Seven Easy Mindfulness Tips

Written by: Debbie

When we ruminate on the past, we aren’t enjoying the now. When we worry about the future, we don’t appreciate the present. Neither ruminating nor worrying solve a thing. When we learn to appreciate the moment, we are home! Sounds good, but how do we manage to do that? Here are seven easy tips for including mindfulness in your day.

Walk With No Destination

I walk daily. For me it is a moving meditation. Interestingly enough, driving reduces the angle of your field of vision by up to 75%, depending on speed. Walking allows you to see more of your surroundings, so take it in, but remind yourself as you walk: there is nowhere more important for you to be than right here, right now.

Put The Phone Down

Place your phone in a drawer for an hour or two. Ignore social media, the television, anything that might distract you from quiet enjoyment. You just might be surprised and delighted by the results!

Create A Mindfulness Trigger

Choose a cue that you encounter on a regular basis to shift your brain into mindful mode. For instance, you might pick a certain doorway or mirror or use drinking coffee or tea as a reminder.

Wash Dishes Slowly

Wash dishes by hand and take time to notice the soothing warmth of the water on your hands. Be aware of the bubbles and the scent of the dish soap. Let yourself enjoy the experience of making something dirty clean again. Don’t think about finishing or what you’ll do when you’re finished. Focus solely on the doing.

Eat As If It Was Your Last Meal

Even if dinner was a cheap frozen dinner, how would you eat that same meal if you knew it might be your last? Would you slow yourself down and savor it more? What would this do for your appreciation of what you consume. Would you take the time to ponder about and perhaps feel gratitude to everyone involved in creating the meal, from the farmer to the retailer to the chef?

Deep Breathes At Every Stop Light

I often encourage my clients to take a deep breath at each stop light. This can allow you to be less angry when the others in traffic are rude. It also gives you the opportunity to notice the interesting things along your route.

Practice Mindfulness As Soon As You Wake Up

Mindfulness practice first thing in the morning helps set the ‘tone’ of your nervous system for the rest of the day, increasing the likelihood of other mindful moments. Don’t read the paper, turn on the TV, check your phone or email, etc. until after you’ve had your quiet moments of reflection. During that time, just allow the mind to wander, then bring it back to your breath.

Be Here Now, The Key To Happiness

Written by: Debbie

After posting my blog yesterday about the habits of unhappiness, I happened across this Ted Talk today that was given by Matt Killingsworth. Matt is a researcher on the subject of happiness. In this talk he explains how his research led him to understand that a wandering mind can rob us of our happiness and that by staying in the moment, we remain in a state of happy.

Matt has also created an app for smart phones called Track Your Happiness. The intent is to assist you in tracking what makes you individually happy. I am going to download this for fun, so I thought maybe you too would like to.

Clearing Those Negative Thoughts

Written by: Debbie

There seems to be a common theme in my clients recently, regardless of the presenting issue, they all have this incredible ability to predict the future. Now, the prediction isn’t accurate, but still they believe the garbage they think. For instance, one client took a leap that went from eating a cookie to becoming a homeless bag lady. How, you ask? Well, she is looking for another job as she knows that her company is about to be acquired by a bigger corporation. We have been working together on her weight issues. As a stress eater, she gave in to the siren call of a cookie, so now she knows she will never drop the weight and no one will ever hire her as a result of her perception of her appearance. (A skewed perception I might add as she is lovely.) Another client announced in our first visit that his life was doomed to be loveless as he and his wife were stuck in a rut and he had no way of recovering the love they once shared. Still another shared with me her prediction of divorce because her husband still smoked after she quit! So many negative thoughts!

The litany of doomsday projections goes on and on. To be truthful, I have done the same thing. I saw one particular health symptom as the evidence I needed to prove that something much darker was going on in my body. Fortunately, I took action and visited the appropriate health professional to find out that wikapedia is not my best friend! I fell into the same trap as my clients and went as fast as I could down the negative expressway.

Breathe Your Stress Away, Practice Mindfulness

Written by: Debbie

What if I told you that you could reduce your stress, lower your blood pressure, manage pain and improve your sleep without any costly equipment or difficult procedures? Would you be interested? What if I also told you that you could do this regardless of your age, sex or religious views? Are you interested? I hope so, because what I am saying is that you too can learn this skill.
What I am talking about is practicing mindfulness. The most important thing we can do is to ensure that our lives aren’t wasted in wishing or regretting. When we remain in the moment, we are able to maintain peace. If I spent all my time thinking about the mistakes I have made in the past, I might not enjoy the fun that is available to me now. I live in paradise, a boat ride from an island that our neighbors all gather on during warm weekends and a bike ride from a quaint town that people spend their hard earned dollars to vacation in. It wouldn’t serve me to focus on the times I have put my foot in my mouth, even though there have been a few too many of those.

Just Breathe!

It is easy to get caught up in the business of the day, multi-tasking and crossing things off of the To Do list. Mindfulness isn’t something we naturally do, especially in an era where we are always available.

Mindful Eating

Written by: Debbie

“Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

Do you eat too fast and rarely feel satisfied with your food? Are you like so many people, so busy and rushed through out your day that you tend to grab a quick bite? Do you eat at your desk while working? Perhaps you find yourself eating in front of the television or while on your computer? In a world of fast food drive-throughs, we have become accustomed to eating out of bags and cartons, without thought.

Meal time can be a time of communion and appreciation. Appreciation for the bounty of foods we have available to us as well as to the hands that prepare it are only a part of being a mindful eater. By eating consciously, we take time to savor flavors, colors, textures and smells. In other words, we are able to enjoy meals by actually taking the time. This will actually help the release of excess weight.

Mindful eating may seem easy, you think about what you want to eat, make it, and then enjoy it. However, if you take the time to be aware of your thoughts while you eat food, you might be surprised at how little of your consciousness is actually present during the act of eating. Research has shown that if you eat while experiencing stress, the digestive system will be disrupted. The short term effect is a lack of assimilation of nutrients; the long term effect if you continually eat while stressed is the potential for irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, weight gain and eating disorders. By becoming mindful eaters we can find a new joy in eating as well as a new relationship with our reality. Furthermore, when we are more aware of what we are putting into our body, we are more aware of the messages our body is sending us.

Here is an exercise that can help you experience a mindful moment with food. Take a grape, only one and place it into your mouth. As you do, shut your eyes and get a sense for the size, shape and feeling of the grape in your mouth. Roll your tongue around it to feel the texture of the grape. With eyes still closed imagine you can actually see it in your mouth, making the color very rich and vivid. Next, bite into it slowly and feel the juice, be sure to get all the juice out of that one grape that you can. Notice the texture of the grape’s interior and how different it is when it is whole. Chew it slowly and make the experience continue for as long as possible, say, perhaps five minutes. That grape will most likely be the best grape you will ever eat.

Here are 5 quick tips for becoming a mindful eater.

1. Never eat distracted. Turn off the television, computer and phones when you eat.

2. Be aware of your senses. Eating is a multisensory experience; enjoy the appearance of your food, the taste of it, the textures and the aromas.

3. Declare mealtime a time for pleasant conversations only. Eating with family and friends is a communion of the souls. Stress free conversations only!

4. Notice your reactions to foods without judgment. There will be foods you like, those you dislike and those that are neutral. Notice your reactions without deciding if they are right or wrong.

5. Listen to your body. It will send signals of feeling nourished. A simple little affirmation is, “I eat to nourish my body, not feed my emotions”.

Practice mindful eating and it will become a part of who you are.