A FEW SIMPLE MINDFULNESS EXERCISES

Come Back

When you catch yourself being caught up in worries about the future, or in guilt and regret about the past, just notice that it is happening, and simply and kindly say to yourself, “come back.” Then take a calming breath and focus on what you are doing right now.

Three Senses

Another helpful mindfulness trick is simply to notice what you are experiencing right now through three senses – sound, sight, touch. Take a few slow breaths and ask yourself:

• What are three things I can hear? (clock on the wall, car going by, music in the next room)
• What are three things I can see? (this table, that sign, that person walking by)
• What are three things I can feel? (the chair under me, the floor under my feet, my phone in my pocket)

Think of these answers to yourself slowly, one sense at a time. It’s impossible to do this exercise and not be present.

There are many ways to practice mindfulness. For example:

• Pay attention. The next time you meet someone, listen closely to his or her words. Think about their meaning and uniqueness. Aim to develop a habit of understanding others and delaying your own judgments and criticisms.
• Make the familiar new again. Find a few small, familiar objects — such as a toothbrush, apple, or cellphone — in your home or office. Look at the objects with fresh eyes. Identify one new detail about each object that you didn’t see before. As you become more aware of your world, you might become fonder of the things around you.
• Focus on your breathing. Sit in a quiet place with your back straight, but relaxed. Feel your breath move in and out of your body. Let your awareness of everything else fall away. Pay attention to your nostrils as air passes in and out. Notice the way your abdomen expands and collapses with each breath. When your mind wanders, gently redirect your attention to your breath. Don’t judge yourself. Remember that you’re not trying to become anything — such as a good meditator. You’re simply becoming aware of what’s happening around you, breath by breath.
• Awaken your senses. Get a raisin. Sit in a quiet place with your back straight, but relaxed. Look at the raisin. Smell it, feel it and anticipate eating it. Taste the raisin, and slowly and deliberately chew it. Notice the way the raisin’s taste changes, your impulse to swallow the raisin, your response to that impulse, and any thoughts or emotions that arise along the way. Paying close attention to your senses and your body’s reaction to it.

10  Daily Mindfulness Exercises

1. Reverse the order in which you do things. Be involved in the awkwardness of reversing the order in which you towel yourself off, get dressed, and put on your socks and shoes in the morning.
2. Write with the opposite hand; use the mouse with the opposite hand; brush your hair with the opposite hand. You’ll laugh at how preschool-ish your handwriting suddenly becomes, and how you really have to focus on making your letters NOT look like potatoes.
3. Need to reorganize your books? Stack them in a spiral like the picture above.
4. Pay attention to the full experience of walking: the sensations, fine and gross motor movement, how objects seem to move past you, the temperature, the wind, etc.
5. Pay attention to the full experience of breathing: the sounds, sensations, smells, etc. (this is a great way to get into a deep meditative state)
6. Change up your routine. Drive a different way to work, reverse the order in which you get ready in the morning, and eat something new for breakfast. Change up your routine anytime you can.
7. Play the A-Z game as you walk in an urban area (NOT while you are driving, please); try to spot all the letters of the alphabet, in order, as you walk. This works with numbers too; set an arbitrary number you want to “count” to and go about finding those numbers, in their correct configurations, until you reach your target.
8. Periodically stop and smile. Become aware of the immediate physiological response in your body. Feels great, doesn’t it
9. Whenever you catch yourself doing something habitually, STOP. Start over and do it a different way. Even if it’s a destructive habit, go ahead and indulge but be VERY mindful of the process. You can choose how to make the action different – light the cigarette with your other hand; pour your drink with the other hand. And, if it’s a destructive habit, become aware of the urge; become aware of the actions you are taking and the physiological response to the habit.
10. Take a deep breath and while you hold it, notice and name 5 things you can see; feel; hear.

WHY PRACTICE MINDFULNESS?

The cultivation of mindfulness has roots in Buddhism, but most religions include some type of prayer or meditation technique that helps shift your thoughts away from your usual preoccupations toward an appreciation of the moment and a larger perspective on life.

Professor emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine, and demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can bring improvements in both physical and psychological symptoms as well as positive changes in health attitudes and behaviors.

Mindfulness improves well being

• Increasing your capacity for mindfulness supports many attitudes that contribute to a satisfied life.
• Being mindful makes it easier to savor the pleasures in life as they occur, helps you become fully engaged in activities, and creates a greater capacity to deal with adverse events.
• By focusing on the here and now, many people who practice mindfulness find that they are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past, are less preoccupied with concerns about success and self-esteem, and are better able to form deep connections with others.

Mindfulness improves physical health

If greater well-being isn’t enough of an incentive, scientists have discovered the benefits of mindfulness techniques help improve physical health in a number of ways. Mindfulness can:

• help relieve stress
• treat heart disease
• lower blood pressure
• reduce chronic pain
• improve sleep
• alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties

Mindfulness improves mental health

In recent years, psychotherapists have turned to mindfulness meditation as an important element in the treatment of a number of problems, including:

• depression
• substance abuse
• eating disorders
• couples’ conflicts
• anxiety disorders
• obsessive-compulsive disorder

Some experts believe that mindfulness works, in part, by helping people to accept their experiences — including painful emotions — rather than react to them with aversion and avoidance.

It’s become increasingly common for mindfulness meditation to be combined with psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy. This development makes good sense, since both meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy share the common goal of helping people gain perspective on irrational, maladaptive, and self-defeating thoughts.

Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks, can bring a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits. Here are some of these benefits, which extend across many different settings.