Mindfulness Exercises

Mindfulness exercises help you redirect your thoughts away from worry about the past or future and re-focus on the present moment.

Mindfulness is a skill that takes practice, but is worth the effort!

To help you get started, we've included two exercises for you to try when you're feeling anxious or tense.

To get started, try mindful eating with one meal per day for a week:

• Choose a food you enjoy.
• Notice the texture, weight, and color of the food, then bring your awareness to the smell.
• Put a little piece of it into your mouth and notice the flavor. Feel the consistency of it on your tongue.
• Keep it in your mouth and notice how it feels and tastes before swallowing.

As you're eating, think about your experience:

• Does it bring up any emotions or memories?
• Does it taste differently when you pay more attention to it?

Consider being mindful of how you feel when you do other daily activities, like showering and walking.

When you notice you feel stressed or anxious, do a body scan meditation. Try listening to a guided body scan like this one from InsightTimer.

You can also try this on your own:

• Lie down on your back or sit in a chair with your feet on the floor.
• Close your eyes and calm your breathing.
• Pay attention to each body part, starting with your toes and working your way up to the top of your head (toes, feet, lower legs, thighs, pelvis, lower back, abdomen, chest, fingers, lower arms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, facial muscles, ears, eyes, and scalp).
• Notice where you're holding tension or feeling pain, and spend more time focusing on those areas.

In addition to mindfulness exercises, getting grounded can also help when you're experiencing troubling thoughts or memories.

With grounding, you shift your focus away from unsettling thoughts and toward the present to regain a feeling of safety. For more information: Grounding Exercises.