Mindfulness Practices for Self-Care

By Sarah Sanner

In our fast-paced, result-driven, and productivity-centric world, our brains are constantly trying to make sense of what is going on around us. It is, after all, a big part of a brain’s purpose. But when we are fed so many signals and input on a daily basis, our brains get overstimulated, which makes our “auto-pilot” take over.

Mindfulness is the practice of switching off the brain’s “auto-pilot” tendency and actively engaging in “the now”. We know people have benefited from this practice for thousands of years as it appears in many religions and philosophies. The best part is that we can use these practices in our daily lives to help us lessen the sting of difficult thoughts and feelings often accompanied by grief.

With so many tasks to do in one day and so much to think about it’s very easy for us to never even consider the possibility of being mentally present in the moment. Ruminating about past events or worrying about future events prevents us from looking around at the reality around us and experiencing it without placing judgment on ourselves (like we so often do).

Mindfulness is a tool for anyone and everyone to use at any time. It does not have to strictly be hour-long meditation sessions. Some ways we can incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives are:

• • Calling attention to the environment around you (What do you see, smell, hear, taste, and feel right now?)
  • Deep breathing exercises
  • Eating with intention
  • Going for a walk while observing what’s around you
  • Stopping a “thought train” in its tracks and noticing how the thoughts are making you feel

These are all mindfulness examples and with practice over time, those who work on this experience:

• • Less stress
  • Less of a contrast between highs and lows
  • Increased attention
  • Better sleep
  • Reduced reaction to chronic pain
  • Overall healthier well-being

Most importantly, when we are able to separate ourselves from our own thoughts by using Mindfulness practices, we are able to observe these harsh thoughts with less of an emotional reaction. Trying to force a spontaneous thought that brings us shame, guilt, anger, sorrow, etc. out of our heads only amplifies the intensity of it. With mindfulness, we will still experience these emotions from time to time, but we learn to sit with them until they pass (because they always do)

Join us for the workshop Mindfulness Practices for Self-Care Meeting Wednesday, April 24th on Zoom, 3pm (PT)/ 4pm (MST)/ 5pm (CT)/ 6pm (EST) Click here to learn more and register