Five ways to incorporate mindfulness into everyday life

The benefits of mindfulness are countless. There’s so much research now showing that bringing mindful habits into your life can really impact your mental health, reducing stress, anxiety and depression. It improves relationships, making them stronger and more loving. Creativity is heightened when we bring ourselves into the moment and mindfulness positively affects our work too, bringing improved concentration and mental clarity. Truly it’s a super-power.

The beauty of mindfulness is that it’s easy to incorporate into your everyday life. You don’t need to sit down and meditate for hours; even a few moments throughout the day can bring enormous benefits.

How to practice mindfulness throughout your day

Here are five simple ways to give yourself mindful moments in daily life.

Mindful listening

Most of us chat without really thinking about it, often not listening at all but simply waiting to have our say. Bringing mindfulness to your conversations is a great way, not only to practice mindfulness, but also to strengthen connections. Being a better listener is a key part of maintaining healthy relationships – with partners, family, friends and work colleagues.

The HEAR acronym is a good way to practice:

HALT what you’re doing and give the person you’re talking to your full attention. ENJOY a deep breath as you listen to what is being said to you. ASK yourself if you understand what they are saying. Never assume you know what someone means – always check in. Be open and curious. Now REFLECT back – tell them what you heard and check it’s what they meant.

It may take some time to get into the habit of mindful listening so don’t beat yourself up if you find you’re wandering off into daydreams or other thoughts. Simply bring your attention back and focus on what’s being said once more.

Mindful movement

When we think about mindful movement, practices like yoga, tai qi or qigong readily come to mind. But any form of movement can become mindful. Bring mindfulness into walking the dog or riding a bike; to climbing the stairs or doing housework.

Take your mindfulness practice with you to the gym. Instead of furiously pumping weights, take it slow (it helps build more muscle too) and mindful. Notice where you feel the burn. Instead of putting on headphones or watching TV when you do your cardio routine, use the time to become truly mindful. Focus on how your breath changes as the time and intensity of your workout progresses. How does your body feel? What is your mind doing? Bring your attention back to the breath, to your body.

Micro mindfulness

One really easy way to bring mindfulness into the day is to think of one or two small tasks you do every day which you could use as an opportunity to become mindful. For example, when you wake up, don’t jump out of bed but use the first few moments of your day to notice how you feel lying in bed; the temperature of your body; how you are breathing; how you feel.

You might choose to bring mindfulness to drawing the curtains or blinds, looking out at the world outside for the first time in the day. Feel the fabric; notice your breathing.

Make your bed mindfully. Do your sheets feel different to the duvet cover and pillowcases? You might like to spritz your bed with Rose Floral Water or Vetiver Floral Water, both are perfect scents for slumber that also act as a daytime pick me up.

Making and drinking a cup of tea

Tea ceremonies are held all around the world. Some, like China’s gong fu ceremony and Japan’s famous chanoyu ceremony are ancient. Others, like British afternoon tea, don’t stretch back quite so far. But they all share something in common – a sense of space out of time. Like all rituals, they invite us to become mindful.

Even the most prosaic mug of tea-bag tea is a prompt to pause – it’s solo self-care. Getting out your favourite mug, boiling the water, adding the tea-bag, steeping, pouring, sipping with pleasure. Use all your senses. Feel the heat of the mug or cup. Smell the tea. Sip and hold it in your mouth, noticing the heat and flavour. Swallow and become aware of the liquid travelling down your throat. Slow down your breathing – this is a real tea break.

Right here, right now

You don’t even need to be doing anything much at all to have a mindful moment. Every so often just stop and notice where you are. If you’re sitting, notice the feeling of the chair underneath you. Let your feet plug into the ground below. Are your shoulders relaxed? Your jaw? We hold so much tension in our shoulders, necks and jaw. Bring your attention to your breath – don’t change it, just notice it. Feel the coolness of the air coming into your nostrils – the way the air becomes warmer as it leaves your body.

If you’re feeling anxious or stressed, make this your go-to practice. Tell yourself that, right here, right now, in this precise moment, you’re okay; you’re absolutely fine. And as the next moment arises, you’re fine in that too. Resist the urge to think ahead – keep bringing yourself back to this moment, to this time and place.