A Practical Guide to Improving Your Wellness Through Mindfulness
Wellness is about thriving in your life in all its dimensions. It's not only about being physically well and avoiding sickness. It's about the choices you make regarding exercise, nutrition, sleeping, and your social life. One choice you can make that will improve your wellness is to practise mindfulness.
This practice can help decrease anxiety and depression and calm your mind. It can also give you a sense of connection to your body and the environment you are in. Mindfulness is about being aware of what is happening in the present and not being carried away by thoughts into the past or future. Here are some tips and information about learning how to be mindful and thereby improve your wellness.
Being Mindful by Focusing on Breathing and the Body
The convenient thing about mindfulness is that you can practise it anywhere. To bring yourself into the present, notice your breathing and how your stomach is moving in and out. How are you breathing now? Is it deep and slow or rapid and fast? You can focus on other parts of your body. How do your legs feel? Are they hot or cold?
You can concentrate on the various senses. What can you taste right now in your mouth? You can look around the room and notice details of the walls and the table, for instance, that you haven't noticed before. You can see things in a new light by doing this. This may help spark your creativity, and being creative is also important for wellness.
Being Mindful by Focusing on Thoughts
You can also focus on the thoughts that are moving through your mind without attaching to them. Many mindfulness methods use visualisation to help with this. A popular one is to visualise a stream with leaves flowing down it. Your picture of the stream may be detailed or hazy; it doesn't matter. But then notice the thoughts that enter your mind. Put each one on a leaf and let it float down the stream. This image can help you detach from the thought and not get caught up in it. However, this method can take some practice and may require you to sit in a quiet spot.
Being Mindful While on Public Transport
You can practise being mindful even on a crowded tram or train. If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of your surroundings, become aware of the feeling of your feet on the ground or your body touching the seat. If you have to commute to work regularly, you could use that time to perfect the technique. You can also get apps that talk you through the process. You can try the same thing if you're caught in a supermarket queue. Rather than getting stressed as you wait, you can improve your wellness.
For more info about wellness, contact a local professional.
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