Everything You Need to Know About Mindfulness

With busy lives that can often be full of stress and uncertainty, our mental wellbeing can be placed under a lot of pressure. This is why so many people use mindfulness techniques in their daily routines.

Mindfulness can help to keep you grounded in the present, which can be hugely beneficial for your mental health and wellbeing. Let’s explore exactly what this involves and how you can practise mindfulness in your day-to-day life.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is all about focusing your awareness on the present moment; it’s about accepting your feelings and thoughts with your whole body and mind. It’s the process of acknowledging thoughts that you’re having, while recognising that they don’t define you.

woman meditating outdoors

Mindfulness can help you to be much more aware of your thoughts and your environment, and the impact that they’re having on you. It can also lead you to better understand your sense of self.

How to Practise Mindfulness

There are lots of different ways to practise mindfulness; meditation is one of the main ones, but there are so many other forms of mindfulness too.

Nature & Mindfulness

Getting into nature and observing the natural environment can be hugely beneficial for your mental health. When you’re spending time outdoors, take the time to notice the sun on your face, the wind in your hair, the sound of birds singing and the smell of freshly cut grass; take the time to admire the blossom or to stroke a passing cat.

woman lying in grass, smelling flowers

Slow down to take in the natural world around you and to ground yourself and your thoughts in the present – this is a great way to practise mindfulness, wherever you are.

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating can help you to be more aware of what you’re putting into your body. You can practise this by taking the time to source and prepare your meals, and to enjoy every mouthful, noticing when your body is full.

You can also do this by checking the ingredients labels of any supplements you use – at Garden of Life, our whole food vitamins, microbiome supplements and protein powders are made using ingredients that can be traced back to their original source, giving you greater peace of mind over what you’re putting into your body.

Channel Your Focus

Channelling your focus into one task at a time is another way to help you to be more mindful. If you’re spreading yourself too thinly, you won’t be giving your all to anything, meaning you’re likely to find yourself even more stressed in the long run.

Take each day and every task one at a time to help you to prioritise your focus and be more mindful about what really matters.

Mindfulness as Self-Care

Mindfulness is a great way to practise self-care. Making time for activities that relax you, such as mindful colouring, reading or even taking a bath to take stock of your day, work through any problems and count your blessings can give you the space to practise mindfulness techniques.

colouring in a mandala design

Commit to a certain amount of time away from your phone or other screens each day to make sure you’re living in the moment in your own life and aren’t getting too caught up in other people’s lives, which can so often be the case with social media.

Mindfulness Top Tips

If you’re setting aside time to practise mindfulness through meditation, it can help to create a calming atmosphere, putting you in the right headspace to focus on your thoughts.

Find somewhere quiet and focus on your breathing, making sure you’re taking deep breaths in and out, breathing right down into your stomach. This can have multiple benefits for everything from your stress levels to your digestive health.

It can also help to try to turn practising mindfulness into a regular habit or something that you do every day. Knowing that there’s a time coming up in your day that’s just for you, where you can deal with any stresses, can be a big help to your mental wellbeing throughout the day.

Although having a regular time and place dedicated to practising mindfulness can be really beneficial, there will be times when you can’t meet your usual meditation schedule. However, this doesn’t mean that your mindfulness techniques need to go out of the window; try to practise mindfulness in different situations, such as at your desk, while on public transport or when you’re out for a walk.

Practising mindfulness in different scenarios can help it to become ingrained in your daily life and it could eventually mean that you’re able to do it anywhere, which could be a real help if you’re having an especially stressful day.

Explore more ways to look after your mind here: