• Mindfulness

    You can practice Mindfulness anywhere, any time! The idea is to integrate it into your daily life – not for it to become another ‘demand.’ However, putting a little time aside in the early stages to learn ‘how to do it’ through the formal exercises below is a good start.

    Tips – get comfortable!

  • Begin slowly (3 mins) and build up to longer exercises
  • Avoid practising immediately after a meal or if you are hungry
  • Be non-judgemental, curious and ‘noticing’ about yourself during exercises
  • If sitting, uncross your legs, both feet on the floor, back straight but relaxed. If lying down, try using a cushion under your knees and a small pillow under your head
  • Formal practice means deciding to do 1 or 2 exercises a day / every other day for between 3-10 minutes. See which ones you like!

    Try one of these to begin with, then the others. Many are available as AMEND podcasts:

  • 3 minute Breathing Exercise (Introduction, Space, and Exercise)
  • Quick De-stress Exercise
  • Sounds Exercise
  • Informal practice is where you begin to build in ‘being mindful’ as you go about your daily life. You can ‘mindfully’ make a cup of tea, have a shower, brush your teeth, walk, and eat!

    Bringing mindfulness to our ordinary daily activities helps us to be in the present, connecting more fully with our environment and other people . Small moments of pleasure and ‘time out’ to relax can otherwise easily pass us by.

    Choose one daily routine, and try doing it ‘mindfully’, such as:

  • brushing your teeth
  • taking a shower
  • making a cup of tea
  • washing up
  • walking from one place to another
  • For example; mindful Tea-making: become aware of the sense of touch as you pick up the kettle, the weight of it, the sound of the water as you fill it at the tap, the other sounds as you switch it on and it begins to boil. Notice the movement of your body as you reach for the tea bag, sugar and coolness as you open the fridge for the milk. Watch the colour of the liquid change as you add water to tea bag. Smell the aroma of your tea and finally taste your tea. You will have tuned into all 5 senses.