Do you never seem to have time for being mindful? Do you have an interest in mindfulness but find you are simply too busy with other demands on your time to give it a go? Would you like to be more mindful in your daily life but struggle with when and how to fit it into your hectic schedule? I am going to share some good news with you. Anyone can start being more mindful today. I am going to show you how.
The Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness
There are so many benefits to experience when it comes to practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness helps with reducing stress, improves mental clarity, opens you up to receive enjoyment and vitality, and promotes an overall sense of calm and composure.
But tapping into these benefits through mindfulness is no different from any other exercise or practice: it takes time. Anyone who promises you instant or speedy results, anyone marketing a weekend masterclass, anyone promoting an instant fix is selling you false hopes at best and lies at worst.
Overcoming Time Constraints for Mindfulness
Be that as it may, I understand the real world and you do have legitimate demands on your availability and spare time for you is limited and precious. So what is the fastest way someone like you can start practicing mindfulness and begin to see some actual and tangible results?
There is only one way I know of that really kickstarts just about everyone on their mindfulness journey: breathing.
That's right. I want you to breathe. Take breaths in and push breaths out.
Kickstarting Your Mindfulness Journey: The Power of Breathing
Yes, I know you are literally breathing all the time. So am I. The key here, however, is how you are breathing which makes all the difference. Being mindful is about breathing differently than you have before. Being mindful requires you to start paying attention to your breathing because this can make all the difference.
I want you to try this quick little breathing exercise for me right now. When you take a calm, deep breath in, try moving your focus to the breath itself. Try to follow the breath on its journey inside of you. Follow it all the way in and all the way down. Imagine it reaching the bottom of your lungs and then sweeping around and flowing all the way back up and out again.
What sensations did you notice? Did you feel anything? Were you able to notice anything at all? Were you able to picture it in your mind? Did you feel the air inside your lungs any different than before? Was there anything different at all, no matter how minute? Feel free to do this exercise a few more times if you feel you need to.
How Paying Attention to Breathing Reduces Stress and Enhances Clarity
Often the uncomplicated act of following our breath on its journey into us can alter not only the pattern of our breathing but also our entire mental focus. I know when I do this exercise myself, I notice my breaths get calmer, and much deeper, and I feel fuller the more I breathe in and out this way. My entire being is able to drop into a noticeable relaxation state.
So how does paying more attention to breathing in and out work?
I know it may sound too good to be true, but something so simple as moving your focus to a single breath and following it on its journey inside of you can produce a profound difference.
But how does it do this exactly? There has been plenty written on the art of deep breathing, on proper attentive breathing, by ancient theologies such as Buddhism, Tantra, and Taoism, and even in various forms of meditation, as well as yoga with yogis or yoginis. The common theme shared by all these well-established practices when it comes to obtaining the most benefits from breathing is calming the mind and slowing runaway thoughts.
If you have a mind that is constantly running overtime, that is always racing with thoughts and chatter, processing conversations and scenarios that happened in the past that you regret, what is taking place right this minute, and then worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow, plus sorting all the things you need to do to make everyone in your life happy…well…. constantly thinking like this pumps the stress level up.
When you can get out of this type of mind, get out of your head, and into your body by redirecting your attention away from your mental chatter and towards the feelings and sensations of breathing, you interrupt the negative and unhelpful thought patterns.
What's more, by changing your attention and your breathing, you begin to feel a greater connection to your overall awareness, your emotions, and your entire physical body. And this is where mindfulness begins to work in reducing your stress, improving your mental clarity, and installing an overall sense of calm and composure within you.
Incorporating Mindful Breathing into Your Daily Routine
But is just breathing different enough?
I hate to break it to you, but just following a few breaths in and out again isn't going to be the magical solution for all your troubles, and it isn't going to change your life in isolation. Sorry, that is simply a fact of life.
The real and long-lasting change will come over time when you can get into this new habit of turning your attention to your breathing and doing it several times a day, and then the constructive effects will build up over time.
By sticking with this practice and continuing on this journey of change you will be on a path to becoming a more resilient person, a better manager of stress with a clearer mind and better focus, and be calmer and more peaceful overall.
This is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways to ease yourself into the art of mindfulness and experience what it means to be mindful. Often it is an act so simple - like humble breathing - that can be enough to act as the catalyst for greater change.
The information contained above is provided for entertainment purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice on your personal situation and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. The Writer and Shoshin Therapies disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.
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