Mindfulness

 So have you been wondering what all that hype about mindfulness was about? Does it sound like something that other, calm people do? 

Have you ever wondered how to do mindfulness and whether it actually has any benefit?

Perhaps you’ve thought about it, but feel you haven’t got time to be mindful. Well I hate to be the one to tell you, but if you don’t have time for it, then you may well need it even more!

So why should you give mindfulness a go?

It might be helpful:

· If you are always busy

· When you have a moment to rest your mind is still racing with all the things you need to do

· You can’t seem to switch off

· You lay awake a night, unable to sleep as your mind is racing

· You find your thoughts to be repetitive, negative or intrusive

· You are emotionally exhausted

Practicing mindfulness regularly can help relieve symptoms of anxiety and help lift your mood.

Mindfulness techniques

Colours

Choose a   colour, such as blue and allow your eyes to find as many things as you can of   that colour.

Close your   eyes and try and remember what was in the room of a different colour.

5 senses

Notice and name:
 5 things you can see
 4 things you can feel (perhaps the clothes against your skin or your heart beating)
 3 things you can hear
 2 things you can smell
 1 think you can taste
You can do this exercise at home, at work, out walking or shopping.  It's a good grounding technique.

If you struggle with the last 2, then try the exercise below

3 senses

  3 things you can see
 3 things you can feel
 3 things you can hear

  2 things you can see
 2 things you can feel
 2 things you can hear

  1 thing you can see
 1 thing you can feel
 1 thing you can hear

Now close your eyes, then imagine what you would be able to see, hear and feel using the above format.  Repeat as needed.

Sensing   yourself

This is a nice one to notice your body and connect with your emotions.

Start with your toes.

Do they feel cool or warm?

Notice what they can feel. Are they touching a cool floor or socks? 

Are they relaxed? If not, let them know they can rest now.

Are there any aches or pain?

Do they feel energised or weary?

Move onto the soles of your feet and ask the same questions

Slowly move up your body, one small step at a time.

Mindful   eating

Is it obvious to say you will need some food in front of you for this? 

Have a really good look at it first, as if you are a scientist, examining it from every angle. Is it a consistent colour and texture? Is the surface smooth or rough?

Then pick it up and feel the texture, is it firm or squishy? Does it crumble or break easily? Does it feel warmer or cooler than your fingers?

Lift it to your nose and smell it, is it as you expected? Is your mouth watering?

When you pop it into your mouth, try and resist chewing straight away. Notice the textures, particularly any   texture changes as it breaks apart in your mouth. Do different parts of your tongue pick up different tastes? How does the texture and flavour change as you chew it? Does it break up easily or stay in your mouth for a while? How many times can you chew it before it all disappears out of your mouth? What taste is left over afterwards?

Counting

Counting down   from 1,000 in multiples of a random number, such as 8.
The aim is to give your brain something to focus on, without being too   taxing.

Lists

Now this is not an opportunity to plan your shopping list or think about all the jobs you need to do today!

Challenge yourself to name 50 towns.

If that’s too easy, then a town starting with the letter A, then B, etc.

Still too easy? Try towns in the UK, or foreign cities.

You can do lists of anything – tv programmes, singers, actors, items in your home or garden, in a place you’ve visited, things you wear, body parts, things you cook with, the list of possible lists is endless!

You can even test yourself to come up with a list of different lists you can put together in the future.

This can be a nice one to help you switch off to get to sleep.

Doodle or colouring

Perhaps you have a colouring book?

Alternatively, create your own doodles or designs. You don’t need to be an artist, in fact doing things imperfectly can be very therapeutic. 

Sometimes I just squiggle all over the page, then colour in the gaps.

Or if you’re talented like my husband, perhaps you enjoy painting a scene, person, creature or the chair you’re sitting on.

Just let go of any judgement. No criticism,   doesn’t matter if you finish it or not, just focus on the doing.

Something new

Ideally done on a walk outside.  Set out to notice something you haven’t seen before. 

It could be that you have a better look at a tree you pass, or notice some flowers, or weeds! Perhaps a road sign or a car you haven’t seen for a while. Anything that you don’t usually notice.

Next time you walk that way, find something else you haven’t spotted before.

Mindful walking

As you walk, notice how your feet feel in your shoes or boots, or the ground under your feet. If on pavement can your feet feel the joins between paving slabs. Is it even or bumpy? Which parts of you are warm or cool? Do you notice a breeze on your skin or against your clothing? Can you feel your heart beating? Do you notice any changes to your breathing if you walk slower or faster?

What do you see? Or smell?

What else can you notice?

Not feeling like a Zen master yet?

Perhaps you’ve given it a go, but it’s not clicking into place just yet. 

For some people, mindfulness takes a little practice and it’s worth trying different techniques if one doesn’t work for you.

Does anyone run a marathon the day after they’ve started exercising? Do you know anyone that’s won Masterchef without cooking a few new recipes first?

Are any of the following getting in the way?

Is it hard to move away from your emotions?

If you can’t get past your emotions, then allow yourself a full minute to just focus on what that feeling is like, before letting it go and refocussing on the exercise. 

Unfortunately, in modern society with instant food, video calls and 24/7 entertainment, its too easy to push our feelings to one side. There are so many ways to do this, such as eating, drinking, television or drugs, but also ways which feel positive, like exercise or long working hours, or even helping others, to name but a few. Sometimes we just want to push those negative feelings out of the way, but what those emotions sometimes need is some breathing space. So just focus on them, without pushing them away, without telling yourself off for having them and without asking lots of questions or trying to work out why they are there. Just allow them to be.

If that’s been a tough minute for you, then afterwards focus your mind on something that makes you feel good, or even better something that makes you laugh. If a full minute is too much, then start with 10 seconds, and as you can manage the 10 seconds more comfortably, then try 12 or 15 seconds.

Once you’ve given your emotions some breathing space, then try some mindfulness exercises again.

Feeling too tense?

Try some relaxation techniques to find what works for you.

Pendulum   technique

When you pull a pendulum back, it won’t just go back to where it started, it goes through to the opposite direction.

Slowly tense up one of your hands, finger by finger, slowly noticing each digit feeling rigid with tension. Then tense up the rest of your hand and your wrist. Feel the tension go down to your elbow and notice what it feels like.

Then very slowly start to let that tension go, one finger at a time, then your hand, wrist and arm. As each part of you releases the tension, notice what it feels like.

If you’re sitting or lying in a restful position you can use this technique through your whole body. 

But if you’re around other people or at work you can just use the hand/arm quite discreetly.  

Physical activity

When you are   tense, your body is flooded with chemicals that are getting you ready for fight or flight. 

Physical activity can release some of those chemicals, allowing you to relax.

You don’t have to go for a run! You can dance around your living room or have a good shake. Shake out your hands, arms, legs, bottom and then your whole body. 

Breathing

I know we breathe all the time, but did you know that your body naturally relaxes more on the outbreath?

You can make the most of this by breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly, noticing how it feels to let go of that breath, noticing how your body relaxes with each outbreath.

Mindful and relaxation videos and pods

Search online for relaxation tracks, there are lots to explore.

Some will talk you through, others are music or nature sounds. Do you find the sound of lapping waves   helps you to relax? There are sounds of it online, or imagine yourself there with your toes sinking into the sand and water lapping around your ankles.

Are you feeling achy or tired when you practice mindfulness?

Being mindful allows you to notice how you actually feel. Sometimes your body can take the moment of pause to let you know that it’s not feeling great. Your body will keep going whilst you’re pushing it and you may not have noticed that you’re feeling weary until you give your body a moment to let you know. 

Wandering minds

Some people fall into mindfulness easily.

I can sometimes find my mind wandering away from the activity. When I notice that, I’m careful not to start a self-criticism loop (eg. Stop doing that and be mindful! Shut up and get back to it, oh dear I’m still doing it wrong). Let go of criticism and just focus back on the activity instead.

Practice helps your mind to learn what you want it to do. If you’re mind’s been racing for years, then that’s what it’s used to. Try a minute or few minutes to start with and next time try to extend a little.

Who won The Great British Bake Off without baking a few cakes beforehand?

Focus on what you have achieved, not what went wrong.

Feeling like you might need some extra help?

If you are still feeling that you can’t switch off those repetitive thoughts, or turn down the volume on that racing mind? It could be helpful to find some strategies to help you reflect on why they are still there or to work through some other strategies to help you switch off.

There are lots of resources online, or find a therapist to help you.