Practicing mindfulness meditation techniques is like learning how to be the boss of your thoughts and feelings, rather than letting them boss you around. It is all about being in control of your own mind on your terms.
First off, we think it’s important to know that meditation isn’t about stopping your thoughts completely. It’s more about noticing them and acknowledging them.
So, we’d like to share some simple ways we use to practice mindfulness meditation together.
1. Breathing Buddy
Ever noticed how when you’re really excited or super nervous, your breath changes? Well, we can actually use our breath as a sort of anchor to bring us back to the present moment. Here’s what we do: we take a slow, deep breath in, hold it for a bit, and then slowly breathe out. We do this a few times and try to really pay attention to how it feels. It’s like riding the waves of your breath.
2. The Body Scan
We start at our toes and slowly move our attention up to our heads, noticing how each part of our body feels. It’s like we’re using our mind to give our body a hug. If we find any part that’s a bit tense, we imagine breathing into it and relaxing as we breathe out. We think of it as searching through
our bodies for tense spots and healing them with our minds.
3. A Gratitude Moment
Sometimes, we get so caught up in what’s bothering us that we forget about the good things. So, we like to take a moment and think about something or someone we’re really thankful for. It could be as simple as a weather or a friend who made you smile.
4. Mindful Munching
Have you ever eaten a snack so fast you barely tasted it? It comes from a place of hunger and we don’t like when we do that. Most times it’s done subconsciously. We’ve all been there. But here’s a fun way to illustrate how we can link mindfulness and eating, (more like snacking actually): take a small piece of something that’s delicious to you, like a piece of chocolate or a bite of fruit. Then, eat it really slowly. You might notice everything about it – how it smells, how it tastes, how it feels in your mouth. To us, it creates a very satisfying feeling of being present.
5. Listening to the Sounds Around
This one’s quite easy and we can do it anywhere and anytime. The task is to stop for a minute and listen. We’d ask ourselves, “What do you hear?” Maybe it’s the sound of the air conditioner or fan, people talking, or even your own heartbeat. Try to hear all the different sounds without thinking too much about them. It also allows you to be present and be grateful for the world you’re in, regardless of the situation.
Remember, mindfulness meditation isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about exploring and discovering what works for you. We think the best part is, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s all about being kind to yourself and enjoying the journey.
So, please try it out and pick one of the techniques and see how it goes. You might be surprised at how even a few minutes can make you feel more grounded and calm. And also, we’re all in this together, learning and growing one breath at a time.
