Top 10 Mindfulness Tips for managing stress.
Thank you for being here, before reading the below tips, I would like to invite you to pause for a second. Try not to rush or scan what you are about to read. Mindfulness is more about being present than absorbing information. So, take a moment, breathe deeply, relax your shoulders, relax your jaw, just be with yourself, in this moment.
01
Awareness is key
Remember , we are not trying to achieve anything here, its's about becoming more present, in this moment, sitting with the 'here and now' and learning to not be consumed by our thoughts and feelings.
Mindfulness is a practice, the more you use it, the more it will grow (along with some healthy neural pathways).
Awareness is key, to bring us out of auto pilot mode and into this moment, we can use our breath to anchor us into the here and now.
So starting now, get comfortable in your chair, take a deep breath into your lungs, hold for a few seconds, gently exhale, soften the muscles in your body on the out breath. How do you feel?
02
Be Intentional
When you wake up in the morning, before jumping on your phone, why not set some intentions for the day? Write down on some paper what your intentions are for this day? eg; I would like to feel more calm today. I would like to make time to go for a walk, I would like to experience some joy today, I would like to have a productive day. I would like to find an opportunity to have a good belly laugh!
03
Slow down, stop rushing.
The more you rush, the more stressed you will feel. It wont bide you more time, it will just up your cortisol levels in your body. Stay grounded in this moment and do one thing at a time. Bring your awareness to your feet, and the feeling of the ground beneath you.
Yes, you may arrive to work/appointment a little late, but you will feel in a better head space for it and will be more productive too.
04
Bring awareness to the type of thoughts you are having.
Are your thoughts kind? Are they angry? Are they condemning? Are they critical of yourself or others? Are they helpful, are they adding to your feelings of stress or are they self-soothing? The more stressed out we feel, it can have negative impact in not only the type of thoughts but the way we are thinking; we can become rigid with our thoughts or catastrophizing a situation into something it isn't.
Bringing awareness to the types of thoughts you are thinking can be a huge game changer. You want to aim to become your own best buddy, because sometimes there is no one else in this moment to let you know that you are ok, you are doing the best you can in this moment and you don't need to be perfect. One of my favourite mantras that I tell myself is 'even though this feels very uncomfortable, I do have the capacity to handle it'. Re-frame an anxious or negative thought to feel more empowered.
05
Practice Mindfulness listening with the next person you speak to.
The next person you speak with, give this a little go; practice bringing your full attention to them when they are speaking. Often when someone is talking, we are automatically thinking of how we are going to respond and what we want to say, they may be saying things that have triggered something in us or we are thinking about something else. Practice allowing them the space to talk. Without interrupting or jumping back with something to say. Hear their words, what energy is behind the words? Just being there, showing up for them, bringing our full attention to them. This can often transform the nature of a dynamic with someone, especially if it is a close family member. We can begin to see them for how they are, in this moment, not as our mind may be labelling them. It can often open up for a more present conversation that is less rehearsed.
06
Tune in to your body
Often, throughout the day, we can loose connection to our bodies if the stress levels are building up. Practice regularly tuning in to your body and how it is feeling will help you become more present. Do a body scan, just notice how your muscles and different areas of your body are feeling.
If you are feeling any tension, use this as an opportunity to relax the body by doing some deep breathing exercise; 'breathing in life, breathing out tension'.
07
Movement
Body movement will help to shift a stuck thinking pattern if you are feeling consumed by anxious or stressful thoughts.
Put down your phone, and go for a brisk walk/run/swim/yoga/gym etc. You will feel differently after, it may not have solved all your problems, but you may have had a subtle shift in your thinking.
08
Gratitude
I don't wish to sound patronizing with the old 'take out a pen and jot down 10 things you are grateful for', because I understand, that when you are going through a tough time in life, it's not a quick fix. Cultivating gratitude can be as a simple as reframing a situation and seeing a small piece of what could be good in it. Is there any element of what feels stressful to you that you could find a way of seeing it as something you are growing through? Is your spirit being shaped in someway through this season?
Sometimes, it can be just as simple as feeling gratitude that I have the gift of being alive. I have the gift of eyesight for reading these words, I have the gift of having a roof over my head and a good friend in my life. These are simple things that we can take for granted.
09
Acceptance
Stress can often be translated as 'resistance to the present moment'. We don't like what we are experiencing, we want life to be different to how it is, for whatever reason.
This can be as simple as being stuck in traffic, or maybe we are facing something more sad, more scarey or emotionally painful. It is part of human nature to resist something or not want to accept it, we can often seek ways to try and change, control or escape the situation.
With mindfulness practice, we don't even have to change our way of thinking, just practicing noticing this. Without judging yourself can create a pathway to more acceptance.
We can invite ourselves to become more present, and to practice just being with ourselves in the uncomfortableness of the experience.
10
Compassion v Judgment
We can often automatically make judgements about someone, or a situation. Our minds like to project our own stories on to things or put meaning into something when we have no evidence.
Practicing compassion and non judgment can include becoming aware of when we are labelling someone, or judging what they may be thinking about us or a situation. It can also be becoming more aware when you are judging yourself too, especially when we haven't always lived up to our own standards of behaviour. Often, we will forgive someone else more easily than ourselves.
Cultivating compassion, can be something like; 'how would I feel if I was in their shoes'? Seeing a situation from someone elses point of view. Or for you, it could be; can I forgive myself and be more gentle with myself about this?'.
Compassion can mean opening your heart towards yourself or someone else and becoming aware of where and who we are making a judgment.
Did you find this helpful?
If you would like any further support I offer one to one Mindfulness sessions that are carried out over Zoom and if this has wet your appetite to learn more, I run a six week online mindfulness coaching course for more long lasting changes in cultivating more peace and strengthening your resilience to stress.