SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS TIPS FOR EVERY DAY.
Self-care practices like exercise, meditation, mindful breathing and even pampering beauty treatments like massages, blowouts and face masques add value to your life, but you may often think, “Oh, I don’t have time for that!” Our busy lifestyles can make self-care seem out of reach, but it doesn’t have to be. If you shift your mindset from “I don’t have time for that” to “I’m willing to make time,” the time will show up!
There’s a handful of self-care tools that take 30 seconds to a few minutes to do and they are available to you at any moment — and the more you practice them, the easier it is to make them a habit. All these little self-care practices add up to a greater sense of well-being and enjoyment of your daily activities. Here’s what meditation and mindfulness can do for you and how to get started.
Meditation can help you feel more calm, present, joyful and self-aware. However, it’s easy to shy away from beginning a meditation practice; the idea of quieting the mind or sitting in stillness can be intimidating.
Beyond meditation there’s mindfulness, the practice of focusing your awareness on what’s going on right now and consciously trying to be in the present moment.
There are situations where our minds run wild and project negative outcomes on situations that haven’t even happened. Worrying about things you can’t predict robs you of the moment you’re living in.
Benefits of practicing mindfulness
Sometimes the biggest benefit is a shift in perception. Things that may have sparked anger or fear in you don’t feel so bad; you can easily shift back to the present moment and be aware of your surroundings. You see that you have a choice in how to react and move forward.
When you’re not projecting disasters, you can be present and more helpful to others around you. You will feel calmer and connected. You can’t always control the outcomes to things, but when you practice mindfulness, you care less about the outcomes. It’s like having faith that you are enough and everything is as it should be in the moment.
Keep it going
Self-care isn’t a one and done thing. It’s an ongoing journey. Consider this: How well do you take care of yourself throughout the day? Maybe you exercise in the morning or meditate to set up your day for success. What happens past that point? As you go through your day, do you turn to self-care tools to reboot your energy and shake things off when they go wrong? Or do you hold on to things that upset you, like staying angry after someone cut you off on your way to work? Your mindfulness and meditation tools are available to you at any point during the day. Once you know them and see how they can work for you, they will always work for you!
(Picture by Aveda)