Things to try for a Mindful May

In times of stress and worry it’s natural to project into the future and ruminate on what might happen, and you may find yourself obsessing over details that happened in the past. I think you may already know that this kind of behaviour isn’t great for our wellbeing but how do we let go of it and ground ourselves in the present moment?

Being mindful is key to managing behaviour that can end up leading to anxiety and panic, when we focus in on just being in the here and now we can really build our resilience muscle and let go of all the negative thoughts that aren’t serving us.

Now I’m not suggesting you stop planning ahead for your weekly food shop or a coffee date with a friend, and you definitely shouldn’t stop reflecting on past events and experiences good or bad because there’s always lessons and growth from acknowledging how and when things go wrong.

However constantly living in the future or the past can be detrimental and stop you from connecting with all the wonderful stuff going on in your life right now, not to mention gift you a sense of peace and gratitude too, now doesn’t that sound like a tonic?

Mindfulness can feel like an alien word or concept to many, it may conjure up visions of sitting cross legged on blanket chanting all kinds sounds and noise but actually it can be very simple and easy to attain.

Here are 3 things to try this month to find some mindful moments:

• This is great one to start with, it’s one of my favourites and easy to do. Go outside, take off your shoes and socks and walk around on the grass (if you can’t use an outdoor space or the weather isn’t great this does work inside too), notice what you feel, is it warm or cold, wet or dry? Close your eyes, notice what you can hear and smell? Then open them again, what can you see that you’ve never noticed before? Then ask yourself what does this moment allow you to feel thankful for?

• Take an activity that you usually do and turn into a mindful moment, for instance putting on make up is a daily mindful moment for me. I completely zone in on what I’m doing, I take note of how the brushes feel on my skin, how the products feel, what I can hear outside the bathroom window and what I can see in the mirror, and I really try to slow the whole process down - if I can! What daily activity could you try? Washing up, taking a shower, cooking dinner? Give it a try!

• Mini Meditations - if you’re like me you might find meditating doesn’t come naturally so you could try guided ones, which is what I like to do and there are some great apps out there you can download to your phone to help with this. Alternatively try practicing meditation on your own and make it mini. Sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes and take 3 slow deep breaths, then imagine dumping all your thoughts and worries on to a fluffy cloud and blowing that cloud away. Next I want you to observe 3 things in your surrounding, what can you hear, what can smell and what can you feel beneath you - and that’s it! Practice this mini meditation whenever you feel stressed, worried or frustrated.

I hope these ideas are useful, do get in touch via 365pearlsofwisdom@gmail.com or over on Instagram and let me know how you get on!