Practicing mindfulness is your best and easiest way to reduce anxiety and stress naturally. We are bombarded with thousands of things to do and sometimes it feels like it’s just too too much to handle. It leads to anxiety and stress … and may even create more severe health issues.
Mindfulness sounds a bit like “airy fairy.” But it’s just the way we keep up with what’s happening inside and around us. We need to practice mindfulness to avoid being buried by the chaos that we encounter in our daily lives.
What is mindfulness?
“Mindfulness is our basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” via What is Mindfulness
“It is a moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, and sensations.” via 13 Different Ways to Practice Mindfulness – And the Difference it Can Make
If you’re experiencing too much stress, anxiety, and chaos in your life, it’s high time you look into mindfulness exercises that will help you get rid of stress and anxiety naturally. Having too much stress in our lives has a lot of negative effects on our body.
Here are 10 tips and easy ways to practice mindfulness that everybody can try today to reduce anxiety and stress naturally.
1. Live in the moment
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“Enjoy your present without connecting the events with your past and future. You don’t have to worry about anything because things unfold in a natural manner. Let go of the insecurities and just concentrate on your work. Embrace the freshness of this moment to analyze the beauty of NOW. Mindfulness means to be aware of what is happening in the present moment.
In order to live this moment, you have to love your job, your surroundings, your life. Do everything with pure joy. Stop listening to all those people who try to dilute your presence. Start doing all the things you always wanted to do. Start making a wish list of all the things which are close to your heart.” via 10 Easy Ways To Practice Mindfulness
2. Start your day with a short morning meditation
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Let’s admit it. Gadgets are very important tools for us. Everything now revolves around technology, the Internet, and social media. However, with too much going on in the online world, our minds often wander and get distracted and we can lose touch with reality. So, setting aside the gadgets long enough to start the day off right with meditation will change your outlook and experience.
“Many people start their day by checking their phones. Instead of checking office emails or notifications on your social media profiles, take some time for meditation. Plan your whole day in a systematic manner. Don’t make any excuses and shift your focus towards this wonderful and productive exercise.” via 10 Easy Ways To Practice Mindfulness
3. Free yourself from all distracting thoughts
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Distraction is one of the enemies of mindfulness. Try to empty your mind with thoughts that are not important. Most of the time, the information we gather from social media or from people that are not at all significant fill our thoughts for the whole day and keep our minds off things that really do matter. Try to screen out these thoughts and focus more on those that directly affect you.
“Don’t get carried away by all your disturbing thoughts. In a state of mindfulness, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance only. You have the power to inflate or deflate their presence. You can’t stop these kinds of thoughts completely. But, as soon as they enter your mind, you must distance yourself from them.” via 10 Easy Ways to Practice Mindfulness
4. Use the power of visualization
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“Visualization is very important in the practice of mindfulness. Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain such as motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory.” via Seeing Is Believing: The Power of Visualization
In essence, by doing visualization, the brain is trained for actual performance. So if you’re planning for something to happen, you just need to visualize it in your brain and you will be able to carry it out physically.
The most talented athletes use visualization to improve their “game.” You can uplevel your own life with the same process.
5. Write a to-do list by hand
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Writing a to-do list is a practice that makes us more mindful. We become more aware of the things that we need to accomplish. Combining that with handwriting makes it ideal.
“Writing by hand leads to deeper processing. The very nature of handwriting means you have to write and organize as you are thinking, and that kind of organization affects how you are interpreting the information.” via Writing By Hand Improves Your Memory, Experts Say
So, while typing gives us speed, writing by hand allows us to be more connected with ourselves.
6. Give yourself at least 5 minutes doing nothing
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Never underestimate the importance of rest. Sometimes we are too caught up in our busy world that we are disassociating. We tend to lose connection with ourselves. Allotting even just 5 minutes to take a break, relax, and reflect … or just doing nothing at all, can help us refocus and concentrate. It will definitely help us reduce anxiety and stress naturally.
“So … No checking your phone. No reading a newspaper. Don’t even try to meditate. Just sit there, and if any feelings come up … discomfort, restlessness, or even guilt that you’re not doing anything … just embrace them.” via 30 Simple Mindfulness Practices to Help You Focus and Be Present
7. Notice body sensations
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“Move your attention gently through your body and notice any sensations that are there. There is a world of wisdom behind your sensations. Can you feel your aliveness? Maybe there’s a ‘deadness’ or a heaviness in you. Try to let go of any need to judge, understand or change those sensations. Just notice them. Let them be, and then let them go.” via 13 Different Ways to Practice Mindfulness – And the Difference it Can Make
8. Take a mindful walk
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How do you practice mindfulness? Walking is an activity that can help us practice mindfulness … and my personal favorite way of practicing mindfulness.
While walking, we become one with our surroundings. This helps us reduce anxiety and stress naturally.
“Give your full attention to the experience of walking. Because walking is something we do a lot of, it becomes automatic. We do it without thinking. This is a good thing … we don’t want to have to think deliberately about every step we take … but occasionally bringing awareness back into the automatic, everyday things we do is a way to experience our ‘everyday‘ with a sense of newness and vitality. To walk mindfully, focus your attention on the actual experience of walking. Feel the ground beneath you as you walk. Listen and notice what this is like. Engage your senses as you do this. Notice the sights, the sounds, the smells, the feel of the world as you move through it.” via 13 Different Ways to Practice Mindfulness – And the Difference it Can Make
9. Slow it down
Living in a busy world has forced us to focus on speed and time. We are so often in a hurry … we move quickly, multitask, and be as productive as we can … sometimes to the point of obsession. With this kind of lifestyle, we are often left with a mind that is totally disconnected from our surroundings and who we really are.
“While developing your practice of mindfulness, you should also work to become aware of when you’re rushing around and when you’re not. And aside from helping to calm your mind, if you actively work on slowing down, you’ll also find more opportunities to practice mindfulness.
“Walking from point A to point B, sitting in a waiting room, driving to and from work, and just stopping for a moment to follow your breath anywhere and at any time. Slow it down and really start taking the time to enjoy the little moments with mindfulness.” via 10 Awesome Mindfulness Tips for Beginners
10. Listen to music
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Music heals. It calms and relaxes the mind. Set aside time to listen to music. It’s a great way to center yourself.
“Listening to some relaxing music before you leave the house in the morning is a great way to center yourself. Completely immerse yourself in the song. Be aware of the volume, cadence, tempo, the uniqueness of the sounds.” via 30 Simple Mindfulness Practices to Help You Focus and Be Present
Are You Ready to Practice Mindfulness?
Practicing mindfulness is a great way to help us get back in touch with our natural selves, and in the process, it helps us reduce anxiety and stress naturally. An added benefit … it improves our concentration and mental clarity. Through mindfulness, we become more flexible, tolerant, and objective. We become better versions of ourselves as we gradually rediscover what makes life worth living.
“If you came into my office, I’d ask you a lot of questions that would help us connect the dots … so that together we can deal with your toxic stress. Every situation is unique and you need a plan that works for you. Not a one-size-fits-all solution.
If you’re thinking you can’t come into my office, don’t worry. I’ve put all of my initial questions together in a quiz.
So if you’re thinking that managing chronic stress just isn’t possible … or even the answer … for you, I want to show you what you may be missing. And how you can identify the toxic stressors that are creating your symptoms with my free quiz. You can get started HERE.” – Dr. Gala
