Embracing Mindfulness: Living in the Now!

Hello and welcome back to week #6 of Keystone’s weekly wellness blog! As we have officially started the new semester here, I wanted to give an opportunity to further expand our toolkit to help this new chapter go by smoothly! Today I will be introducing you to the topic of mindfulness, some of its main principles and how we can incorporate it into our everyday lives.

Understanding Mindfulness

You may have heard the terms “mindfulness” or “mindful” before in your life, or perhaps you haven’t – maybe it has sounded more like “be present” or “live in the moment!” While we ALL know that is easier said than done, the main principle of mindfulness is the practice of being aware of what you’re feeling without judging the emotions, thoughts and sensations. Put more simply, it is acknowledging what is going on in your head and body without getting carried away by it.

According to studies, the average person has 60,000 thoughts a day. What’s the craziest part about that? Well, the research shows that 75% (45,000 thoughts) are negative and 95% are repetitive. That is a LOT of negative and repetitive thinking. Over the past couple of blogs, we’ve been made aware of how to challenge and reframe some of these thoughts, which are extremely important tools. But the trickiest skill to master is noticing these thoughts without judgement. Some people’s idea of mindfulness means to focus on only one thought at a time, or maybe even as a strategy to get rid of bad thoughts altogether. This isn’t necessarily the case. Think of yourself on the side of a busy road with traffic going in both directions; each car or truck that passes you is a thought, emotion or sensation, and practicing mindfulness would see you as sitting at a bus stop on the side of the road watching this traffic pass you.

The same way those cars come and go, let your thoughts do the same.

Again, while we can’t throw all of our negative thoughts into a black hole to never be seen again (although we can wish there was a strategy for that), we CAN choose what happens after the thoughts arise. Mindfulness offers us a pause and a reset, allowing us to step outside our usual reactive impulses and emotions.

Incorporating Mindfulness into the Day-to-Day

Make time for it:

Recognize the importance of mindfulness and make it a priority in terms of your overall well-being! In order to experience the full benefits of mindfulness, set aside a time every day to formally practice it – this can range from a few minutes to as long as you feel you need. Start with small intervals and build up the time spent once you feel comfortable doing so (a few minutes a day makes a bigger difference than you may think!). Mornings and evenings are generally the time of day that can benefit most from practicing mindfulness – right after you wake up and right before bed can be easy times to remember. The more consistently you pick a time to do it, the easier it will be to make it into a habit!

Pick an activity – make it mindful:

Choosing one activity a day to practice mindfulness with is another great way to incorporate the skill into your everyday life. It should be done with an activity that is more “automatic” such as cooking, eating, showering, walking, driving or exercising. Perform that automatic activity mindfully, with complete awareness and non-judgement. I’ll give you an example (a mindful shower) with some prompts:

– Before entering the shower, take a moment. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and bring your awareness to the present moment.

– As you get in, notice the feeling of the water. Is it warm or cold? Pay attention to how it feels when the water makes contact with your body.

– Engage your senses: What can you smell, hear and feel? Notice the fragrance of the soap you’re using, the movements you’re making and the sound of the water.

– Notice your thoughts and feelings. Are there any thoughts, worries or sensations that come up? Can they be let go for the duration of the shower?

– If your mind starts to wander, notice the thoughts and gently bring your attention back to the current moment. Use the sensory experience to help bring you back.

– Take your time! To fully make an activity mindful, take all the time you need to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

It all may sound unnecessary to some, but how often do you take a MINDFUL shower?! Probably not often, so it’s worth a try! The same kind of process and prompting questions can be applied to any mundane or automatic everyday activity.

Practice through exercises:

There are a variety of mindfulness exercises and resources that can be accessible at home or on the go! Let’s go through some of them…

Mindful Breathing

Take a few minutes each day to focus on your breath. Get into a comfortable position and begin by taking a deep inhale through your nose (2-4 whole seconds), hold it (2-3 whole seconds), and exhale through your mouth (4-6 whole seconds). If you don’t want to time each step, it may help by just observing each breath and notice the sensations of your chest rising and falling. From time to time, you’ll get lost in thought (which is normal and okay), gently guide yourself back to your breathing. Do this exercise for as long or as little as you see fit!

Body Scan

(This is one of my personal favourites!) Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or laying down. Starting from your toes to your head, you’re going to spend a couple of minutes on each area of your body. Start with your lower body: Do you feel the ground beneath you? Are your feet sore or tired? Wherever you feel tension, take a deep breath in and picture the tension melting away on your exhale. Continue this process working your way up your body; lower legs, knees, upper legs, torso, arms, shoulders and head. Notice the contact that part of your body is making with the surfaces around you, the tension (or lack thereof) that it may hold. Often, doing this exercise allows you to be aware of tension you didn’t even know existed in various areas of your body. This is a great exercise for before bed to help in falling asleep, but can be accommodated to be done anywhere at any time!

Daily Check-Ins

This is the easiest exercise to practice throughout the day and on the go and acts as a pause button on your day (which I can bet is usually go, go, go!). Take a few moments in your busy day to just BE. Ask yourself: What am I feeling in my body at this moment, what am I thinking at this moment, and what are the feelings I’m experiencing at this moment? The STOP technique is also useful here: Stop, Take a breath, Observe and Proceed with awareness.

All in all, practicing mindfulness is learning to trust and be okay with what is happening in the moment. Will we still experience normal human feelings and reactions to things? Of course! But mastering this skill gives us our power back which can sometimes be lost to emotion and impulse reactions. With all the new skills we have learned up to this point and with the new knowledge we have gained today, we have a full toolbox full of strategies to have some control over how the rest of the semester goes!