Studies show that if you practice mindfulness techniques for 3 weeks, you will significantly reduce your level of stress and improve the quality of your life.
“Our true home is not in the past. Our true home is not in the future. Our true home is in the here and the now. Life is available only in the here and the now, and it is our true home.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
If you think about this quote by the great author Thich Nhat Hanh, it helps put things in perspective. You can’t be here in the present moment if you are stuck somewhere fretting about the past or frantically worried about the future.
At Unite Fitness Retreat, we teach mindfulness. We teach how to eat mindfully, exercise mindfully, and how to live with more awareness. Try out some of the following tips today to help reduce stress and live your life with greater meaning and enhanced wellness.
- Start each day with mindful breathing, notice your in breath and out breath, take 5 or 10 deep breaths and NOTICE how it feels to breath in slowly and out slowly. Sense the flow of the breath, the rise and fall of your belly. Try to do this often throughout the day.
- Notice what you are doing while doing something and tune into your senses. When you are eating, notice the color, texture and flavor of the food, this is called mindful eating- A tip you exercise at the fitness camp. When you are running, feel the energy in your legs, the movement of your body.
- Don’t feel that you need to fill up all your time with doing. Take some time to simply be. When your mind wanders and becomes caught up in thought, gently bring it back to your breath. It’s okay to take time out of your day to literally DO NOTHING.
- Recognize that thoughts are simply thoughts; you don’t need to believe them or react to them. The sooner you understand this, the better. You are NOT your thoughts, instead you are an observer of them.
- Notice where you tend to zone out (e.g., cleaning, mowing the yard, doing dishes, brushing teeth, etc.). Practice bringing awareness to that activity, pay attention to the feeling of the warm water on your hands, smell the grass as you mow, feel the toothbrush against your gums. Just notice.
