When creating your own definition of mindful living, you can explore and decide what works best for you. Some practices may change other people’s lives, but that doesn’t help when you’re not feeling the love too, ya know?
It’s hard to know where you stand on your own mindful living journey when you look around and there is green juice everywhere. Mindful living can be built up to be a little unapproachable, but even small steps can make a huge difference.
I try and find new ways to incorporate mindfulness into my daily life, and I find I move through phases of being super mindful, to not mindful AT ALL.
One thing though is when I am committed to practicing mindfulness, I feel goooOOOoood, and when I’m not, I’m always striving to get back to it.
I’ve gone through all of my favorite tactics for including mindful practices and picked out my favorites.
The best part is you can try all or some of these, and see what feels good for you. All you need is some self-awareness and you’re in a great spot.
So what exactly is mindful living?
The beautiful thing about starting to live mindfully is that by making that decision, you’ve already started.
If mindfulness means green juice and yoga all day every day, then more power to you.
For me, mindfulness can be as much as putting a piece of pizza on a plate instead of eating it straight out of the box.
Creating your own definition of mindful living means it’s YOURS, and you can do or not do any part of it.
Everyone can develop their own mindfulness practice, and I’ve found that by trying different things, you can figure out what works for you.
Some of the more common practices are consistent meditation practice ~which I 10/10 recommend~, journaling, or even walking.
It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you know what you’re doing when you’re doing it.
A more formal definition of mindful living is incorporating moments throughout your day where you practice being present, and bringing awareness to any physical or emotional sensations you’re feeling at the time.
Why would you want to live mindfully?
Well if you’re reading this, then you already have an interest in exploring mindfulness as a practice, but if you weren’t already sold, here ya go.
Mindfulness is linked to countless health benefits ~which are backed by science~.
Whatever your definition of mindful living is, here are some of the benefits:
- Reduced cortisol levels (AKA your stress hormone)
- Better quality of sleep
- Lower risk of heart disease
- Better immune response
- Better cognitive performance
How to get started!
Start in the morning
Set up a morning routine that starts your day off right. When was the last time you actually felt good scrolling through your phone while you thought about everything you have to do that day?
Instead, try leaving your phone in the charger and start your day with yourself instead of everyone on Instagram.
Go ahead and make your bed, focus on brushing your teeth, and enjoy your first sip of coffee. and reaaaally enjoy it.
It doesn’t really matter what you want to do during your morning, but whatever it is, use it as an opportunity to check in with yourself and start your day on the right foot.
Eat mindfully
Just like enjoying your first sip of coffee in the morning, taking time to notice how good food tastes can make the whole experience better.
When starting out, notice things like texture, smell, temperature, and taste. If it helps, writing down notes can help you keep you in the moment.
Another thing you can try is intentionally preparing, plating, eating, and cleaning up your food can help you feel present through the whole experience.
Even something as simple as putting down your fork in between bites can help you stay mindful and make sure you’re eating instead of scarfing.
Bonus! Eating mindfully helps with digestions and weight loss (if that’s something you’re interested in)
Meditate
Probably the most obvious one on the list and one of the easiest to practice.
If you have a couple of minutes, just practice what it is like to sit with yourself and focus on your breathing.
You’ll be surprised to notice how much calmer you can feel even after a minute of focused breathing. If you don’t feel comfortable sitting by yourself, use an app, or guided meditation to help you.
Yoga
Yoga is sometimes referred to as moving meditation and is an amazing way to get out of your head and into your body.
Feeling present in your body, moving with your breath, and feel zen all seem like great ways to feel mindful, and that’s not even accounting for the physical benefits.
Journaling
Journalling is a great way to check-in with yourself and keep a log of how you’re feeling over a period of time.
You can get a ton of insight by just freewriting about anything that comes to mind, but if you want a more targeting approach, you can always use journal prompts or empowering questions to guide your writing.
A really fun element of this is getting to look back at old entries and see how you were feeling, and how you moved through that. It’s also really fun looking at old goals and intentions, and see where you stand with them currently.
If you want to take a deeper dive into how journaling can help you live your best life, check out How Gratitude Changed My Life
Set an alarm
Set an alarm on your phone and use it to check in with yourself.
When the alarm goes off, see how you’re feeling, if you’re holding tension anywhere, or if you’ve fallen off track on your task at hand.
Localize strong emotions
When you’re feeling sad, where is it? I mean that so literally – like where is that sadness living in your body?
Sometimes you can feel emotions in different areas of your body, like in your stomach or your big toe.
If that concept seems a little too out there, then try and notice how different emotions affect your body. It could be as simple as noticing your face flush or palms sweat when you get nervous.
By noticing these things, you’ll be able to strengthen your mind-body connection, and who doesn’t love that!
Listen Actively
Accountability to another person is a great way to stop thinking about other things and focus on the moment in front of you.
When you actively listen to someone else, you can feel more connected to them, they feel heard.
Unitasking
Even though we are all convinced we are good a multi-tasking – that’s not actually true. Try and focus on one thing and see what happens.
I know it’s hard but it really helps you get in the zone. I keep telling myself this but it hasn’t quite taken yet.
Are your mindful living habits working?
Well, the best part is that when you’re defining your own version of mindful living, there is no such thing as doing it right.
Try out some or all of these and see how they work for you. If they are super easy, then you shouldn’t have any problem keeping up the habit. If you are finding the opposite, maybe that method isn’t for you and you can try something else!
Mindfulness is for everyone, but it looks different for everyone.
A couple of tell-tale signs I always find when I’m feeling mindful and present is I start acknowledging and enjoying the little things more.
When I’m noticing things, I know I’m living mindfully. This is especially helpful is deciphering messages and signs from the universe – but that’s for another day.
Finally, if you find yourself not feeling as anxious or stressed throughout the day, that is a good sign you’re already benefitting from your practice.
This is one of the first tell-tale signs for me, and I always feel soooooo much better when I have a consistent practice.
Try it out and see for yourself!
Now is the perfect time to start exploring what mindfulness looks like for you, so why wait?
I’d love to hear about your own definition of mindful living! Let me know in the comments below what worked for you!
