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30-Minute Yoga Sequence for Total Beginners

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The Neuroscience of Mindfulness - What exactly happens to your brain when you meditate.

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Mindfulness is simply centering our attention to being here--in this moment right now--without casting any judgment or making meaning out of anything. Just accept this moment, as is, and guide your attention to your breath.

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You can do most things mindfully,  "Anytime that you are resting your attention in the present moment and whatever you are doing/experiencing you are practicing being mindful," she says. "Not only does this enrich the present moment activity/experience you're engaging in, but it also allows you to be present in your time rather than going back into the past or into the future."

Brushing your teeth: Feel your feet on the floor, the brush in your hand, and your arm moving up and down.

Doing dishes: Savor the feeling of the warm water on your hands, the look of the bubbles, and the sounds of the pans clunking on the bottom of the sink.

Doing laundry: Pay attention to the smell of the clean clothes and feel of the fabric. Add a focus element and count your breaths as you fold laundry.

Driving: Turn off the radio—or put on something soothing, like classical music—imagine your spine growing tall, find the half-way point between relaxing your hands and gripping the wheel too tightly, and whenever you notice your mind wandering, bring your attention back to where you and your car are in space.

Exercising: Instead of watching television while on the treadmill, try focusing on your breathing and where your feet are in space as you move.

Getting kids ready for bed: Get down to the same level as your kids, look in their eyes, listen more than you talk, and savor any snuggles. When you relax, they will too.

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What Is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice that teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and calm both your mind and body. It combines meditation with the practice of mindfulness, which can be defined as a mental state that involves being fully focused on "the now" so you can acknowledge and accept your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment.

Techniques can vary, but in general, mindfulness meditation involves deep breathing and awareness of body and mind. Practicing mindfulness meditation doesn't require props or preparation (no need for candles, essential oils, or mantras, unless you enjoy them). To get started, all you need is a comfortable place to sit, three to five minutes of free time, and a judgment-free mindset.

How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation

Learning mindfulness meditation is straightforward enough to practice on your own, but a teacher or program can also help you get started, particularly if you're practicing meditation for specific health reasons. Here are some simple steps to help you get started on your own.

Remember, meditation is a practice, so it's never perfect. You are ready to begin now just as you are!

Get Comfortable

Find a quiet and comfortable place. Sit in a chair or on the floor with your head, neck, and back straight but not stiff. It's also helpful to wear comfortable, loose clothing so you're not distracted.

But being that this practice can be done anywhere for any amount of time, a dress code is not required.

Consider a Timer

While it's not necessary, a timer (preferably with a soft, gentle alarm) can help you focus on meditation and forget about time-and eliminate any excuses you have for stopping and doing something else.

Since many people lose track of time while meditating, it can also ensure you're not meditating for too long. Be sure to also allow yourself time after meditation to become aware of where you are and get up gradually.

While some people meditate for longer sessions, even a few minutes every day can make a difference. Begin with a short, 5-minute meditation session and increase your sessions by 10 or 15 minutes until you are comfortable meditating for 30 minutes at a time.

Focus on Breathing

Become aware of your breath, attuning to the sensation of air moving in and out of your body as you breathe. Feel your belly rise and fall as the air enters your nostrils and leaves your nostrils. Pay attention to the temperature change when the breath is inhaled versus when it's exhaled.

Notice Your Thoughts

The goal is not to stop your thoughts but to get more comfortable becoming the "witness" to the thoughts. When thoughts come up in your mind, don't ignore or suppress them. Simply note them, remain calm, and use your breathing as an anchor. Imagine your thoughts as clouds passing by; watch them float by as they shift and change.Repeat this as often as you need to while you are meditating.

Give Yourself a Break

If you find yourself getting carried away in your thoughts-whether with worry, fear, anxiety, or hope-observe where your mind went, without judgment, and just return to your breathing. Don't be hard on yourself if this happens; the practice of returning to your breath and refocusing on the present is the practice of mindfulness.

Download an App

If you're having trouble practicing mindfulness meditation on your own, consider downloading an app (like Calm or Headspace) that provides free meditations and teaches you a variety of tools to help you get centered throughout your day.

Impact of Mindfulness Meditation

Regular practice of mindfulness meditation has benefits for your physical as well as your mental health. Some of these include:

Reducing stress: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a standardized therapeutic approach to mindfulness meditation, has been shown to reduce symptoms of stress in healthy individuals. The practice has also been found to be beneficial for a number of mental and physical disorders including anxiety, depression, and chronic pain.

Lower heart rate: Heart disease is one of the top causes of death in the United States and research suggests that mindfulness may be beneficial for your heart. In one study, participants either enrolled in an online mindfulness meditation program or were added to a waitlist for traditional treatment for heart disease. Those who participated in mindfulness meditation had significantly lower heart rates and performed better on a test of cardiovascular capacity.

Improved immunity: Research also suggests that mindfulness practices may improve your body's resistance to illness. One study compared the impact of both mindfulness and exercise on immune function. They found that people who had taken part in an eight-week mindfulness course had greater gains in immune function than those in the exercise group.

Better sleep: Studies have also shown that practicing mindfulness meditation might improve sleep and even be useful for treating certain sleep disturbances. One 2019 study found that mindfulness meditation significantly improved sleep quality.

Making mindfulness meditation a regular practice can lead to stronger effects, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you need to do it every day. Studies have found that meditating three to four times per week can have big benefits-and, regularly meditating for eight weeks will actually alter the brain, according to neuroimaging studies.

Tips to Practice Mindfulness in Daily Life

As you practice mindfulness meditation, it helps to find ways to bring mindfulness into your everyday life -especially on those days when life is too busy to carve out a minute alone. Mindfulness meditation is one technique, but everyday activities and tasks provide plenty of opportunities for mindfulness practice.

Brushing your teeth: Feel your feet on the floor, the brush in your hand, and your arm moving up and down.

Doing dishes: Savor the feeling of the warm water on your hands, the look of the bubbles, and the sounds of the pans clunking on the bottom of the sink.

Doing laundry: Pay attention to the smell of the clean clothes and the feel of the fabric. Add a focus element and count your breaths as you fold laundry.

Driving: Turn off the radio-or put on something soothing, like classical music. Imagine your spine growing tall, find the half-way point between relaxing your hands and gripping the wheel too tightly. Whenever you notice your mind wandering, bring your attention back to where you and your car are in space.

Exercising: Instead of watching television while on the treadmill, try focusing on your breathing and where your feet are as you move.

Getting kids ready for bed: Get down to the same level as your kids, look in their eyes, listen more than you talk, and savor any snuggles. When you relax, they will too.

A Word From Verywell

Getting started with a mindfulness meditation practice can sometimes seem intimidating, but it's important to remember that even a few minutes each day can be beneficial. Just a few minutes of being present can reap significant benefits. Even if you don't do it every day, it's a practice you can keep coming back to when you need it.

Additional Reading

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Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice that teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and calm both your mind and body. It combines meditation with the practice of mindfulness, which can be defined as a mental state that involves being fully focused on "the now" so you can acknowledge and accept your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment.

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Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
This online MBSR training course is 100% free, created by a fully certified MBSR instructor, and is based on the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

I'm so glad you found this website! Here you will find a complete MBSR course, designed for people who are not able to take a live MBSR course for financial or logistical reasons. All of the materials used in the live courses I taught, including guided meditations, articles and videos, are freely available here. - Dave Potter

Offering something for nothing does seem a little suspicious these days and I get many emails about this free online MBSR course, many of which ask one or more of the following questions:

The short answer is "yes". There is no catch: no fees, no spam, no cookies, you don't even need to identify yourself or give an email address. I receive no income personally from the site, not even indirectly. Contributions make the course even more accessible to people around the world, but this is not expected nor required - see About Contributions. (NOTE: Some of the videos have advertising, but the ad revenue goes directly to the creator of the videos and not to me or Palouse Mindfulness.)

I am fully certified as an MBSR instructor by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and I taught live, in-person MBSR classes in my community for 12 years. I'm also a retired professional psychotherapist who has had a daily meditation practice for over 30 years, and when I discovered MBSR, I wanted to offer it to my clients and my community. I started teaching my twice-yearly in-person classes in 2004 and, as a service to my students, began to put some parts of the class online. I soon realized that with a little work, the material could be useful to people who are not able to attend a live MBSR class, either because of financial or geographical limitations..

Creating and incrementally improving this resource has been a labor of love, and I'm happy to provide these materials without asking for a fee, something that is made possible given the economies of the internet, how the course is structured, and the generosity of other teachers* who have given their permission to make their teachings freely available on this website. It pleases me to know that anyone with an internet connection, whether they live in Moscow, Idaho or Moscow, Russia, can find and use the rich set of materials here. There is even a way for people without internet to have access to the course.

After reading the letters of completion and practice sheets of more than 6,000 online students from over 100 countries (see Map of Graduates) and having previously taught MBSR to 400 people live and in person, I've concluded that students who complete the Palouse Mindfulness course typically have just as deep an experience as those who complete a live MBSR course (see Testimonials / Gallery of Learning).

One of the reasons Palouse Mindfulness can be as effective as a live course is because you are not limited to eight weeks of learning since you can take as long as you like to fully absorb the teachings and practices of each "week", and much more material is available.

Also, a live course, even one taught by a single gifted teacher, will necessarily be limited in range in terms of teaching style and content, but with the Palouse Mindfulness course, you will be taught, through videos and readings, by a variety of world-renowned teachers such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, Sylvia Boorstein, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Kristin Neff, and Shauna Shapiro (see the NOTE about other teachers* at the bottom of this page).

That being said, you can expect to receive everything Palouse Mindfulness has to offer only if you complete the entire course. This is challenging because it's easy to start a self-paced online course but difficult to finish without regular, live, encouragement. It is for this reason that, for those who can afford it and can fit it into their schedule, a live MBSR course may be a better option than the Palouse Mindfulness course because a regular live MBSR course increases the odds that a student will finish what they have begun (see Live MBSR Courses for alternatives to Palouse Mindfulness which are taught by qualified instructors).

A distinct advantage of the Palouse Mindfulness course is that you don't have to wait for a once-a-week meeting to ask a question or share a concern. There are optional weekly and monthly zoom meetings (see Zoom Meditation & Discussion Meetings) where students can join a zoom meeting that includes a live meditation and time for sharing experiences and/or asking questions about the practices that are part of the course. There are experienced graduates and senior students in all the Palouse Mindfulness forums who can answer specific questions. There is also the option to join the Palouse Mindfulness Facebook group, through which questions can be asked any time, day or night, and there is usually a response within a few hours,
Whether or not you plan to participate in any of the online forums, be sure to check out the Frequently Asked Questions page (see on menu above). The questions on the FAQ page are the ones that have been asked most often in the online forums.

If your native language is represented by a flag in the upper-left corner of this page ( Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, or Russian), you are in luck! All of the core readings, worksheets, subtitles for videos, and audio recordings have been carefully translated by Palouse Mindfulness graduates who are native speakers of that language. By clicking on the row of flags, you will be given an option to go to one of these translated versions.

If your native language is not one that we have translated, it's possible to use Google Translate to convert the course to another language, but the translation is not perfect, especially since the concepts presented in a mindfulness course are subtle and present a challenge even for experienced human translators. That being said, if you'd like to use Google Translate with this course, go to Other Languages for suggestions about how best to do this.

The Introduction is designed to give you a sense of mindfulness and an idea of how this course is structured. For each of the eight weeks, videos, readings and practices help you build a base of both knowledge and experience. MBSR "At a Glance" provides a brief outline of the MBSR course.

All of what you will need is accessible through this website, and whether or not you actually take yourself through the course, the wealth of material here, including videos and writings by the teachers mentioned above and others,is freely available to you.

This course is completely self-guided (there is no registration and only you will be monitoring your progress, using the provided practice sheets). If you successfully complete the eight weeks of practice and study and send the materials indicated inRequesting a Certificate of Completion, we will send you a personal note of congratulations along with a certificate of completion. There is no cost for this. You simply submit your practice sheets and a one page description of what you've learned and how you will be incorporating what you learned into your life.
If you are ready to begin, or if you'd just like to know more about mindfulness or this program, go to the Introduction.
* NOTE about other teachers: Much of the material in this course is drawn from the public works of other teachers and writers who share our passion for making mindfulness available to all. We're grateful to them for helping to make this free Online MBSR course possible. Those who have given their explicit written approval of how we've used their materials include Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh, Tara Brach, Shauna Shapiro, Kristin Neff, Michelle Maldonado, Vidyamala Burch, Lynn Rossy, James Baraz, Ann Weiser Cornell, Daron Larson, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

All videos needed to complete the course, including the guided meditations, have accurate closed captions, with the exception of some that are in the "supplementary" sections or on the "Graduate" pages.

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Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) This online MBSR training course is 100% free, created by a fully certified MBSR instructor, and is based on the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. I'm so glad you found this website!

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If you've been following this blog, you know that there are countless ways to apply mindfulness in your everyday life.

You have probably also noticed that there are tons of benefits of practicing mindfulness regularly.

Although we've talked about these benefits in a few other places, we thought it would be helpful to provide one resource that breaks down all of the great benefits of practicing mindfulness in one place, with sources to back them up.

If you're wondering what you can get out of being mindful, read on to learn about all the great things mindfulness can do for you!

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our 3 Mindfulness Exercises for free. These science-based, comprehensive exercises will not only help you cultivate a sense of inner peace throughout your daily life but will also give you the tools to enhance the mindfulness of your clients, students or employees.

You can download the free PDF here.

The 5 Most Common Benefits of Mindfulness

We'll start with some of the benefits you probably already expect from mindfulness, like enhancing your ability to deal with everyday struggles.

1. Decreased Stress

If you read our piece on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), you know that mindfulness is considered a key element to fighting stress.

An entire stress reduction program, with decades of experience and tens of thousands of practitioners, is an excellent indication that mindfulness works.

In addition to the outcomes of MBSR, there have been numerous studies supporting the idea that mindfulness reduces stress.

One study on present-moment awareness found that it facilitates an adaptive response to daily stressors (Donald, Atkins, Parker, Christie, & Ryan, 2016). Another study by Donald and Atkins (2016) found evidence that mindfulness produced less avoidance and more approach coping as a response to stress than relaxation or self-affirmation controls.

Mindfulness can also help alleviate stress by improving emotion regulation, leading to a better mood and better ability to handle stress (Remmers, Topolinski, & Koole, 2016).

The impact of mindfulness on stress can also be seen in several specific groups, including:

Those who suffer from restless legs syndrome (Bablas, Yap, Cunnington, Swieca, & Greenwood, 2016);

Parents (Gouveia, Carona, Canavarro, & Moreira, 2016);

Healthcare professionals (Burton, Burgess, Dean, Koutsopoulou, & Hugh-Jones, 2017);

Veterans with depression and/or PTSD (Felleman, Stewart, Simpson, & Heppner, 2016);

Police officers (Bergman, Christopher, & Bowen, 2016).

For an excellent dive into how mindfulness affects the experience of stress, check out the Little Book of Mindfulness by Rebecca Howden and Medibank. I'll leave it to them to dive into the nitty-gritty, but I'll describe their explanation of the relaxation response.

Howden and Medibank first list the symptoms of stress, including:

Constantly feeling anxious and worried;

Feeling irritable, agitated and easily annoyed;

Argumentative and defensive with friends and family;

Restless sleeping;

Low levels of energy, often waking up feeling tired;

Restless and frenetic mind;

Often self-critical and/or critical of others;

Feeling flat and uninspired;

Having difficulty concentrating;

Skin rashes and conditions;

Clenching your jaw muscles and grinding your teeth at night;

Headaches and migraines.

When you induce a state of relaxation, which can be achieved through mindfulness, another kind of meditation, or other activities, you can reap the benefits, including:

Higher brain functioning;

Increased immune function;

Lowered blood pressure;

Lowered heart rate;

Increased awareness;

Increased attention and focus;

Increased clarity in thinking and perception;

Lowered anxiety levels;

Experience of being calm and internally still;

Experience of feeling connected.

Gaining these benefits can be as simple as closing your eyes and being silent for a few minutes a day. This is a practice that is so easy, anyone can do it!

2. Enhanced Ability to Deal with Illness

Perhaps one of the most studied groups in terms of the impacts of mindfulness is cancer patients and others who are suffering from a chronic or potentially terminal illness.

Mindfulness may not take away their symptoms, but it can help make them more manageable.

For example, the eCALM trial, a therapy program for cancer patients, found that mindfulness can reduce symptoms of stress, enhance spirituality and non-reactivity to experience, facilitate post-traumatic growth, and enhance vigor while relieving fatigue (Zernicke, Campbell, Speca, ruff, Tamagawa, & Carlson, 2016).

Another cancer-specific mindfulness program decreased rumination and worry and increased observing and nonjudging in cancer patients (Labelle, Campbell, Faris, & Carlson, 2015).

An exploration of MBSR for those suffering from chronic low back pain found that mindfulness improved patients' ability to function independently and resulted in less back pain than treatment as usual (Cherkin, Sherman, Balderson, Cook, Anderson, Hawkes, Hansen, & Turner, 2016).

Mindfulness can also help patients to focus less on the pain, improving their quality of life (Garland & Howard, 2013).

A study on the use of MBSR with lung cancer patients and their partners showed that mindfulness can instigate a process of positive change in patients and their partners, as well as relieving caregiver burden in partners (van den Hurk, Schellekens, Molema, Speckens, & van der Drift, 2015).

Similarly, a review of MBSR for family caregivers found that mindfulness can decrease stress, depression, and anxiety in those caring for a loved one who is sick (Li, Yuan, & Zhang, 2016).

3. Facilitation of Recovery

Mindfulness can not only help you deal with a chronic or potentially terminal illness or life-threatening event, but it can also help you move on from it.

A study of MBSR in Chinese breast cancer survivors provided evidence that mindfulness can enhance post-traumatic growth and decrease stress and anxiety in cancer patients (Zhang, Zhou, Feng, Fan, Zeng, & Wei, 2017).

Another study of young breast cancer survivors showed that women who practiced mindfulness were more likely to experience increased self-kindness, decreased rumination, and decreased stress (Boyle, Stanton, Ganz, Crespi, & Bower, 2017).

Mindfulness, yoga, and meditation have also been found to decrease anxiety and facilitate post-traumatic growth in breast cancer survivors, in addition to increasing vigor and spirituality (Tamagawa, Speca, Stephen, Lawlor-Savage, & Carlson, 2015).

4. Decreased Depressive Symptoms

Mindfulness has long been considered an effective supplemental treatment for depression.

It has been found to decrease depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress in college students, as well as increasing self-compassion when compared with yoga alone (Falsafi, 2016).

One of the ways in which mindfulness can help treat depression is through enhancing practitioners' ability to regulate their emotions. Mindfulness provides the tools needed to step back from intense negative emotions, identify them, and accept them instead of fighting them. This allows mindful thinkers to better regulate their emotions, leading to better coping and management of depression.

A study by Costa and Barnhofer (2016) backs this theory. They found that, when compared to guided imagery relaxation, a brief training in mindfulness helped participants struggling with depression to reduce their symptoms through greater emotion regulation.

Another study found that MBCT reduced depressive episodes, which not only helped participants feel better but also had positive impacts on their health care costs (Shawyer, Enticott, Özmen, Inder, & Meadows, 2016).

Mindfulness is even effective for people dealing with the most critical of depressive symptoms: suicidal ideation, or thoughts of suicide. In chronically depressed participants with suicidal thoughts, mindfulness was more effective than treatment as usual in reducing these thoughts (Forkmann, Brakemeier, Teismann, Schramm, & Michalak, 2016).

5. Improved General Health

Beyond the many mental health benefits of mindfulness, it can also improve your general health.

For example, a study of how the two facets of mindfulness impact health behaviors found that practicing mindfulness can enhance or increase multiple behaviors related to health, like getting regular health check-ups, being physically active, using seat belts, and avoiding nicotine and alcohol (Jacobs, Wollny, Sim, & Horsch, 2016).

Another study on mindfulness and health showed that mindfulness is related to improved cardiovascular health through a lower incidence of smoking, more physical activity, and a healthier body mass index (Loucks, Britton, Howe, Eaton, & Buka, 2015).

Additionally, mindfulness has been positively linked with lower blood pressure, especially when the practitioner is skilled in nonjudging and nonreactivity (Tomfohr, Pung, Mills, & Edwards, 2015).

Finally, in a study on the impacts of mindfulness on the psychological and physical health of obese or overweight adults, researchers found that mindfulness helped participants lose weight, improve their eating behaviors and attitudes, and decrease depression and anxiety (Rogers, Ferrari, Mosely, Lang, & Brennan, 2017).

While all of these benefits of mindfulness can be experienced by children as well as adults, there are some benefits that have been found specifically in young people. These are outlined in the next section.

Health Benefits of Mindfulness for Kids and Students

Many studies have been conducted using college students as participants, as they are an easily accessible population that is often willing to participate for simple incentives like extra credit or some extra spending money.

Mindfulness studies with children as the participants are becoming more common as well, as more and more benefits of mindfulness on early development are discovered. We'll describe some of the amazing outcomes associated with mindfulness on children, teens, and young adults here.

Benefits for College Students

Adults are not the only ones who can reap the benefits of mindfulness.

College students have also experienced incredible positive impacts resulting from the practice of mindfulness.

A study on mindfulness in college students found that medical and psychology students who practiced mindfulness reported improvements in a wide range of areas, including decreased reactivity, increased curiosity and affect tolerance, improved patience, and self-acceptance, and enhanced relational qualities (Solhaug, Eriksen, de Vibe, Haavind, Friborg, Sørlie, & Rosenvinge, 2016).

Problems with alcohol are more prevalent in college students than many other populations and can lead to serious issues with both academic progress and life in general. Mindfulness may be an effective tool for addressing this issue, as it has been negatively linked with alcohol problems and can help students deal with the stress that may prompt drinking in this population (Bodenlos, Noonan, & Wells, 2013).

Mindfulness has also been shown to be an important link between the depressive symptoms that spring from alcohol-related problems and the incidence of drinking to cope in college students (Bravo, Pearson, Stevens, & Henson, 2016).

College students who practice or have practiced mindfulness were less likely to experience depression stemming from the use of alcohol to cope with their problems.

Another study on drinking in college students found that those who practice mindfulness are engaged in lower rates of problematic drinking, especially those proficient in acting with awareness and nonjudging (Vinci, Spears, Peltier, & Copeland, 2016).

The effects of mindfulness on the likelihood of drinking may be due in part to the impact of mindfulness on self-control. College students who participated in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) reported enhanced self-control and vitality, among other outcomes (Canby, Cameron, Calhoun, & Buchanan, 2015).

Similarly, a study on mindfulness and emotion regulation in college students found that higher levels of mindfulness predicted better regulation of emotions and suppression of thoughts (MacDonald & Baxter, 2016). Better self-regulation and self-control contribute to the more effective positive inhibition of destructive behaviors and, in turn, greater psychological well-being.

In general, children are not likely to have the same problems college students do (especially problems like over-imbibing!), but there are many areas in which mindfulness can have positive outcomes for children.

Improved Academic Success

Mindfulness is known to be effective in helping students achieve academic success in a variety of ways, and this benefit is not reserved for any specific group.

The following groups of children have enjoyed the benefits of mindfulness when it comes to their academic performance:

Elementary students who practice mindfulness exhibit greater prosocial behaviors, emotion regulation, and academic performance (Harpin, Rossi, Kim, & Swanson, 2016);

Teenagers studying for a general education certificate who participated in a mindfulness program experienced lower depression and anxiety, which contributed to improved academic attainment (Bennett & Dorjee, 2016);

Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who participated in a five-week mindfulness program reported decreased stress, allowing them to focus on school (Costello & Lawler, 2014);

Urban male youth who participated in MBSR experienced less stress, anxiety, and negative coping, improving their ability to deal with academic stress and achieve academic success (Sibinga, Perry-Parrish, Chung, Johnson, Smith, & Ellen, 2013);

Children with ADHD displayed less aggression and conduct problems when exposed to mindfulness therapy, which helps them focus on their academics (Singh, Soamya, & Ramnath, 2016);

Homeless middle school students who participated in a mindfulness course reported greater well-being and a higher incidence of using mindfulness in school, which can lead to greater quality of life and academic achievement (Viafora, Mathiesen, & Unsworth, 2015).

Buffer against Bullying and Depression

Mindfulness can even help kids deal with bullies!

A Chinese study on bullying victims and depression showed that mindfulness can protect children against the depressive symptoms that can arise from being victimized by bullies (Zhou, Liu, Niu, Sun, & Fan, 2017).

A dissertation by Sandra Mccloy (2005) on mindfulness as a coping tool for bullying suggested that mindfulness can help children consider perspectives other than their own and find constructive reactions in the face of bullying.

Mindfulness may even be an effective tool for addressing bullying at the source. Improving empathy with tools like mindfulness and improving social and emotional learning could be the key to stopping bullies before they become bullies (Kaldis & Abramiuk, 2016).

Provide Support and Boost Resilience

Mindfulness can also aid children who have been involved in the welfare or mental health care system. A study on a mindfulness program for vulnerable children found that mindfulness improved emotion regulation, mood, empathy, confidence and self-esteem, coping and social skills, and ability to pay attention and focus (Coholic & Eys, 2016).

Resilience is a very effective skill for children to cope with daily struggles and develop emotionally, psychologically, and academically. Mindfulness training has been shown to boost resilience in children and help them understand and regulate their own emotions (Coholic, 2011; Coholic, Eys, & Lougheed, 2012).

In the classroom, mindfulness can be as simple as adding a station for students to visit any time they are feeling a hard emotion. This station can have crayons and be a "pause" station for students to spend 5-10 minutes before reflecting on the emotion.

Another study showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children reduced problem behaviors, attention problems, and anxiety while improving children's social-emotional resiliency (Semple, Lee, Rosa, & Miller, 2010).

And the benefits of mindfulness don't stop here. Mindfulness in the workplace also has numerous benefits for all levels of staff.

Advantages of Integrating Mindfulness in the Workplace

Although many of the benefits of mindfulness described above can and do affect individuals in all areas of their lives including work, mindfulness' impact on job performance may be the outcome that gets the most attention and interest from managers and executives.

There are several ways that mindfulness has been shown to impact job performance, including:

1. Gallant (2016) found that mindfulness can improve executive functioning by improving inhibition abilities;

2. Mindfulness in service industry workers improves job performance, even when controlling for workers' level of engagement (Dane & Brummel, 2014);

3. De Bruin, Formsma, Frijstein, & Bögels (2017) showed that mindfulness in the workplace can actually increase the number of contract hours worked by employees, a result that will certainly catch the attention of higher-ups;

4. Office employees who participated in an eight-week mindfulness intervention experienced lower levels of work-related stress, greater job satisfaction, and, ultimately, enhanced job performance as rated by their employers (Shonin, Van Gordon, Dunn, Singh, & Griffiths, 2014).

Beyond job performance, mindfulness has also been applied to the workplace for other benefits that can contribute to a healthy and productive work environment.

Reduced Work-Related Stress and Psychological Distress

One of the most common benefits of practicing mindfulness in the workplace is the decrease in stress experienced by employees.

Researchers Grégoire and Lachance (2015) found that employees at call centers who took part in a brief mindfulness intervention reported decreased stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and negative affect, while also experiencing greater satisfaction at work.

Similarly, employees from the Dow Chemical Company enjoyed less stress and increased resiliency and vigor after completing an online mindfulness intervention (Aikens, Astin, Pelletier, Levanovich, Baase, Park, & Bodnar, 2014).

Huang, Li, Huang, and Tang (2015) also found that mindfulness reduces stress, fatigue, and psychological distress, especially for employees struggling with poor mental health.

A study of public sector employees showed that this group was also able to benefit from the mental health effects of mindfulness. These employees reported less stress, reduced psychological distress, and improved social functioning and quality of life (Bartlett, Lovell, Otahal, Sanderson, & Tasmania, 2016).

Decreasing Turnover and Burnout

Along with the decreases in stress, mindfulness can also lower the incidence of burnout and turnover at work.

Researchers Taylor and Millear (2016) found that mindfulness helps employees construct a buffer between their work and becoming burned out.

Dane and Brummel's (2014) study also discovered an inverse relationship between mindfulness and turnover intention, meaning that employees who are higher in mindfulness are less likely to leave their jobs for any reason. The study referenced earlier by de Bruin and colleagues (2017) also uncovered the reduction in the risk of employees dropping out of work when mindfulness is encouraged in the workplace.

Burnout seems to occur less in workplaces that encourage and offer spaces for mindfulness.

Goodman and Schorling (2012) found that mindfulness-based stress reduction reduced work-related burnout and improved mental well-being among healthcare providers. A study of Australian psychologists added more support to this theory, finding a strong negative association between mindfulness and burnout (Di Benedetto & Swadling, 2014).

Further research on mindfulness at work showed that mindfulness can act as a buffer for unsupportive work environments, enhancing well-being at work and contributing to lower levels of burnout for employees from a range of careers (Schultz, Ryan, Niemiec, Legate, & Williams, 2015).

Clearly, mindfulness has some extremely positive impacts on both individuals and the work they produce. But how does mindfulness produce these outcomes?

Research on Mindfulness and the Brain

Recently, a lot of research has been conducted on what effects mindfulness has on the brain. It's clear that practicing mindfulness can lead to positive outcomes, but many researchers want to know why it works as well.

This is where neuroplasticity comes in.

Explaining Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is, at its most basic level, the ability of the brain to change and adapt over time.

This adaptation happens regularly, as the brain constantly works to make itself more efficient and effective, but neuroplasticity is of specific interest to researchers in the context of brain injuries like a stroke. Our brains can actually reorganize themselves to ensure that functions continue unhindered after a traumatic injury (Honan, 2017).

Whenever we complete a new task or find a more effective way to do something, our brain takes note, often making structural or connection changes to facilitate our next attempt at this task.

When we practice mindfulness, we send the message to our brain that we are more effective at dealing with everyday tasks when we are aware, observant, nonreactive, and nonjudgmental. This causes our brain to make the changes that will improve our ability to function mindfully.

Note: For the more neurobiologically inclined among our readers, continue on in this section to read more about how the brain changes after practicing mindfulness. If you've already had enough talk of brain structures and gray matter, feel free to skip the jargon and head straight to the next section!

For example, meditation practice has been linked to an increased thickness in the cortex, an area that is important for a general cognitive function like attention and sensory processing (Lazar et al., 2005).

Similarly, long-term meditation is linked with a denser gray matter in the brain stem, an area that is linked to cardiorespiratory control (Vestergaard-Poulsen, van Beek, Skewes, Bjarkam, Stubberup, Bertelsen, & Reopstorff, 2009). This may help explain how mindfulness produces positive outcomes in cardiovascular, as well as general, health.

A study on an 8-week MBSR program showed that the regular practice of mindfulness increased grey matter in the left hippocampus, an area involved in learning and memory (Hölzel, Carmody, Vangel, Congleton, Yerramsetti, Gard, & Lazar, 2011). This finding can help us make sense of the improvements in academic achievement and job performance that can result from mindfulness.

Mindfulness has also been shown to result in changes in white matter, particularly in areas involving brain interconnection and self-regulation (Tang, Lu, Fan, Yang, & Posner, 2012). You'll recall from above that improved self-regulation is a key result of mindfulness practice, and can lead to a plethora of advantageous outcomes.

In general, mindfulness is known to impact brain systems that control emotion regulation and self-awareness (Paulus, 2016), which makes sense given the outcomes we have seen in the practice of mindfulness.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

More specifically, one study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess changes in the brain after an eight-week mindfulness course.

Results showed that the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and other areas experienced heightened activity and connectivity, while the amygdala experienced decreased functional activity and earlier deactivation after exposure to emotionally charged stimuli (Gotink, Meijboom, Vernooji, Smits, & Hunink, 2016).

This means that the areas of the brain associated with higher-level functioning were more active, while the area of the brain that handles stress and strong emotions was less involved. These findings match the behavioral changes we see after a mindfulness program, like better emotion regulation, less reactivity, and even better performance on tasks.

Another study of brain activity related to mindfulness found evidence that mindfulness is associated with areas of the brain related to memory retrieval, decision making, and outward attention, all functions which can help link the bridge between mindfulness and improved mental health and job performance, among other outcomes (Gartenschläger, Schreckenberger, Buccholz, Reiner, Beutel, Adler, & Michal, 2017).

While the science of neuroplasticity in relation to mindfulness is still relatively young (as neuroscience as a whole is relatively young!), these studies and others have provided a solid foundation for continuing research on how mindfulness impacts the brain.

The Importance of Consistent Practice

"Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most."

Buddha

While everyone has something to gain from practicing mindfulness, there is one caveat: to reap the maximum benefits of mindfulness, it truly needs to be a practice, meaning that it must occur regularly and often.

Nearly all of the articles mentioned above on the benefits of mindfulness are based on a mindfulness practice of five to eight weeks, or more. While a regular practice is vital, it does not need to be a huge commitment. Even a brief, 10-minute daily practice can result in more efficient cognition and better self-regulation (Moore, Gruber, Derose, & Malinowski, 2012)!

Another study on the effects of a 10-minute mindfulness exercise showed that even just a few minutes of mindfulness practice can lead to better executive attention and recognition memory, leading to better performance on a simple task (Watier & Dubois, 2016).

If you need some tips on how to commit to a regular mindfulness practice, try the following (Lucid Living, 2013):

Find the right motivation and intention. If you are experiencing a busy day or just don't feel like practicing mindfulness, it might help to remind yourself why you practice and what it can do for you.

Find the right attitude and attention. Each practice will be different, but try not to think of them as "better" or "worse." There is no bad way to become more mindful.

Find the right time and timing. Just as each practice will be different, the length of time appropriate for your practice can vary as well. Some days you may need only a few minutes, and other times you may want to stick with it for a bit longer to make sure you have a rewarding experience.

Find the right spot and posture. It's important to feel safe and secure, wherever you decide to practice. That may be on a cushion on the floor, in your office chair at work, or even sitting in your car in traffic. You will benefit from finding a comfortable and familiar spot for your regular practice, but there's no harm in modifying your seat or posture if circumstances require it!

Find the right routine and stick to it! Although the length, location, and posture of your practice can and will change depending on your situation, it's best to make a minimum commitment when it comes to frequency. Whether practicing once a day works best for you, or multiple times a day, find a routine that you will be able to stick to in the long-term.

Another helpful way to support your commitment to a daily practice of mindfulness is to assign a different value to each day's practice.

Dr. Amit Sood, the chair of the Mayo Mind Body Initiative, provides the following mindfulness schedule as a template:

1. Monday: Gratitude - Find things to be thankful for throughout your day, and include them in your loving kindness meditation or a gratitude journal;

2. Tuesday: Compassion - Set an intention to decrease any pain or suffering in others that you encounter throughout your day;

3. Wednesday: Acceptance - Accept yourself as you are and others as they are; appreciate yourself and other people without trying to change them;

4. Thursday: Meaning and Purpose - Think about your ultimate purpose in life, and where and how you find meaning;

5. Friday: Forgiveness - Forgive yourself first, then extend your forgiveness to others for any past transgressions;

6. Saturday: Celebration - Make sure to take a day to celebrate all the joy in your life and the lives of others;

7. Sunday: Reflection - Reflect on your week, your month, your year, or whatever period of time makes sense to you at the moment. This can be accomplished through meditation, prayer, or simple awareness.

A Take-Home Message

This article was packed with a lot of information, but I hope you found that it was worth your time.

To recap, this article included numerous potential benefits of practicing mindfulness for adults, children, and employees, including:

Decreased stress and psychological distress in adults and employees;

Enhanced mental health and functioning;

Increased emotion regulation and self-control;

Decreased anxiety, depression, worry, and rumination;

Reduced incidence of problem drinking and symptoms associated with problem drinking;

Enhanced academic achievement in students, due to improved ability to focus and improved attention;

Improved social and relational skills;

Reduction in aggression and problem behaviors in children;

Reduced symptoms of burnout in employees;

A decrease in turnover and turnover intentions at work;

Enhanced job performance;

Increased ability to cope with bullying;

Enhanced resilience in children.

There are so many amazing benefits to practicing mindfulness, with more being discovered all the time. With such positive potential outcomes, the reasons not to practice mindfulness are quickly evaporating.

If you've decided to give mindfulness a try, restart a stalled practice, or if you're looking to enrich your mindfulness practice or contribute to a healthy practice by your clients, check out our pieces on mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness exercises and techniques for adults, and mindfulness exercises and techniques for children and teens.

I hope you find these tips and techniques as helpful as I did!

Thanks for reading, and please be sure to let us know in the comments section if you have experienced any of these benefits in your practice, or benefits not listed here.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our 3 Mindfulness Exercises for free.

If you wish to learn more, Mindfulness X© is our 8-module mindfulness training package for practitioners which contains all the materials you'll need to not only enhance your mindfulness skills but also learn how to deliver a science-based mindfulness training to your clients, students or employees.

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23 Amazing Health Benefits of Mindfulness for Body and Brain

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If you've been following this blog, you know that there are countless ways to apply mindfulness in your everyday life. You have probably also noticed that there are tons of benefits of practicing mindfulness regularly.

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There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase. What pops into your mind when you think of mindfulness and meditation?
Do you picture yourself sitting in a quiet field soaking up the sun while slowly counting your breaths?

Or maybe you think about a special cushion you sit on in your living room while visualizing a serene scene such as the aforementioned field. Some may immediately picture themselves focusing on calming down during a stressful situation.

Mindfulness and meditation can look like many different things, but at the center of it all, they both revolve around paying attention.

One thing that you may not associate with mindfulness is a pen and paper. However, mindfulness and writing can actually go hand-in-hand.
Mindfulness revolves around paying attention to the small details that are around you, which is also a powerful skill when you are writing. Mindfulness is likely to improve one's attention to detail because it helps people get into the habit of using all of their senses to absorb the world around them.
While mindfulness can strengthen one's creativity, creativity can, in turn, strengthen the practice of mindfulness. Getting into the routine of writing down your observations can help you practice being more aware of your thoughts and surroundings, and therefore enrich your creativity.

For example, can you think of the last time that you gave all of your attention to the sound of leaves blowing in the wind or the feeling of the warm sun on your face in the summer?

As you start journaling, you will start to find yourself feeling more present in the moment in your daily life. This will help writing seem like a less tedious task because you will already have inspiration built up just from things that you notice in your everyday life.

It is common for writers to face limiting beliefs while they are trying to be creative-beliefs that keep them from doing their best work. However, establishing a mindful writing practice can work to inspire and motivate writers to move past these excuses and create powerful writing.

In this article, we will cover what mindful writing is, and then go over 10 strategies that help build a mindful writing habit.

( Side note: Another positive way to improve your life is to read and learn something new every day. A great tool to do this is to join over 1 million others and start your day with the latest FREE, informative news from this website.)

What Is Mindful Writing?

The practice of mindfulness has become increasingly popular in recent years. In the West, it is based on Eastern spiritual practices but has morphed into a different practice all on its own. As a word, mindfulness is an idea that refers to a state of self-awareness.

We are always aware of something, whether it's passing thoughts or a worry or anxiety. However, we do not always stop to acknowledge these feelings without judgment.
This allows people to let go of self-limiting beliefs.
So what does this have to do with writing? Directing your thoughts inward can be difficult in this chaotic world. Your thoughts are probably overflowing throughout the day, preventing you from being able to actually focus on your mind.

Many people practice mindfulness when they are doing everyday tasks such as driving or walking the dog. During this process, people train themselves to become aware of things that may otherwise go unnoticed.

This may include the sound of one's footsteps or the feeling of a breeze on one's skin. Mindfulness allows you to become increasingly aware of your surroundings and appreciate them in a new way.

If you've been struggling with finding inspiration to pursue a new writing project, mindfulness may have a renewing effect. When you are practicing being mindful as you go about your day, you will be able to see the beauty and inspiration that lies in the details of your surrounding world that other people take for granted.

It may only take one small feeling or something that you hear someone else say to open up your mind to new inspirations and start a whole new journey of writing. You never know when that moment may come.

The act of writing allows you to get your thoughts down without allowing them to get stuck in your larger bubble of thoughts. Distractions may come and go, but you are able to actually see when you are giving your full attention to your thoughts, and when you are doing something else besides writing.

Mindful Writing Tips

1. Stay rooted in the present.

When you sit down to write, it is not difficult to get distracted by irrelevant things.
The phone may ring, or you may get an email notification-or you could hear a siren in the background. You may start daydreaming, or you may even start to think about other things that you need to do.
If you start to think about other things or your mind begins to wander:

2. Find the heart of your writing.

When you find yourself experiencing analysis paralysis or writer's block, starting a writing project is almost impossible.

Writer's block is often caused by a cluttered mind. If you have too much going on in your head, your mind can freeze and require a bit of a restart.

Take a break and then come back to the project from a subjective point of view instead of an objective one. Move away from the facts and analysis and focus more on your interpretations and judgments about a specific subject.

Want to create a daily routine filled with quiet, self-reflection? If so, check out Effortless Journaling - How to Start a Journal, Make It a Habit, and Find Endless Writing Topics.With this book, you can make the journaling habit a part of your daily routine.

3. Breathe before writing.

Silently focus on your breath before you start to write. This will allow your mind to start focusing and your body to relax.

It will help to slow down your random thoughts and get you into the writing mode. Breathing will let you become grounded and gain mental clarity.

Doing some breathing exercises, especially when you're finding it difficult to write, can help break the pattern of writer's block. A simple breathing exercise can help calm and clear your mind.

If you are well into your writing and all of a sudden feel stuck, take some more time to breathe. You should do this every so often throughout your writing sessions to refresh your brain and take a short mental break.

This will also prevent you from subconsciously tensing all of your muscles throughout the day while you are writing, which can result in pain and stress.

4. Be aware and let go of your need for perfection.

The pursuit of perfection is a common part of today's culture. Everyone wants to be perfect, or stand out in some way as being better than other people.
But what really measures perfection? Whose writing is actually perfect?
This pursuit of perfection acts as a blockade to really great work because you are trying to achieve something that is impossible.

Having something done is better than having it perfect. Also, what one person may consider to be "perfect" another may consider to be very imperfect, or even quite faulty. "Perfect" is such a subjective term, especially when it comes to writing content.
What does success look like to you? How can this piece of writing make you happy or allow you to enrich the lives of others?
Before starting a writing project, think about your expectations or your goals.

You may subconsciously be aiming to write something that other people think is perfect. Instead, try to write something that is useful, honest, or funny.

5. Visualize yourself writing.

Before being able to believe you can achieve success in your writing, you need to have an idea of what success looks like. In other words, you have to see it before you can believe it.

This is where the act of visualization comes into play. When you create a mental image of your desired outcome, you will be able to see the possibility of achieving it. Thinking about your preferred future will help motivate you to pursue your goal.
Visualize yourself getting started on your writing project today, and how far you might be able to get. Think about actually holding your pen or typing on your laptop, and how that feels to you. Visualizing this will help motivate and inspire you to get started.
Remember the last time you had a good writing day. Take some time to literally think about the process you went through to write that day. Where were you, and what was allowing you to stay focused on your writing?

6. Create a routine and schedule time for writing.

Getting into a routine helps because, once you force yourself to actually write something, your internal critic relaxes and lets you get down to business.

The ability to create and follow a routine requires self-discipline and determination, and will provide you with the motivation each day to write during your scheduled time. You will learn that your established habit of writing will produce your desired outcome of great work.

Habits are not acquired just because we think they are good and valuable and we want to have them. Routines and habits require time, persistence, and purposefulness to become consistent.

You will want to do some trial and error to find a routine and schedule that works best for you, but once you have determined this, you can set aside a specific time slot for writing each day. The more you stick to your routine, the easier it will become.

If needed, come up with a trigger action you can do before you start to write. For example, if you set your writing time to be at 10:00 in the morning, perhaps at 9:30 each morning you can make a cup of tea to help prepare your mind to write. This will eventually send a signal to your brain that, when you drink your tea, it is getting close to the time that you will need to get into writing mode.

Mindfulness Exercises to Improve Your Writing

7. Make mindful observations.

When you are able to start the process of observing your mind and separating yourself from your thoughts, you will be able to see that your experiences become whatever you become attached to. This could be the endless chatter in your mind or the reality of the present moment.

Stop and carefully think about what is going on around you. Use all of your senses to experience the smells, sounds, and feelings of the present moment. Observe what is going on without judgment, and make an effort to prevent your storytelling mind from taking over.

Try to see your current situation as if you were an outsider looking upon the scene. Think about how someone else would describe it, and the small details that may be noticed. Try to look at things from a new perspective.

8. Make mindful narrations.

Find somewhere away from your home where you can observe the world around you. Create a narrative in your mind revolving around the things that you notice.

Use your senses to set the scene, and allow the actions around you to start telling a story. Your goal is to stay in the present moment while creating your own narrative to go along with it.

9. Do the beat word sketch (popularized by Jack Kerouac).

Have you ever heard of Jack Kerouac's ? This book, published posthumously, is a collection of impulsive prose poetry written by Kerouac written throughout the 1950s. He carried a notebook in his jacket pocket where he documented his travels through the United States.

How to do a beat word sketch:
In his writings, he also discussed themes of music, art, life, Buddhism, writing, loneliness, and his wandering lifestyle. This simple habit of Kerouac's ended up being a well-known work of writing that has inspired a lot of people who came after him.

10. Start journaling consistently.

A mindful journaling practice can be done in many ways, but you should find what works best for you and stick with it.

Don't feel pressured to buy the most expensive journal or a fancy pen-just write in whatever form feels right to you. Any simple notebook is fine. You can even use journal and diary apps if you prefer. ( Here are some more writing apps and websites to check out.)

Regular journaling has many positive benefits. It helps you build the habit of being aware and present. It will help you see your surroundings as well as your emotions.

Mindfulness Takes Practice

In conclusion, the more you are able to engage in mindfulness practices, the more you will be able to see your work as being realistic because you will be focusing on all of its aspects. You'll be able to see it for its total value.

Your writing is likely to become more dimensional and complex as you practice mindfulness. Because you will be focusing on all of your senses, you will be able to describe things in-depth to your reader and connect with them on a new level that is less superficial than you were able to before practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness can play a large role in helping you improve your writing. But don't feel discouraged if you don't see results right away. Similar to writing, mindfulness takes practice and improves with dedication.

Take one or two of these strategies to start with, and practice them for five minutes before you start to write in order to get into the habit of mindful writing. If one trick doesn't work, move on to the next until you find what works best for you.
Did you enjoy this mindful writing post?
Looking for more journal ideas? Here are 100 journaling questions and prompts to help you start writing.

If you enjoyed this post on mindful writing, would you consider taking a moment and sharing it on your favorite social media platform?

Also below is a mindful writing infographic designed for sharing on Pinterest or other social media platform.

Finally, if you want another positive way to improve your life, then read and learn something new every day. A great tool to do this is to join over 1 million others and start your day with the latest FREE, informative news from this website.

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10 Tips for Mindful Writing and Meditative Journaling

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What pops into your mind when you think of mindfulness and meditation? Do you picture yourself sitting in a quiet field soaking up the sun while slowly counting your breaths? Or maybe you think about a special cushion you sit on in your living room while visualizing a serene scene such as the aforementioned field.

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Fitness fads come and go but some are worth sticking out. You might have heard of mindful movement in recent months but do you know what it is?

While there's a whole load of hype surrounding mindful meditation and activities, giving this practice a go could be well worth your time. It's remarkably simple and the benefits are immense. Within this guide, we will take a look at what it is, the many benefits of mindful movement and, of course, how you can get started and try it for yourself.

WHAT IS MINDFUL MOVEMENT?

While it may sound complicated, mindful movement is anything but hard to understand. Put simply, it refers to engaging in different exercises while placing all of your attention (or as much as you can) on the movements of your body as well as your breathing.

For example, you could take a moment to notice the weight of your body on your feet or the position of your back when you're sitting down. The chances are that you usually overlook these aspects of your physical well-being. By drawing your attention to them, you can gain a moment of stillness and relaxation.

"Being mindful in your moments allows you to participate in the full benefits of the experience," explains Michael James Wong, global yogi and author of Sit Down, Be Quiet.

"Movement routines and activities are more than just physical when done mindfully, they allow the mind to focus, engage and be present. The breath supports the movements, your attention helps you feel and appreciate the subtitles of actions. Moving mindfully is easily the best and most effective way to get the most out of your physical activity."

Michael James Wong / Photo by Jake Paul White

WHAT IS MINDFUL MOVEMENT MEDITATION?

Mindful movement meditation takes this practice one step further. During a mindful movement activity, the aim is to stay present in the moment and notice the world around you. When you enter mindful movement meditation, on the other hand, you completely absorb yourself in a meditative state. While you may find it hard to meditate when you first get started, the key to this mental wellness activity is practice.

One of the simplest ways to try mindful movement meditation is to listen to an audio track while walking. You can find a variety of free audio resources on Mindful.org or simply choose a podcast meditation tutorial. As you walk, listen deeply to the track and pay attention to various things, such as your breathing or the things you can see around you.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MINDFUL MOVEMENT?

So, why do people both with mindful movement? More than just the latest wellness trend, this practice can unlock some serious benefits. Whether you're looking to boost your sleep or lower those stress levels, there are plenty of reasons to give it a go. Interested in finding out more? Here are some of the top benefits of mindful movement.

Lower Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are deadly. These mental health issues can often have a physical impact on us from increasing the risk of cardiovascular problems to weight gain. Tackling the source of the problem is a smart move for your health and wellness.

According to a recent study from Penn State, practising trying mindful movement for anxiety could be the answer. The researchers looked at the activity and stress levels of 158 students as part of the study. When the students were more mindful and active at the same time, their stress and anxiety levels fell dramatically.

"Most studies in this area have focused on the differences between people who are more versus people who are less mindful, but we saw that college students often slipped in and out of mindful states during the day," explained David Conroy, professor of kinesiology at Penn State. "Developing the ability to shift into these states of mindfulness as needed may be valuable for improving self-regulation and well-being."

Ease Low Moods

Feeling a little blue? Research published in Frontiers in Psychiatry suggests that engaging in meditative movement could lower feelings of depression and anxiety. The study authors stated that this type of movement was 'at least as effective' as other forms of exercise. You may find that you can use mindful movement for energy or to lift your spirits each day.

Setting aside some time to engage in mindful movement ensures that you have a chance to relax. You may decide to add this to your existing self-care routine. Additionally, you can keep a mood diary at the same time to track your emotional wellness. Doing so will help you see whether engaging in mindful movement has impacted how you feel.

Improved Level of Focus

Modern life is busy. When was the last time you stopped and appreciated the present moment? Truth be told, it's easy to get caught up in what's going on in our minds and not focus on what's happening around us. That's where mindful movement is different.

Taking the time to really notice how you're feeling and your physical state is a skill that you can develop over a period of time. At first, you might find that your mind naturally wanders while you're trying to practice this activity. That's not as big a problem as you might imagine. Ease into mindful movement exercises so you can start to hone this skill.

Enhanced Relaxation and Sleep

Are you getting enough rest each night? Adults need an average of seven to eight hours of sleep each night . However, for many of us, ensuring that happens can be difficult. Whether you're stressed, busy, or overstimulated, finding it hard to drop off is a common problem.

Fortunately enough, there's some evidence to suggest that mindful movement can help. Taking a few minutes to settle your mind and body before bed could help you both fall asleep faster and get a more restful night's sleep, according to a recent scientific review . If you want to use mindful movement for sleep, try engaging in right before you hit the hay.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINDFUL MOVEMENT AND YOGA

Before we delve into the different types of mindful movement, let's tackle the elephant in the room. On paper, mindful movement sounds an awful lot like yoga. There's a good reason for that. Yoga is one form of mindful movement. Or, at least, it be.

Not all yoga is mindful movement... and not all mindful movement is yoga. If you engage in a meditative form of yoga, mindfulness will be at the centre of your practice. However, there are plenty of types of mindful movement that have nothing to do with yoga.

USING MINDFUL MOVEMENT FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY

Whether you're recovering from an injury or illness, your doctor may prescribe you a course of physical therapy. You may work with a physiotherapist or be given a set of movements to do at home on a regular basis. Since mindful movement involves focussing on each motion and your breathing pattern, there's a lot of overlap here. Often enough, there's an element of mindful movement in physical therapy courses.

GET STARTED: HOW TO DO MINDFUL MOVEMENT

If you're ready to start something new and feel like giving mindful movement a whirl, there's no time like the present. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can get started with this practice. Let's take a look at four options that you may wish to try for yourself.

Mindful Yoga

As we've covered, one of the most common ways to practice mindful movement is through meditative yoga. Some forms of this activity type lend themselves perfectly to mindful meditation. For instance, hatha yoga often encompasses an element of mindful meditation. When searching for a class that's right for you, be sure to research well.

Walking Outdoors

An easy way to incorporate some mindful movement into your life is to simply head out for a walk. While you're trekking outside, try to focus on how you're physically feeling as well as your surroundings. Avoid thinking about things like what you're going to have for dinner and just put all your energy into noticing what's happening.

Combining deep breathing with flowing movements, Tai Chi is an effective form of mindful movement. There are different styles of this Chinese martial art, and some are faster than others. However, they all focus on the same ethos, of concentrating on your breathing as you move from position to position. Why not look for starter sessions online?

Often called a mind, body and spirit practice, Qigong is another movement and breathing technique. Based on martial arts training and meditation practices, this activity encompasses a wide variety of techniques. The result is a form of mindful movement that is suitable for people of all ages and skill sets.

CONCLUSION

So, what are you waiting for? Trying mindful movement could help you strengthen your focus, relieve your stress levels, and curb anxiety. There's no downside to giving it a try and seeing how it benefits you. What's more, you don't need any special gear or classes to get started. Go ahead and give it a go.

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What is Mindful Movement and Why Should You Try It?

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Fitness fads come and go but some are worth sticking out. You might have heard of mindful movement in recent months but do you know what it is? We uncover everything you need to know about mindfulness -and why you should try it.

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There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase. What pops into your mind when you think of mindfulness and meditation?
Do you picture yourself sitting in a quiet field soaking up the sun while slowly counting your breaths?

Or maybe you think about a special cushion you sit on in your living room while visualizing a serene scene such as the aforementioned field. Some may immediately picture themselves focusing on calming down during a stressful situation.

Mindfulness and meditation can look like many different things, but at the center of it all, they both revolve around paying attention.

One thing that you may not associate with mindfulness is a pen and paper. However, mindfulness and writing can actually go hand-in-hand.
Mindfulness revolves around paying attention to the small details that are around you, which is also a powerful skill when you are writing. Mindfulness is likely to improve one's attention to detail because it helps people get into the habit of using all of their senses to absorb the world around them.
While mindfulness can strengthen one's creativity, creativity can, in turn, strengthen the practice of mindfulness. Getting into the routine of writing down your observations can help you practice being more aware of your thoughts and surroundings, and therefore enrich your creativity.

For example, can you think of the last time that you gave all of your attention to the sound of leaves blowing in the wind or the feeling of the warm sun on your face in the summer?

As you start journaling, you will start to find yourself feeling more present in the moment in your daily life. This will help writing seem like a less tedious task because you will already have inspiration built up just from things that you notice in your everyday life.

It is common for writers to face limiting beliefs while they are trying to be creative-beliefs that keep them from doing their best work. However, establishing a mindful writing practice can work to inspire and motivate writers to move past these excuses and create powerful writing.

In this article, we will cover what mindful writing is, and then go over 10 strategies that help build a mindful writing habit.

( Side note: Another positive way to improve your life is to read and learn something new every day. A great tool to do this is to join over 1 million others and start your day with the latest FREE, informative news from this website.)

What Is Mindful Writing?

The practice of mindfulness has become increasingly popular in recent years. In the West, it is based on Eastern spiritual practices but has morphed into a different practice all on its own. As a word, mindfulness is an idea that refers to a state of self-awareness.

We are always aware of something, whether it's passing thoughts or a worry or anxiety. However, we do not always stop to acknowledge these feelings without judgment.
This allows people to let go of self-limiting beliefs.
So what does this have to do with writing? Directing your thoughts inward can be difficult in this chaotic world. Your thoughts are probably overflowing throughout the day, preventing you from being able to actually focus on your mind.

Many people practice mindfulness when they are doing everyday tasks such as driving or walking the dog. During this process, people train themselves to become aware of things that may otherwise go unnoticed.

This may include the sound of one's footsteps or the feeling of a breeze on one's skin. Mindfulness allows you to become increasingly aware of your surroundings and appreciate them in a new way.

If you've been struggling with finding inspiration to pursue a new writing project, mindfulness may have a renewing effect. When you are practicing being mindful as you go about your day, you will be able to see the beauty and inspiration that lies in the details of your surrounding world that other people take for granted.

It may only take one small feeling or something that you hear someone else say to open up your mind to new inspirations and start a whole new journey of writing. You never know when that moment may come.

The act of writing allows you to get your thoughts down without allowing them to get stuck in your larger bubble of thoughts. Distractions may come and go, but you are able to actually see when you are giving your full attention to your thoughts, and when you are doing something else besides writing.

Mindful Writing Tips

1. Stay rooted in the present.

When you sit down to write, it is not difficult to get distracted by irrelevant things.
The phone may ring, or you may get an email notification-or you could hear a siren in the background. You may start daydreaming, or you may even start to think about other things that you need to do.
If you start to think about other things or your mind begins to wander:

2. Find the heart of your writing.

When you find yourself experiencing analysis paralysis or writer's block, starting a writing project is almost impossible.

Writer's block is often caused by a cluttered mind. If you have too much going on in your head, your mind can freeze and require a bit of a restart.

Take a break and then come back to the project from a subjective point of view instead of an objective one. Move away from the facts and analysis and focus more on your interpretations and judgments about a specific subject.

Want to create a daily routine filled with quiet, self-reflection? If so, check out Effortless Journaling - How to Start a Journal, Make It a Habit, and Find Endless Writing Topics.With this book, you can make the journaling habit a part of your daily routine.

3. Breathe before writing.

Silently focus on your breath before you start to write. This will allow your mind to start focusing and your body to relax.

It will help to slow down your random thoughts and get you into the writing mode. Breathing will let you become grounded and gain mental clarity.

Doing some breathing exercises, especially when you're finding it difficult to write, can help break the pattern of writer's block. A simple breathing exercise can help calm and clear your mind.

If you are well into your writing and all of a sudden feel stuck, take some more time to breathe. You should do this every so often throughout your writing sessions to refresh your brain and take a short mental break.

This will also prevent you from subconsciously tensing all of your muscles throughout the day while you are writing, which can result in pain and stress.

4. Be aware and let go of your need for perfection.

The pursuit of perfection is a common part of today's culture. Everyone wants to be perfect, or stand out in some way as being better than other people.
But what really measures perfection? Whose writing is actually perfect?
This pursuit of perfection acts as a blockade to really great work because you are trying to achieve something that is impossible.

Having something done is better than having it perfect. Also, what one person may consider to be "perfect" another may consider to be very imperfect, or even quite faulty. "Perfect" is such a subjective term, especially when it comes to writing content.
What does success look like to you? How can this piece of writing make you happy or allow you to enrich the lives of others?
Before starting a writing project, think about your expectations or your goals.

You may subconsciously be aiming to write something that other people think is perfect. Instead, try to write something that is useful, honest, or funny.

5. Visualize yourself writing.

Before being able to believe you can achieve success in your writing, you need to have an idea of what success looks like. In other words, you have to see it before you can believe it.

This is where the act of visualization comes into play. When you create a mental image of your desired outcome, you will be able to see the possibility of achieving it. Thinking about your preferred future will help motivate you to pursue your goal.
Visualize yourself getting started on your writing project today, and how far you might be able to get. Think about actually holding your pen or typing on your laptop, and how that feels to you. Visualizing this will help motivate and inspire you to get started.
Remember the last time you had a good writing day. Take some time to literally think about the process you went through to write that day. Where were you, and what was allowing you to stay focused on your writing?

6. Create a routine and schedule time for writing.

Getting into a routine helps because, once you force yourself to actually write something, your internal critic relaxes and lets you get down to business.

The ability to create and follow a routine requires self-discipline and determination, and will provide you with the motivation each day to write during your scheduled time. You will learn that your established habit of writing will produce your desired outcome of great work.

Habits are not acquired just because we think they are good and valuable and we want to have them. Routines and habits require time, persistence, and purposefulness to become consistent.

You will want to do some trial and error to find a routine and schedule that works best for you, but once you have determined this, you can set aside a specific time slot for writing each day. The more you stick to your routine, the easier it will become.

If needed, come up with a trigger action you can do before you start to write. For example, if you set your writing time to be at 10:00 in the morning, perhaps at 9:30 each morning you can make a cup of tea to help prepare your mind to write. This will eventually send a signal to your brain that, when you drink your tea, it is getting close to the time that you will need to get into writing mode.

Mindfulness Exercises to Improve Your Writing

7. Make mindful observations.

When you are able to start the process of observing your mind and separating yourself from your thoughts, you will be able to see that your experiences become whatever you become attached to. This could be the endless chatter in your mind or the reality of the present moment.

Stop and carefully think about what is going on around you. Use all of your senses to experience the smells, sounds, and feelings of the present moment. Observe what is going on without judgment, and make an effort to prevent your storytelling mind from taking over.

Try to see your current situation as if you were an outsider looking upon the scene. Think about how someone else would describe it, and the small details that may be noticed. Try to look at things from a new perspective.

8. Make mindful narrations.

Find somewhere away from your home where you can observe the world around you. Create a narrative in your mind revolving around the things that you notice.

Use your senses to set the scene, and allow the actions around you to start telling a story. Your goal is to stay in the present moment while creating your own narrative to go along with it.

9. Do the beat word sketch (popularized by Jack Kerouac).

Have you ever heard of Jack Kerouac's ? This book, published posthumously, is a collection of impulsive prose poetry written by Kerouac written throughout the 1950s. He carried a notebook in his jacket pocket where he documented his travels through the United States.

How to do a beat word sketch:
In his writings, he also discussed themes of music, art, life, Buddhism, writing, loneliness, and his wandering lifestyle. This simple habit of Kerouac's ended up being a well-known work of writing that has inspired a lot of people who came after him.

10. Start journaling consistently.

A mindful journaling practice can be done in many ways, but you should find what works best for you and stick with it.

Don't feel pressured to buy the most expensive journal or a fancy pen-just write in whatever form feels right to you. Any simple notebook is fine. You can even use journal and diary apps if you prefer. ( Here are some more writing apps and websites to check out.)

Regular journaling has many positive benefits. It helps you build the habit of being aware and present. It will help you see your surroundings as well as your emotions.

Mindfulness Takes Practice

In conclusion, the more you are able to engage in mindfulness practices, the more you will be able to see your work as being realistic because you will be focusing on all of its aspects. You'll be able to see it for its total value.

Your writing is likely to become more dimensional and complex as you practice mindfulness. Because you will be focusing on all of your senses, you will be able to describe things in-depth to your reader and connect with them on a new level that is less superficial than you were able to before practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness can play a large role in helping you improve your writing. But don't feel discouraged if you don't see results right away. Similar to writing, mindfulness takes practice and improves with dedication.

Take one or two of these strategies to start with, and practice them for five minutes before you start to write in order to get into the habit of mindful writing. If one trick doesn't work, move on to the next until you find what works best for you.
Did you enjoy this mindful writing post?
Looking for more journal ideas? Here are 100 journaling questions and prompts to help you start writing.

If you enjoyed this post on mindful writing, would you consider taking a moment and sharing it on your favorite social media platform?

Also below is a mindful writing infographic designed for sharing on Pinterest or other social media platform.

Finally, if you want another positive way to improve your life, then read and learn something new every day. A great tool to do this is to join over 1 million others and start your day with the latest FREE, informative news from this website.

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10 Tips for Mindful Writing and Meditative Journaling

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What pops into your mind when you think of mindfulness and meditation? Do you picture yourself sitting in a quiet field soaking up the sun while slowly counting your breaths? Or maybe you think about a special cushion you sit on in your living room while visualizing a serene scene such as the aforementioned field.

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All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | Andy Puddicombe | TED

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Reiki Music: emotional & physical healing music, Healing reiki music, healing meditation music 33011

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OM CHANTING SPIRITUAL MEDITATION ASCENSION

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5mins Slow Daimoku - Nam Myoho Renge Kyo - with Sansho to start & finish

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The following seven examples are some of the best-known ways to meditate:

1. Loving-kindness meditation

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With the many types of meditation to try, there should be one to suit most individuals.

Loving-kindness meditation is also known as Metta meditation. Its goal is to cultivate an attitude of love and kindness toward everything, even a person's enemies and sources of stress.

While breathing deeply, practitioners open their minds to receiving loving kindness. They then send messages of loving kindness to the world, to specific people, or to their loved ones.

In most forms of this meditation, the key is to repeat the message many times, until the practitioner feels an attitude of loving kindness.

Loving-kindness meditation is designed to promote feelings of compassion and love, both for others and oneself.

It can help those affected by:

This type of meditation may increase positive emotions and has been linked to reduced depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress or PTSD.

2. Body scan or progressive relaxation

Progressive relaxation, sometimes called body scan meditation, is meditation that encourages people to scan their bodies for areas of tension. The goal is to notice tension and to allow it to release.

During a progressive relaxation session, practitioners start at one end of their body, usually their feet, and work through the whole.

Some forms of progressive relaxation require people to tense and then relax muscles. Others encourage a person to visualize a wave, drifting over their body to release tension.

Progressive relaxation can help to promote generalized feelings of calmness and relaxation. It may also help with chronic pain. Because it slowly and steadily relaxes the body, some people use this form of meditation to help them sleep.

3. Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that urges practitioners to remain aware and present in the moment.

Rather than dwelling on the past or dreading the future, mindfulness encourages awareness of a person's existing surroundings. Crucial to this is a lack of judgment. So, rather than reflecting on the annoyance of a long wait, a practitioner will simply note the wait without judgment.

Mindfulness meditation is something people can do almost anywhere. While waiting in line at the grocery store, for example, a person might calmly notice their surroundings, including the sights, sounds, and smells they experience.

A form of mindfulness is involved in most kinds of meditation. Breath awareness encourages practitioners to be aware of their breathing, while progressive relaxation draws attention to areas of tension in the body.

Because mindfulness is a theme common to many forms of meditation, it has been extensively studied.

Research has found that mindfulness can:

reduce fixation on negative emotions

improve focus

improve memory

lessen impulsive, emotional reactions

improve relationship satisfaction

Some evidence suggests mindfulness may improve health. For example, a study of African-American men with chronic kidney disease found that mindfulness meditation could lower blood pressure.

4. Breath awareness meditation

Breath awareness is a type of mindful meditation that encourages mindful breathing.

Practitioners breathe slowly and deeply, counting their breaths or otherwise focusing on their breaths. The goal is to focus only on breathing and to ignore other thoughts that enter the mind.

As a form of mindfulness meditation, breath awareness offers many of the same benefits as mindfulness. Those include reduced anxiety, improved concentration, and greater emotional flexibility.

5. Kundalini yoga

Kundalini yoga is a physically active form of meditation that blends movements with deep breathing and mantras. People usually learn from a teacher or do a class. However, someone can learn the poses and mantras at home.

Similarly to other forms of yoga, kundalini yoga can improve physical strength and reduce pain. It may also improve mental health by reducing anxiety and depression.

A 2008 study of veterans with chronic low-back pain, for instance, found that yoga reduced pain, increased energy, and improved overall mental health.

6. Zen meditation

Zen meditation, sometimes called Zazen is a form of meditation that can be part of Buddhist practice. Many Zen practitioners study under a teacher because this kind of meditation involves specific steps and postures.

The goal is to find a comfortable position, focus on breathing, and mindfully observe one's thoughts without judgment.

Again, this form of meditation is similar to mindfulness meditation but requires more discipline and practice. People may prefer it if they are seeking both relaxation and a new spiritual path.

7. Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation is a spiritual form of meditation where practitioners remain seated and breathe slowly. The goal is to transcend or rise above the person's current state of being.

During a meditation session, practitioners focus on a mantra or a repeated word or series of words. A teacher determines the mantra based on a complex set of factors, sometimes including the year the practitioner was born, and the year the teacher was trained.

An alternative allows people to choose their mantra. This more contemporary version is not technically Transcendental Meditation, though it may look substantially similar. A practitioner might decide to repeat "I am not afraid of public speaking" while meditating.

People who practice Transcendental Meditation report both spiritual experiences and heightened mindfulness.

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7 types of meditation: What type is best for you?

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The following seven examples are some of the best-known ways to meditate: Loving-kindness meditation is also known as Metta meditation. Its goal is to cultivate an attitude of love and kindness toward everything, even a person's enemies and sources of stress. While breathing deeply, practitioners open their minds to receiving loving kindness.

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DAIMOKU - NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO - 5 MINUTES MIRACLE MANTRA FOR FAST KARMA CLEANSING

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https://youtu.be/qi3eMo88oT4?si=QBfoOf75OHS_5c6T

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Gregorian Chants: Sanctus | The Prayer of the Benedictine Monks (1 hour)

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https://www.breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/blog/10-mindfulness-games-for-adults-and-children

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Experienced Breathworks Teacher (and former Head of Training), Ginny Wall, shares her Top 10 Mindfulness Games to both help liven-up your practice and keep the kids entertained!

My answer to that would be YES! And I've come up with a collection of mindfulness games to prove it 😁. These games can be played by adults, but they're also very suitable for kids. Perhaps you could try one or two of these games with them...or on your own! They can be a great thing to have in your mindful parenting toolkit.

A lot of these games sound really basic and you might read the description and think 'Pah! That's a bit silly!', but I'd really encourage you to try them out! As you know from your general mindfulness practice, it's the actual doing or experiencing of the experience that makes the difference. Reading about following your breath with awareness doesn't sound very exciting, but doing the practice can reveal all kinds of experiences and insights that help us live happier lives.

So, go ahead and try one or two of these out...

1. TRACE YOUR BREATH

For this game, you hold up one hand in front of you, palm facing away from you. You then trace the outline of that hand with your index finger from the other hand - as if you were tracing around it with a pencil. And the trick is that you do this in time with your breath. So, as you breathe in, you trace up the outer side of the thumb and then as you breathe out, your trace down the inner side of it, then, breathing in, you trace up one side of the next finger and, breathing out, you trace down the other side of it, and so on until you reach the outer side of the little finger on that hand. Then you come back again in the opposite direction. Really pay attention to all the sensations in the fingertip that is doing the tracing, and around the edge of the hand that you're tracing the outline of.

This little game can be very calming, and is great for times when you feel anxious, or for people who find paying attention to the movement of breath in their chest or belly makes them feel a bit panicky.

2. THE THOUGHT SUNGLASSES

For this game, you need a big pair of sunglasses - the sillier the design of them the better! Now, imagine that the sunglasses are a thought that is troubling you in some way eg. 'Today is a really rubbish day' or 'I am useless'. Put the sunglasses on and see how everything you look at in the world is 'coloured' by that thought. What's it like to take the sunglasses off again now and look around, imagining that you simply stop looking at everything 'through' that thought? The sunglasses are still there - in your hand or on the table - but what's it like to look at the sunglasses/thought and see that you don't have to believe it? Notice any change in how you feel in your body when you put the sunglasses on (and believe the thought) and when you take them off (and stop believing it). Maybe have a look at yourself in the mirror with the sunglasses on, and have a laugh too.

3. THE THOUGHT BATH MAT

Another version of this game is to do it with a bathmat (or rug, big cushion or even the dog's bed!). Place the bathmat on the floor and imagine that the bathmat is that tricky thought eg. 'Everyone thinks I'm stupid.' Now, stand on the bathmat and see what it's like to be right inside that thought - what does it feel like in your body? You might notice that your shoulders hunch over or you feel a heavy or nasty feeling in your tummy, for example. Now, step off the bathmat and see what it's like to step right out of that thought! How does that feel in your body? You might think that this is all very well for a game, but would it work in 'real life'. Try it and see - notice that you are not actually your thoughts, and see how differently you feel when you step out of a thought and try looking at the world from a different perspective. You might surprise yourself!

Kids are often very good at learning with their bodies things that are hard to learn in other ways, so this 'thought bathmat' game can be a really helpful way for them to get a felt experience of not having to believe every tricky thought that comes into their head.

4. STROKE THE DOG / HUG A TREE

When did you last stroke your dog? Have you ever hugged a tree? What can you find that feels interesting to touch - maybe the wallpaper or a blanket or bubbles in the bath? Now smile at anyone who says that this a bit silly and go ahead and stroke the dog, hug the tree, stroke your hand along the wallpaper/blanket/bubbles and really tune into the feelings in your hand. What's that like? Is it rough or smooth, tickly or soothing, soft or hard? And can you notice any response anywhere else in your body when you do this? What impact does it have on your mood? Take some time to tune in to your experience.

5. MY TOES AREN'T UPSET

Wriggle your toes like you used to when you were a kid / much littler than you are now. Try one foot then the other. Do you feel anything different in one foot or the other? Can you feel the little stretchy feelings in between your toes, or the feeling of your socks / the carpet against your skin? Can you feel the sole of your foot moving against the floor or inside your shoes when you wriggle the toes? Do you toes ever get upset? Most people find that their toes are just toes, getting on with the business of being toes, whatever mood we're in!

So, next time you feel upset, take your awareness down into your feet (imagine your awareness going right down inside your body all the way down to your toes) and give them a wriggle. Notice the sensations in your toes, and notice that your toes aren't upset. Enjoy having a little holiday from your bad mood or upset by visiting your toes. By the time you bring your attention back to whatever you were doing or thinking about beforehand, you might find that actually you're feeling a lot calmer! This can be a really handy game to play whenever you start feeling upset.

6. THE IMPATIENCE DANCE

Do you get impatient sometimes? Or do you feel all wound up at the end of a busy day? All of that energy pent up in our bodies can make it hard to relax, enjoy our dinner or get to sleep. So, how about trying out a little 'impatience dance' at times like this? It's a bit like the one that dogs do after they've got all excited at meeting a friend or all scared at meeting a hissing cat (or maybe that's just my dog!). You simply stand, sit or lie down and gently jiggle or shake out different parts of your body. Try moving gradually through your body from top to bottom, or the other way up, jiggling and shaking each part as you go. How does that feel? Now, if you want, you could do both arms or legs at once, or even your whole body. Can you let your bum join in this jiggling and shaking? It does it really well! Notice how different you feel after you've done this little 'impatience dance'.

7. SLEEPING TIGERS

This was one of my family's favourite games when we were kids. Everyone has to lie down - the floor is fine for this - except one or more people whose job it is to keep watch over them. The people on the floor are 'sleeping tigers' and they have to try to lie as still as possible (they're allowed to breathe!). The people watching have to spot if anyone moves. For some reason, adults usually like to be the watchers in this game. It's a great awareness game because the 'tigers' can just pay attention to the movement of their chest or belly as they breathe, to help them stay calm and still, while the 'watchers' are gently paying attention to the tigers.

8. MINDFUL DESTRUCTION

This is one of my own personal favourite mindfulness games! Find something that is already rubbish or recycling (such as scrap paper) or that it's safe for you to destroy. Then gently tear it, snip it, or pull it apart, enjoying the feeling of the paper ripping or pieces coming off the object. How small can you make the pieces? You could unravel an old jumper that is full of holes by snipping it at the bottom to create a loose thread then just pulling until you have no jumper left! You could all the leaves off a branch that has been pruned off a bush in your garden, before it goes in the compost bin. It can be fun to play this game with another person. Notice the sensations, sounds etc as you destroy the object, and also the feelings in your body, and mood as you go.

9. WHAT'S THE BEST SMELL?

This is a great bath-time game, which I used to play with my kids all the time when they were little. It also works really well in the kitchen. You can play it on your own, or with others and see if you have different 'best smells'. Simply look through the bottles and jars in your bathroom or kitchen and smell them one by one (of course make sure not to include cleaning products or anything else that wouldn't be safe to sniff!). Notice which ones you like or don't like so much. Go back to ones that you do like and take a longer sniff. Really tune into those lovely olfactory sensations and see how the rest of your body is responding to this moment of pleasure. If you like, you could choose a favourite - what's the 'best smell' for you today?

10. WHAT MADE YOU SMILE TODAY?

Sometime towards the end of your day - during the evening meal or around bedtime are good times - cast your mind back over the day and find three things, if possible, that made you smile. They don't need to be anything big at all, but big things are also allowed! Now, if possible, share them with someone else. Maybe there's someone with you and you can tell each other three smiles from you day. Or perhaps you can text them to someone? This makes it a really nice game for kids to play with a parent who they don't live with all the time, or with grandparents.

As always, notice how playing this game makes you feel in your body in this moment as you recall today's smiles. If today has been a really difficult or sad day and you can't find any smiles, then just go back to another time when something made you smile and play the game with that memory.

Ginny x

Did you know that Breathworks have their own online mindfulness community? The

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10 Mindfulness Games for Adults (and Children!)

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The key to achieving a daily habit? Make it fun! In this blog, Breathworks mindfulness teacher, Ginny Wall, shares her favourite mindfulness games - perfect for the whole family!

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