7 Ways to Become More Present
Living mindfully can become second nature to you if you train your brain to make it a habit.
These 7 exercises will put that process into motion. The more you practice them, the faster your brain will make mindfulness a habit and guide your behavior accordingly.
Mindfulness breeds mindfulness. As your brain starts to develop the habit, you will stay mindful for longer periods of time until you are able to remain present throughout your day.
These exercises require nothing more than a few minutes of your time each day to begin a dramatic transformation that will amaze you.
Exercise 1: Mindful Mealtimes
Grabbing a quick lunch at our desks or gulping down a hurried breakfast is common practice for many of us. Oftentimes, we can’t even remember what we ate just a few hours before. This is because we eat mindlessly.
Another common sign of mindless eating is looking down to find your plate or a bag of chips empty. Your mind was somewhere else, and you don't even remember eating the food, much less what it tasted like.
This exercise not only promotes mindfulness but also fosters healthy eating and gratitude. Make your mealtimes mindful and enjoyable with the following steps:
Arrange the meal before you and spend a few moments gazing at the food.
Notice all the details of the meal you're about to eat. Focus on the different colors and smells, how the food is arranged on the plate, and even the shapes and colors of the various plates or containers.
Say a little prayer of gratitude for the blessing you're about to enjoy.
Pick up your fork or spoon and be totally aware of how it feels in your hand.
Keep your attention solely on the meal, before you pick up the first forkful; and place it in your mouth and hold it there for a moment.
Chew slowly, really savoring the tastes and flavors of the food as it moves in your mouth.
Bring your awareness to the different flavors and mentally express them: sweet, sour, spicy, hot, cold…
As you swallow, feel the food moving down and settling in your stomach.
The aim of this exercise is to help you become totally present when engaging in activities like eating. When practiced consistently, it will spread to other activities and help you stay focused in the here and now.
Exercise 2: Mindful Listening
Do you really listen when having conversations with others? Do you engage in mindful listening where you focus on the person talking, their facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice? Most importantly, do you really listen to their words?
We often think that we're active listeners when in fact, we're anything but. Our minds wander as we nod absently, our eyes dart around looking at other things and people. Our minds race ahead as we think of what we're going to say in reply. That's not mindful listening.
Practice this exercise by listening mindfully to at least one person every day:
Bring your full attention to the person speaking and firmly dismiss any distracting thoughts.
Keep your body still, don't fidget or fiddle with your hands. Look fully into the person's face and make eye contact.
Listen intently to what is being said. Do not interrupt or think ahead for a reply. Just listen.
Be aware of the person's body language and tone of voice.
When it's your turn to speak, pause for a moment and organize your thoughts and words. Give a reply that reflects that you have listened carefully or ask questions that reflect that you have listened intently
As you learn to listen mindfully, your own words will become wiser and more empathetic. Your relationships on every level will improve. People feel appreciated and valued when they are heard, and your attention will be reciprocated. You'll always find willing and attentive listeners
It also goes without saying that being a mindful listener will make you wildly popular as well!
Exercise 3: Mindful Senses
This exercise is best practiced outdoors when you're walking down the street, sitting in the park, or along a nature stroll, for example. It involves engaging all of your senses other than sight.
Our fast-paced digital lifestyle has dulled our senses to a great degree. We rarely stop to smell the roses. Practice the following steps to keep your senses sharp, and yourself more present.
Instead of merely looking at things, unfocus your eyes a little and use your sense of sight, touch, and smell to become mindful of your surroundings.
Become aware of different sounds such as distant voices, car horns, dogs barking, and so on.
If you're in nature, identify as many sounds as you can; wind rustling through trees, birds singing, waves crashing on the beach, and so on. You'll be surprised at how many individual sounds you can pick up.
Bring your full awareness to these sounds that, normally, you would never notice.
Next, engage your sense of smell. Perhaps you can smell cooking; try to identify what it is. It may be the scent of flowers or freshly-mown grass. Inhale deeply and become mindful of these various smells.
Engage your sense of touch by taking off your shoes and feeling the soft grass under your feet, stroking the petals of a flower or a branch.
Practice this exercise whenever you are outdoors to keep you more mindful throughout your day. You can practice at the mall or grocery store as well. These places offer a wide variety of sounds, smells, and textures to hone your senses.
Exercise 4: Mindful Sensation
This is a rather weird but brilliant exercise for developing mindful awareness of your body. Over time, it will help you become more attuned to your body and heighten your intuition.
Sitting down with your eyes closed, take a few deep breaths, until your body is relaxed and loose.
Pinch the soft inner part of your upper arm.
Pinch the soft flesh as hard as you can stand it, then let go.
Focus on the sensation of pain as it spreads through your arm.
Identify how the pain feels: burning, tingling, throbbing, etc.
Continue to be mindful of the pain as it fades, then disappears.
Repeat the above steps two more times.
When you develop mindful sensation, you'll be able to check in with your body throughout the day to quickly detect how you're feeling, and whether you need to take a break or de-stress.
Exercise 5: Mindful Pause
You can use your phone alert for this exercise to keep you practicing it consistently. The goal of the exercise is to bring you back to the present several times during the day and train the brain to perform tasks mindfully.
Simply pause at intervals during the day and become completely mindful of whatever you're doing at that moment.
Say you're making a salad for dinner. Pause and bring your mind to the task at hand. Engage all of your senses to become mindful of the process. Note the colors and smells of the vegetables and their various textures and how they feel in your hands. Become absorbed in the feeling of running water over your hands as you wash the vegetables, and the sensation as you peel and chop them.
Remain present until you've finished the task.
If you're working at your desk, pause and become mindful of your posture, the feel of the chair beneath you, the items on your desk, the feel of the mouse and keyboard as you use them.
Try to take these mindful pauses during different activities and tasks to train your mind to quickly become present, regardless of what you're doing or the number of distractions around you.
Take these short, mindful pauses several times throughout the day to ground yourself in the present moment. Our minds often wander when we're doing mundane tasks. But even something as simple as taking a shower or washing dishes can be an amazing experience when you do it mindfully.
The effect of this exercise will last for some time afterwards so that you will continue to stay present and grounded. It's useful to take a mindful pause before an important meeting or presentation, or when planning projects. You'll experience more clarity of mind, better focus, and increased efficiency because you're totally in the moment.
Exercise 6: Mindful Silence
In this challenging exercise, you simply sit and listen to the surrounding silence. Yes, silence can be heard, and you can become so immersed in the present that you can actually listen to it.
This exercise is probably the most difficult because it's counterintuitive, or at least it seems to be. Since our conception of silence is the lack of sound, we can’t listen to 'no sound'.
However, when you learn to listen to silence, you will have truly begun to master the art of mindfulness. It will take more practice than the other exercises, but don’t get discouraged - you'll get the hang of it.
In the beginning, you can expect to be distracted with a lot of thoughts flooding your brain as well as every little noise around you. Dismiss these as soon as they come up and continue to sit in the silence. The goal is to block your mind to everything but the silence.
Choose a time and place where you can sit in complete silence. Early morning when the household is asleep could be a good time, or whenever you are alone and your surroundings are quiet.
Choose the quietest spot you can find where you won't be disturbed. Make sure it's as isolated as possible from outdoor noises and indoor sounds like TVs and even the hum of household appliances (when you're trying to focus on silence, these will seem to be magnified, whereas normally, you wouldn't notice them).
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
Breathe deeply for 2 or 3 minutes, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. As you breathe out, feel the tension slowly leave your body as your muscles relax.
Close your eyes. Slowly, bring your mind to the surrounding silence… just listen to it.
Dismiss distracting thoughts as they come to you.
If noise distracts you, dismiss it without judgment. Don’t allow feelings of frustration or annoyance to distract your focus.
Let the silence surround you completely. Imagine your body melting and becoming one with the silence.
When you've ready, open your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Exercise 7: Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is one of the most powerful methods for achieving presence of mind. It is designed to minimize negative thoughts, bring calmness to an overstimulated mind and relax the body. It brings you into a tranquil state of full presence in the here and now.
The methods of mindfulness meditation differ slightly, but they are all centered around deep breathing, awareness of the body, and the nonjudgmental acceptance of thoughts and feelings. In fact, five minutes of deep breathing where you focus only on the sensation of inhaling and exhaling is a mindfulness meditation in itself.
Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. Research also suggests that it may lower the risk of heart disease by lowering the heart rate and promoting better circulation. It can help boost immunity, reduce aches and pains and generate feelings of optimism and hopefulness.
If you're new to meditation or think it's not for you, the combined physical and mental benefits certainly make it worth a try. You will be pleasantly surprised at how great you feel afterward and will understand why meditation is a core part of many people's lives.
The first rule is consistent practice. Think of mindfulness meditation as a workout for your brain to build 'mindfulness muscle'. Just as you need to exercise regularly to build physical muscle, meditation will only have results when practiced consistently.
However, studies have shown that you don’t need to meditate daily. Three to four times weekly is sufficient to bring about the desired results. After about 8 weeks of consistent practice, the brain actually begins to change, becoming more mindful and present.
If you're a beginner, guided meditation will work best for you. You can invest in a mindfulness meditation app that contains dozens of guided meditation tracks, as well as other cool features like alerts and scheduling options.
Another great option is YouTube, an excellent resource for a wide variety of mindfulness meditations. It's best to start with short ones and progress from there.
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that just makes total sense when you think of its benefits. In fact, learning to live mindfully is more important today than ever before.
The seven exercises discussed here in addition to the helpful tips are all you need to transform your life on every level. Start practicing them today and experience the magic that being present can work in your life.
Comments