A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MINDFULNESS

I'm here to tell you about my favorite way to relax and recharge: practicing mindfulness. If you've never heard of it, it's become a trendy way to meditate. Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. While that definition may make mindfulness seem like an obtainable or complicated way to relax, I'm here to tell you that it's much easier to achieve than you think. Emphasizing the part where it reads, "focusing one's awareness on the present moment", mindfulness can be utilized anywhere: at home, at work, and even in the car. The idea is to center your mind and pay attention to everything you are feeling in the moment. Practicing mindfulness is not only easy, but it's a fast way to relax and recharge when you feel tired or stressed. We can cultivate our own natural ability to be mindful just by practicing the feeling. If you can visualize it, try to picture yourself right now where you are with no distraction. Whatever screen you're reading this on, whoever you're with, and wherever you are is irrelevant. Are you sitting? Standing? What do you feel? What do you hear? These are some of the basic questions that can help us be more mindful. The more you can focus on the present moment and less on the present circumstances of your life, the more effective the practice will be.

Take five minutes out of your day and follow these three easy steps: 1) Sit down 2) Close your eyes 3) Focus on your breathing Now when you first try this, you're going to find your mind wandering -- to what you're having for lunch, to what your best friend just texted you, to where you need to be later today -- and that's normal. The trick is to bring your thoughts back to your breathing. You may even find it helpful to visualize a word like "breathe" or "focus". Watch the word in your mind as you breathe. ​Once you've mastered the idea of keeping your mind from wandering, you can start to focus on the idea of the present moment and what you feel both internally and externally. I especially like the example of "truly stopping and smelling the roses" -- you're separating from your thoughts and engaging in the simple thought of just being. Read about it . . . If you're interested in learning more about the idea of mindfulness and implementing it in your daily life, browse mindful for some inspiration and more information. Practice it . . . If you're ready to give mindfulness a try, you may find it easier to start with someone guiding you.

Choosing to take this time to engage with the present moment can help you have a better day, a better week, and a better life. I hope you give some of these practices a try and explore mindfulness as a way to improve your day-to-day routine!​

xo Kate