Mindful Monday; Develop a Mindfulness Practice
Engaging in mindfulness…It’s a common aspiration. Even one minute of focused mindful attention a day can result in significant benefits to the nervous system overtime.
That won’t stop us from neglecting to engage with it of course.
Below, I will share a small experiment idea with you which will potentially reduce barriers to engaging in a practice that is good for your body and mind; but first, what is it, and how do you do it?
In a nutshell, mindfulness is the process of paying attention to the present moment. There are many potential ways to engage. We can notice our breath, body, thoughts, or elements of the environment we are in without judgement. Experiencing the moment physically and emotionally can support learning and stress recovery in many ways.
That said, follow your thinking if it doesn’t feel useful to you. It has the potential to exacerbate symptoms if you struggle with untreated PTSD, active psychosis, mania, or severe depression. But, for many of us, it can be a very useful way to spend a little time each day.
As mentioned before, there are ways to increase the odds of benefiting from this resource. Each of us has some barriers to contend with, whether it is the pile of tasks (grocery shopping, laundry, work, etc.) or a barrage of distractions (social media, advertising, etc.).
I don’t recommend attempting to meditate for 10 minutes a day. That’s not to say it won’t work for some of us, but there are gentler ways to go about this:
Consider tying your practice to something you do daily, like brushing your teeth or tucking in for bed.
Consider practicing for a manageable amount of time: 1 to 2 minutes perhaps.
Because this is such a simple daily intervention, nothing stops us from engaging with it whenever we want throughout the day if our awareness returns to the possibility.
If you are just embarking on a mindfulness journey, consider using a habit tracker of some kind to note your engagement and keep it in your awareness until it is more habitual (a couple of months to a year perhaps).
I also recommend checking in with yourself periodically to gauge how useful the practice is feeling (about once a week). In the past, I’ve set a recurring alarm to prompt a short journaling session where I reflect on my perspective for a few minutes. I use a scale system of -2 to +2 to gauge my overall sense of mental wellness and get clues about my needs.
I strongly encourage you to tweak any of the recommended ideas as you see fit. A practice is not something you’ll engage with unless it WORKS FOR YOU. We have a diverse range of lifestyles, strengths and struggles to contend with as we slowly and steadily approach our wellbeing.
Personally, engaging with mindfulness has helped me understand my physical needs with more awareness.
“Oh! I need to relax. I’m hungry. I could use a water break."
It has also helped me cultivate a shift in my mood, even in time periods where part of me was attached to feeling some type of way.
When it comes to mindfulness, remember consistency is more important than duration because benefits are quite accessible and the practice of engaging with it increases over time.