Don’t like Guided Meditation? Try These Mindfulness Ideas!
Do you feel like guided meditation just isn’t for you? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. If you experience stress, anxiety, or a need of life balance, it’s more than likely you’ve been told to try a guided meditation. Have you ever attended a guided meditation class or downloaded a guided meditation recording? For some people, it can feel uncomfortable, hard, or boring. Guided meditation has many benefits and many people thoroughly enjoy it. At the same time, if guided meditation just isn’t right for you, there are many other ways to practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us”. (www.mindful.com)
The following are just a few relatively easy strategies for practicing mindfulness. If you have children or students, these ideas are great for them too!
6 Mindfulness Practices To Try
Mindful Walking - While it is preferable to do outside, I have been known to take mindful walks through my office building in a pinch. The physical activity of walking while observing your surroundings can really bring your mind into calm and focus. It is important to try to use all your five senses while on a mindful walk.
Mindful walking is relatively accessible for people who have ease in walking short distances. If you can find the time, just 5-10 minutes can show real benefits. This is a strategy that can work well for adults and children.
Nature Bathing - If you have easy access to a quiet nature area, this may be for you. I often walk in the woods, meandering and quiet, observing the trees, the sound of the wind swaying the branches, the birds chirping, smelling the air, and noticing all the interesting leaves, weeds and fungi on the forest floor. Again, using all your senses.
If you can find the time, I definitely recommend giving nature bathing a try! You can teach your kids or students to do it too.
Box Breathing - This strategy is great to use to calm your nervous system, including times of overwhelm, stress, anxiety, or panic. My favorite variation of box breathing is looking at an object that is square or rectangle, like a window, doorway, picture frame, or the outline of my phone.
Here is how I do the variation:
Start at the top left corner with your eyes.
As you breath in, counting to 4, follow the the top outline of the object with your eyes from the left to the right corner.
Hold your breath in for the count of 4, as you follow the outline of the object from top right to bottom right corner.
Now, breath out to the count of 4, following the outline of the object from bottom right to bottom left corner.
Finally, hold breath out for the count of 4, following the outline from the bottom left to the top left corner.
Repeat going around the object in this manner 4 times. Do more if you need it.
You can also change the breathing counts. For instance, counting to 5, 6, or longer, as long as you are still comfortable.
For a more tactile approach, use an object that is square or rectangular that you can run your fingers along the edges from corner to corner as you do the breaths. For instance, the edges of a book or cell phone.
Box breathing is quite accessible, and works well for adults and kids. If you are an educator, it can be a great way to help calm a classroom.
Take 5 Breathing - Along the same lines as Box Breathing, try Take 5 Breathing. It is quick and easy to do, just using your breath and your hands. Combining your senses of sight and touch, you practice slow breathing in and out, while tracing up and down the outer edges of your fingers. This is a great strategy for adults and children. This is another great classroom or student calming strategy.
Coloring or drawing Yes, those adult coloring books really can help us be more present and calm our anxieties. Drawing or just doodling allows us many opportunities to be mindful. Here are 8 mindfulness drawing ideas. If coloring or drawing are your cup of tea, this is a great, low-key way to practice mindfulness. Other creative outlets, like knitting and scrapbooking can also help us be mindful.
Cooking I love to cook. I said cook, not bake. Baking and I have never seen eye to eye. If you like to cook and/or bake, this can be a great mindfulness practice. Using cooking for mindfulness works best when you have the time and space to enjoy yourself in the kitchen.
Cooking is a great way to also engage your five senses for mindfulness.
Relax using touch, with cleaning produce, opening cans, rhythmic chopping, whisking and stirring.
Listen to the sounds of chopping, sizzling, boiling, simmering.
Find calm in the smells that fill the air.
Admire how beautiful all the ingredients look together and how your dish is presented.
And of course, taste-testing is the best part!
If you like to cook or bake, it can be extremely centering. Cooking with children, when you can take your time, can also be a joyful experience!
These are just a few strategies that can work well in practicing mindfulness that don’t involve guided meditation. I hope you found some ideas for your own mindfulness practice.
