Everyday Mindfulness Exercises for Stress Relief

28.05.2018 WELLNESS 0.0 0

We do our best to stay immune to the outside world, but its chaotic tempo and the negative events take their toll by causing inner turmoil as well. For some, that means that they cannot sleep, some experience chronic pain, while others have a hard time enjoying life.

Although it’s not a simple or an easy process, there is a way you can slow your mind down and bring some peace into your life despite the rattling of the outside world. In fact, the key for many people lies precisely in creating a mindful mindset, built on various exercises that will take away the stress and pain of your everyday struggles.

Spend time in nature

Ideally, we’d all be doing our best to reconnect with Mother Nature, not only by visiting our beautiful green spots every once in a while but by actually living in harmony with nature. However, until such a utopian day comes, if you live in a predominantly urban environment, your mind and body will benefit from regular visits to your park, even if it’s just a patch of green.

Nature has a healing power over our bodies, and all of its beautiful sounds and scents can help your mind regain its center. You’ll be able to enjoy the fresh smell of grass and pine trees, the bird songs around you, and this will let you focus on the present moment and let go of all the things that are a burden. Take a walk in nature every day, and your mind and body will begin to heal.

Practice compassion and gratitude

We live in a world where people are often too judgmental to stop and think about the wellbeing of others, as well as their own, from a genuinely sensitive vantage point. We can learn so much from people whose professions are to care for others, such as in-home care professionals who spend their lives helping the elderly, or nurses who provide medical attention to people of all ages. Start with yourself: in order to understand and give to the others, you first need to care for yourself, and compassion is the only way you will ever be able to achieve that.

Combine it with gratitude for everything you’ve achieved so far, and find the strength in yourself to recognize the beauty of all the struggles you’ve been through because they have made you who you are today. Meditate with a thankful mindset, offer your understanding to the others, and the world will no longer be such a hostile place in your eyes, nor will it have such a negative effect on you.

Visualize

No matter how persistent you are in staying positive when you face difficult moments in life, you are bound to feel sadness, disappointment and other negative emotions overwhelm you. If you can find the root and solve the problem, by all means, do take action. But in case this is a setback that will have a deeper impact on your life, then you can resort to another mindfulness exercise called visualization.

Take a moment to envision your future life, your aims fulfilled, yourself happy, and let that image and that feeling melt away the stress and tension that are suffocating you at the moment. Use your imagination to imagine all the details, whether it’s your future family, a beautiful relationship, or career success. Use your mind and your soul to give life to your own future – because it’s only waiting for you to make it happen, and the visualization will put you in the right mindset to achieve those goals.

Incorporate breathing exercises

Even when you cannot go to nature, don’t have the focus, or the emotional stability to visualize a brighter tomorrow, and you’re overwhelmed with negativity, you’d be surprised how much just taking a deep breath can anchor you in the present moment and soothe you. Just take a comfortable position, sitting or lying down. Also, even walking can be used, for meditating through movement.

Then, focus all of your energy and thoughts on taking one deep, slow breath at a time, with control. Focus on how your lungs expand and your heart slows down, relax your jaws and every tense muscle in your body, and let the breathing be the only thing your mind is focused on. You can even put on some relaxing music or make a bubble bath for extra effect, but the key lies in controlling your breath.

These, as well as many other mindfulness techniques, may seem simple, but if you stay persistent with their implementation, your life will become an oasis of peace and you’ll finally let go of all the noise in your environment.

Guest post by Olivia Williams Jones

About the Author

Olivia is psychologist and entrepreneur from Brisbane. She is a mother of two beautiful children and proud owner of two silly boxer dogs. She is a passionate writer, a traveller and conscious consumer, seeking healthy and sustainable products to incorporate into the lives of her family. Her motto is “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

Connect with her on

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OliviaWJones1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olivia.williamsjones

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