wander but keep it short

Each time you are being mindful, limit yourself to 5-10 minutes, if your mind wanders don’t worry, let it wander for a minute then bring yourself back into the present.

Make use of your 5 senses with the 5 Senses Exercise

What can you hear? What can you feel? Is there any smells? What can you see? Can you taste anything?

This exercise really helps to bring you into the moment. It helps us really take in what’s going on around us without spending to much time dwelling. It’s designed to be a quick exercise taking no longer that 5 minutes.

Deep breathing during this exercise will also help to reduce any stress and anxiety.

Meditation

This practice is becoming more popular, many people have discovered the benefits of meditation. I am certainly one of those people, I have been practising meditation every day for around 9 months now and I am really noticing a difference in my mood, my stress levels and the way i think about all aspects of live in general.

Meditation can also improve your ability to be mindful. Now I’m no expert but if you want to try this I’d really recommend the Head Space app. So head over to your app provider and give this a try.

My Favourite Instagram Account for all things Mental Health

While I’m here I’d just like to take the time to recommend a brilliant Instagram account. @annamathur shes a mum and trained psychotherapist, and her account is all about how you can take care of your mental health. Really worth heading over to her account!

Check out this post: 5 Steps to a more Positive Morning