HOW MINDFUL ACCEPTANCE CAN HELP ME LIVE A FULFILLING LIFE

 

I have put together 12 Mindfulness Tips to Help you Live a Happy Life, adopting these tips have changed my life and I am sure they will help to change yours.

Have you ever felt like you’ve fallen trap into that repetitive cycle of life, where every day you are just going through the motions without a feeling of being truly content?

I know I have!

Well… It’s time to bring back the joy into our everyday lives!

Benefits of Mindfulness

Stress is an inevitable part of daily life. But how much is stress affecting you?

Stress and anxiety typically go hand in hand together. So when you are stressed, your anxiety level goes up.

To live the happy and content lives we desire it is important to know how to handle stressful situations.

While a lot of people thrive on stress, its long-term impact on your health (both physical and mental) can be very serious.

Practicing mindfulness is a great way to lower stress levels and find joy in the smaller things in life.

Stress is both the cause and result of living life like you are constantly racing against time.

This article by Dr. Jim Stone for Psychology Today breaks down the 5 common sources of stress in the modern world.

Mindfulness on the other hand gives you the power to control every minute of your day. It allows you to hit the pause button, even if only for a few minutes.

It is about being aware of the present moment. That pause enables you to become more aware of your behavior and your reactions.

Also to analyze situations with clarity.

Being mindful creates awareness on what behaviors or habits you must change, if you want to achieve a different result in your life.

With the now accepted levels of stress in today’s society, it is important to learn these tips to practice mindfulness more than ever…

12 Mindfulness Tips to Help you Live a Happy Life

These mindfulness tips for beginners and even seasoned practitioners can help you to overcome stress in your life, as well as develop an overall sense of well-being and joy.

1. CONTROL YOUR BREATHING

Your breathing is an integral part of your mindfulness practice. If you can learn to truly master your breathing, you can learn to master your mental and emotional state.

Proper breathing techniques can help you to think clearly and control your reaction to the external world.

This goes back to that saying when someone is stressed to take a deep breath.

If you feel stressed out, simply take a long deep breath in through your nose, hold for a second, then exhale slowly.

Repeat around 6 times to bring yourself to a calm and centered state.

To learn more about an amazing breathing technique that has helped me so much in my life, check out our blog post on the 6 Amazing Benefits of Tummo Meditation.

2. WRITE IN YOUR DAILY JOURNAL

Are you one of those people who find writing therapeutic?

If writing helps to calm your nerves or puts you in a relaxed state, it is a good idea to keep a daily journal.

To help clear your mind writing in a journal is very effective.

Contrary to popular belief, meditation isn’t just about sitting still with your eyes closed.

For some people, meditation can come in the form of writing.

When you write in your journal, you can help to remove negative thoughts and emotions.

The moment you put ink to paper, it is a form of release.

In a way, writing down your thoughts helps to create awareness about your emotions and those thoughts. That awareness is a crucial step in mindfulness practice.

The benefits of this practice are supported by this article from the University of Rochester.

3. ENGAGE YOUR SENSES

One of the best mindfulness tips you can adopt is to notice your senses being engaged by whatever it is you are doing.

This is the first step to creating more awareness – of one’s self and your thoughts or emotions.

To succeed on your path to living mindfully, you need to be at one with your senses.

Be more aware when doing daily activities such as walking- notice the feeling of your clothes touching your body and the wind on your face, also interacting with your pet or stopping to smell some flowers.

With so much stress these days, you might notice that your mind and body easily and often feel out of alignment.

Use this practice as a way to get your mind and body in tune with each other.

4. MEDITATE DURING YOUR COMMUTE

Do you take public transportation to work (or school) daily?

To get the most out of every day I believe we need to optimize our routines.

So instead of scrolling through social media aimlessly… MEDITATE!

You will be so much happier for it.

Even if you drive to work instead of listening to the radio or music all the time, listen to a podcast that teaches you how to create the life you want.

Dan Harris has a really good podcast about meditation called 10% Happier which I would highly recommend to help learn more about meditation and living mindfully.

For me optimizing my commute has made it an enjoyable part of my day.

That is the beauty of mindfulness – it gives you power from within. Just because there is chaos outside, it does not mean that your internal world should be the same.

Make it a habit to practice mindfulness or meditation when you are travelling to and from work. It is a great way to train your mind and your senses to block out external chaos.

Focus on what is happening inside of you. You can start with your breathing and eventually draw your attention to the internal workings of your mind.

Just imagine the progress you will have if you do this daily. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

5. PRACTICE MIND-BODY EXERCISES

It’s common knowledge that exercise is good for your body – but if you want to become more mindful, you need to be more strategic about which exercises you perform.

I go to the gym to exercise but I also think it is important to do exercise that engages your body and mind simultaneously.

There are plenty of exercises that can help to enhance your mental state as much as your physical. Some of them are Tai chi, Yoga, and Qi gong.

They are designed to reduce stress and to create a sense of calm. These practices require mastery and control of the mind and body to get right.

Running can also be considered as a mind-body exercise. Avid runners claim that it involves mastery of your breathing techniques and a focus on your body to maintain your pace.

6. LIE DOWN AND BE STILL

One of the easiest techniques to achieve mindfulness is to lie down on a flat surface, be perfectly still and observe.

You can do this for 30 seconds to 5 minutes at a time. it is up to you how long you choose to do this practice, according to your daily schedule!

When you lie down on a flat surface, let your body relax and your muscles loosen to feel like they are sinking into the floor.

Let your arms and shoulders drop naturally. Lie there very still and close your eyes (preferably). As you lie motionless on the floor, focus on your body that is at rest. Notice what kind of sensations you are feeling and don’t react to them, just observe.

7. SPEND TIME IN NATURE

Nature is the best healer and if you are needing a release from the daily stresses, there is no better place to go to than the outdoors.

In this CNN article, it says the studies have found that spending time in nature boosts your health.

This study confirms that people who are exposed to nature are more likely to have lower cortisol (a hormone that is linked with stress) levels than those who rarely spend time outdoors.

Even office workers with a view of nature from their window are less likely to be stressed than those without that view.

If you want to restore and refresh your mind, head to a nearby park. The fresh air and the sight of lush greenery can stabilize your mood and invigorate your spirit.

8. USE TIBETAN SINGING BOWLS TO HELP YOU MEDITATE

The use of Tibetan singing bowls for meditation is an incredibly powerful practice that has helped me so much in my life.

They allow me to enter a state of deep relaxation and focus with ease, something I previously found very difficult.

Tibetan singing bowls are also very popular for their powerful healing properties.

They are used in a variety of mindfulness practices such as yoga, meditation and wellness classes.

The soothing singing of the bowls helps to make it easier for your mind and body to enter into a meditative state.

The rhythmic vibrations created from the bowl is known to alter the brain waves and create harmony in your body’s energy system.

They are also a powerful tool for chakra healing.

Check out our Free Tibetan Singing Bowl Guide.

9. PRACTICE BEING GRATEFUL

With all the stress in modern society and social media creating false ideals on the images we have of ourselves, it is easy to fall into the notion that you’re simply not “good enough”.

But shake off those negative thoughts and use your mind to focus on the positive aspects instead. Every day, spend time thinking about what you are grateful for in your life.

It may be something as simple as the weather being nice, your family being in good health or even having nice eye brows.

The more you practice being grateful, the more consciously mindful you will be of all the good things in your life.

10. USE MINDFULNESS/MEDITATION APPS

In this day and age, it is impossible (if not impractical) to turn off electronics.

But smartphones don’t have to get in your way of becoming more mindful, they can be a tool for it.

There are plenty of apps out there, so if you think this might be for you, check out the following article that looks at the best.

The article by Develop Good Habits lists some of the top mindfulness and meditation apps for 2019.

Aura is one of the top meditation apps available for you to download.

It is designed to prompt you to meditate for three minutes at a time at various times throughout the day. Since this app was designed with the help of the best meditation teachers, it is intuitive and easy to use.

Another excellent app to boost your mindfulness practice is Buddhify.

It offers plenty of options for meditation guidelines based on where you are in your day – whether you are just waking up, about to go to bed, or during a break.

It is also a great app for those who have trouble falling asleep or have anxiety.

11. SPEND TIME DOING NOTHING.. JUST BE!

If you are used to leading a hectic lifestyle, this can be the most challenging step to becoming more mindful.

Don’t feel that you have to fill your time always doing something productive.

This is something that I have struggled with because I tend to have an urgency to always be doing something, a word to the wise- RELAX!

Just be comfortable with the idea of sitting still and doing nothing. Whether you are meditating or spending that time to simply be, embrace it.

When your mind begins to wander off, gently bring your focus back towards just being at peace with yourself. The more you practice this technique, the better your mental fortitude will become.

12. STUDY MINDFULNESS COURSES

For me studying courses in meditation and mindfulness has helped me so much to better understand and get the most out of my practice, and my life.

There are many courses out there that you can use to learn meditation and mindfulness tips to help you live a happy life.

The courses that I highly recommend are by Live and Dare, they go in-depth into what it takes to create and maintain a powerful meditation practice, from beginner to expert.

Live and Dare’s founder Giovanni Dienstmann is an expert in helping people overcome anxiety and stress to live a more calm and centered life.