Rushed from appointment to appointment, another coffee is “thrown in” in between to make it through the next meeting or to pick up the children from school after shopping and then drive them to any leisure activities. In the evening - often still internally excited by caffeine and the increased adrenaline released during the day due to stress - coming to rest is just an idea that briefly crosses your consciousness. The thoughts continue to circle, even after the head has already been laid on the comfortable pillow that invites a restful sleep.
Nighttime sleep is shortened by lying awake for too long, difficulty staying asleep or waking up early in the morning. The required rest periods are constantly and tragically postponed until the long-awaited next vacation. This is how the days go by. They almost fly along and in short moments of calm, if they exist, one becomes aware of how stressed, tired and overworked the mind and body are.
Especially in today's fast-paced and stressful times, mindfulness and other ways to relax are becoming more and more important. Of course, this is also a recurring topic during the discussions in my online psychological counseling. For this reason, I would like to introduce you to three mindfulness exercises that you can do both in between and on the go, so that you can take short breaks from the sea of stress-causing thoughts and responsibilities
1. Focusing on the breath.
Our breath, which always does its work faithfully, unsupervised and automatically, can be used to escape from circular thoughts, brooding, states of tension and to reduce stress. To do this, concentrate on your breathing. You can sit up a little more upright - if you want to. However, it works regardless of this in any position.
In the next step, try to accompany your breath and notice how air is first drawn into your nose and then sinks further into your lungs and the lower abdomen. Do not try to direct or control your breath by, for example, trying to breathe particularly deeply. The art of mindful observation of your breath aims precisely at this - observing without wanting to change. Perceiving without judgment. Without directing or controlling.
This is a challenge for many people at first. Be patient with yourself at this point. You are trying something new and need some time. It is therefore completely normal that many distracting thoughts come to mind, that you want to control your breathing and that you are easily distracted.
However, with time and constant practice you will find that the exercise becomes easier and easier. The good thing about this mindfulness exercise is that you have to breathe and you do it anyway, wherever you are. Be it on the train, at a family celebration, in the office or at university. You can therefore treat yourself to a short break at any time.
2. Sit or lie mindfully.
In most cases, sitting is for relief, for work or for comfort. Often, while sitting, thoughts revolve around the past or the future. You can use this to your advantage and give yourself a little break by consciously noticing how you are sitting. Mindful sitting means concentrating on your body and noticing how your back feels on the chair, for example. This is mainly about perceiving and feeling - without judging what you perceive.
You can also ask yourself questions and then try to notice them: “Where does my back touch the chair?”, “Where are my bottom and thighs?”, “Am I sitting comfortably or do I want to change my position?”, “How do my feet feel on the floor?”, “Is there the same amount of weight on both?”, “Is the back of the chair cold and how does it feel?”.
As described above, it will be difficult to master the exercise straight away. However, it is worth continuing to practice, because you cannot, for example, worry about X or Y at the same time as you are busy feeling how you are sitting. This exercise is also independent of time and place.
3. Mindful walk.
Mindful walking or a mindful walk also aims at consciously perceiving the “here and now” without judgment, without getting lost in plans for the coming week or thinking about Aunt Gertrud’s last birthday.
Instead, you concentrate on how your feet touch the ground, for example. “What is the ground like?”, “Can you feel the roots of the forest floor or the stones of a gravel path?”, “Are you walking comfortably?”, “What is your posture like?”, “What do you smell?”, “What scents can you identify?”, “How does the sun, rain, wind or snow feel on your skin?”, “What do you hear?”, “Can you hear different bird calls?”, “The buzzing of insects?”.
You can of course modify the exercise depending on the situation. On a main road, listening for pleasant sounds and noticing the different scents is much less appropriate than in the forest. But still. Here you can pay attention to how you walk. In this example you can also notice the wind. Of course, you will often be distracted here and catch yourself "drifting off track". Be understanding and patient with yourself. It takes some time.
With this in mind, I wish you a lot of peace and serenity, both while trying out the exercises and in your everyday life. /S.Schwinnen
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