Is your mind full, or are you mindful?
3 MINDFULNESS PRACTICES TO CALM YOUR MIND AND BODY
Are there thoughts buzzing through your brain as you land on this page? Are there plenty of to do’s sitting on that list? Is it hard to quiet the noise? Is your mind full? There is hope in navigating the daily life stressors to promote space for mindfulness practices.
Added thoughts, feelings, and stressors on our mind typically have a direct correlation with our related mood and associated behaviors, which can impact our daily lives and functioning abilities. Mental health disorders are described as serious changes in the way we typically learn and take in information, respond and behave, or navigate our emotions, which can cause obstacles and distress to our day-to-day functionality.
Individuals of any age can benefit from mindfulness – children, teens, adults, mindfulness is here for us all! It’s the simple practice of bringing a gentle, accepting attitude to the present moment, while promoting gratitude, joy, stimulation, and decreasing or relieving stress.
The beautiful thing about mindfulness practice is there is flexibility to seek the best calming and regulating strategies that works for you. There is not just one specific mindfulness tool, yet a global spectrum of available opportunities to connect with your mind and body to promote a calm internal environment.
To better breakdown this concept, mindfulness practice can be defined as a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. It can be promoted by certain practices or activities, such as deep breathing, meditation, or bodily and sensory awareness. There are endless ways to cultivate and practice mindfulness. The goal of any mindfulness technique is typically to achieve a state of alert, focused, deep relaxation. That’s accomplished by deliberately paying attention to emotions, thoughts, and sensations to enable the mind to refocus on the present moment.
Some key points to observe and attempt to be internally aware of during a mindfulness practice include:
Body Sensations
Notice body sensations, such as tingling, pulsing, or even no feeling, and allow some exploration of the sensation. Bring and guide your attention to each part of your body in succession from head to toe.
Sensory
Detect sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches, and then let them stay in your awareness as long as you would like without judgment. When the mind begins to stray from the immediate sensation, bring your attention back to your choice of focus.
Emotions
Allow emotions to be present. Practice a steady and relaxed naming of emotions: “joy,” “anger,” “frustration.” Accept their presence and let them go.
The Center of Disease control and Prevention (CDC) notes the most prevalent mental health disorders are anxiety, depression, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Often, anxiety and depressive symptomology, as well as other mental health disorders, manifest in our younger years, through childhood development, or are shaped from our lived experiences - through behavioral responses, actions, and verbal and non-verbal emotional expressions. Prior to implementing the art of mindfulness practice, it is important to know what signs and symptoms to look for, to better understand our mindset and related needs.
Let’s consider how some mental health disorders may look and feel for us:
Anxiety may present as fear or worry but can also look like irritable and angry. Anxiety symptoms can include trouble sleeping, as well as physical symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, or stomachaches. Some of us choose to keep their worries to ourselves and, thus, the symptoms can be harder to pinpoint or navigate.
Depression might lead to a decreased sense of motivation or determination, leading to stigmas such as “laziness” or the inaccurate perception of “not caring.” Depression impacts our emotional drive system and can deplete our sense of hopefulness and optimism.
Complex post traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) can impact and limit the individual’s ability to copy, given past lived experiences. The central nervous system becomes conditioned to the threat of danger, limiting an individuals ability to feel safe and can impact our core belief system. Trauma initiates the “fight,” flight,” “freeze,” or “fawn” response.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns with attention limitations, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. ADHD may pose challenges to feeling grounded or present. An internal game of ping pong, with rapid thoughts and sensations zipping through our minds and bodies, limiting our attentional sustainability.
By incorporating mindfulness practice into our lives, we give ourselves the opportunity to release the thoughts on our mind and connect with our bodies. Mindfulness practice is the art and ability to focus on being aware of what you are sensing and feeling in the given moment. Mental health, including the practice of mindfulness meditation, is an important part of our overall health and well-being. Mental health includes our mental, emotional, behavioral and spiritual well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also plays a role in how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.
So, let’s talk about how to shake those thoughts from our full minds to promote mindfulness practice!
Here are three helpful starting tips to introduce mindfulness techniques into your life:
1. Deep Breathing Exercises – Sometimes it can be helpful to reference a guide while focusing on the inhalation and exhalation. Try practicing with your hand, an image of a star, or square - Guide your finger while tracing your hand, a star, or square. Take a deep breathe in with one trace of the finger, followed by an exhale out. The art of diaphragmatic breathing can be helpful to regulate the mind and body!
Hand/Finger Breathing
Star Breathing
Square Breathing
2. Mindfulness Expressive Arts – Mindful connection with the act of art and drawing can result in a deeper sense of well-being. Bring your attention any modality of art – color inside (or outside!) the lines, thoughtlessly doodle, or get messy with some paint. Five minutes of a focused uninterrupted mindfulness art activity can help to relax the nervous system. Your mind and body will thank you.
3. Body Scanning – Body Scanning involves focusing your attention to parts of your body and the internal bodily sensations in a gradual sequence as you scan from your head to your feed. This art of mentally scanning your body helps to promote awareness to every part of your body. Imagine a light flowing from your head all the way down to the tips of your toes. Observe what it is like to follow the light, noticing the sensations held and stored in the body.
Mindfulness activities help to create a sense of physical and mental calm that allow one to pause, reflect, and focus on the present. Give yourself grace and your mind permission to wander. When you notice the thoughts, acknowledge them and let them pass. The goal should not be so empty or promote a still mind, yet a deeper connection with your present mind and body. Studies have shown that mindfulness practice promote benefits not only for one’s mental health but also for the persons physical well-being. I challenge you to carve out 5 minutes daily for mindfulness practice. Together, lets un-fill our minds with stressful thoughts and fill it with the art of mindfulness!
It is important to recognize that although these activities may help reduce the residual effects of stress, there may be more that we need to support our deepest sense of self. Consider your outlets, resources, and sense of community. Should you be interested in exploring clinical or wellness services at Healthy Healing and Wellness, please inquire!
References:
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition. Arlington, VA., American Psychiatric Association, 2013
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2024, August 8). Protecting the Nation’s Mental Health
Miles for Migraine: The Mind-Body Connection. 2022. Retrieved from https://www.milesformigraine.org/the-mind-body-connection-managing-migraine/?gclid=CjwKCAjw9-KTBhBcEiwAr19ig_L6hLxEV3hEkfFQRZon5mbQIIUmxtf1Cx7T4Bv_OraIVGeDlg-jRRoCg5kQAvD_BwE