Practicing Mindfulness and Its Benefits With Simple Techniques for Busy Schedules

The world can be a stressful place. Relationships, jobs, and juggling long lists of errands everyday can leave people exhausted mentally and emotionally. Learning to handle stress through the use of mindfulness meditation is the key to staying calm in hectic times and dealing with what life throws at us.

Practicing Mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation can be done anywhere, but finding a quiet place makes it easier when you first begin. Sit comfortably. Begin focusing on each part of your body beginning with your feet. Tighten the muscle and hold it for a few seconds before moving on to your legs and upper body. Feel the tension lessening as you release. Work your way up to you hands and arms. When you have finished, focus on your breathing. One breathing technique that is helpful is to breath in for six seconds, hold the air in your lungs six seconds, exhale for six seconds, hold the breath out of your lungs for six seconds and repeat. The goal of these beginning exercises is to quiet the mind by putting all of your focus on something else.

Next, find a word or phrase that is calming to you such as "inner peace". Repeat the word in your mind or say it aloud if you wish. Your mind might wonder, and that is alright. Gently bring your thoughts back to the phrase. Pay attention to how you feel when certain thoughts cross through. Are they uncomfortable? Do they help you in any way? If they are causing despair or anxiety then consider why for a moment, and then let them go. The point of mindfulness is to begin to control your thoughts and feelings instead of letting them control you.

The Most Effective Mindfulness Techniques for Busy Schedules

These Mindfulness techniques are simple, convenient, and effective, these can be used anywhere at anytime to battle the daily stress we all encounter.

Deep Breathing

One of the best mindfulness techniques used in stress management is deep breathing. Something that can be done at work or home, it simply involves breathing from the stomach and making sure you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Not only will the physical act of deep breathing help to slow down your heart rate and keep the stress hormones in check, but it will also help clear the mind by letting you focus on the breathing itself. By closing your eyes and concentrating on the sound and rhythm of the breathing, you can calm down very quickly.

The Sound of Music

While music can soothe the savage beast, it can also be very therapeutic physically and emotionally. Whether it's classical music from Beethoven or the latest pop hit from the Billboard charts, music has been proven to be a great stress reliever. By focusing on the sounds and vibrations of each note and the feelings they generate within you, it's possible to clear out any negative thoughts you may be experiencing and replace them with positive ones.

House Cleaning

The great thing about this technique is that you accomplish two things at the same time. Not only do you clear your mind and focus only on what's happening at the moment, but you also get a clean house in the process. This is considered a great mindfulness technique because you can focus on so many different aspects. For example, when you are filling a box full of items to donate to charity, you can focus on clearing out the clutter in your own mind. If you're washing dishes, you can focus on how the warm, soapy water feels as you wash each dish, or let the vibrations from a vacuum cleaner soothe your mind.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Learning to control how you think and feel has many positive effects towards an increased ability to concentrate and focus on yourself instead of the negativity of others. By practicing mindfulness techniques daily, you'll quickly find yourself feeling less stressful and more positive about each and every day. Consider setting aside time each day for mindfulness meditation. Make the time for yourself one without judgment. The benefits of consistent mediation include decreased blood pressure, reduced anxiety and stress, and feelings of calmness. With practice, the reduced amount of time it takes to push negative thoughts away during mediation will decrease until you can quickly shut out thoughts that are distressing.