Meditation and Mindfulness: 8 exercises that will change your life

Meditation and mindfulness are practices increasingly used to live better, looking at the world and at ourselves in a calmer and more positive way. Find out now how you can make the most of these techniques. And you don't need to be an expert.

 

 

Imagine yourself being able to control your thoughts and emotions. It may seem like a difficult task these days, but the truth is, you can do it. It's easier than you think!

We know how much stress and everyday problems can harm your well-being. That's why it's important to learn to deal with all the mental and emotional challenges that life throws at you. 

If life was easy, it wouldn't be so funny, right? Well, this sentence is very old, but it's never too much to remember that it's the less happy moments and, above all, the way you deal with them, that teach you about life and allow you to get to know yourself better.

A positive and motivated mind can make any problem smaller than it seems. A stressful situation shouldn't be able to take you away from your inner peace. 

The truth is, you can have control over it. Just be open to looking at problems from another perspective. And this is where meditation and mindfulness can help, a lot!

If you would like to know more about this, meditation and mindfulness will be your best friends!

 

What are the differences?

Meditation

• Start with a deep breath in a comfortable position
• It is an intentional practice where the focus on the breath increases 
• Increases concentration
• Allows you to develop an attitude of serenity
• Provides balance and emotional intelligence
• Consciousness expands
• Inner energies are activated

As you inhale and exhale deeply, your attention shifts to a focus. It can be a candle flame, a mantra, the breath itself or body sensations.

Types of meditation

• Breath awareness
• Loving kindness
• Focused on mantra repetition
• With visualization
• Sound repetition
• Guided
• Sleep

The most common type of meditation is concentration. It is practiced to train the mind or calm the body. It can be done in a sitting or lying position, where you focus on your breath or on a mantra.

Guided meditation is another form of meditation where there is audio with instructions on how to meditate and what to focus on during the session.

The meditation for sleep can be used to help you fall asleep more easily or sleep better at night by practicing mindfulness techniques before bed.

There are many ways to meditate. Some techniques involve sitting with your eyes closed, while others involve walking or doing yoga, for example. You choose the one that is most suitable for you.

 

Mindfulness

• It is synonymous with "full attention" - without attention to the present there is no release.
• It is the awareness of what happens at each moment.
• May include meditation.
• It's paying attention, noticing and being present in whatever you're doing.
• It is a gradual path to more awareness and wholeness, an awakening to the infinite possibilities of each moment.
• It can be practiced at any time and place or during sitting meditation. 
• It is more flexible, because it can be applied in any situation, being always present in the here and now.
• Helps to think thoughts that increase emotional and mental well-being
• We usually pay little attention to the present moment. Mindfulness teaches us to be mindful rather than doing things on autopilot.

Mindfulness meditation is different from normal guided meditation in that it does not require us to stop to focus, but rather to be aware of thoughts and feelings, without judgment. Anywhere.

Maintaining mindfulness throughout the day may seem difficult, but it's easier than it sounds. For that, you should set aside time for activities such as reading, writing, listening to music or taking a walk outside, where you can focus and absorb all your senses without any effort.

Mindfulness is Meditation but Meditation is not Mindfulness!

 

What are the benefits?

Meditation

• Increases ability to concentrate
• Calms the mind
• Decreases stress
• Helps relieve physical and mental pain
• Improves memory
• Promotes well-being
• Improves self-confidence

 

Mindfulness

• Increases positive thoughts
• Decreases stress and anxiety
• Increases memory capacity
• Boosts focus, attention
• Promotes emotional intelligence
• Increases cognitive ability
• Promotes healthy interpersonal relationships
• Increases heart health
• Stabilizes blood pressure

 

How to practice?

1. Choose a quiet place

It is important that you choose a space that gives you tranquility, so that you can be at peace. 

2. Set a time for practice - meditation

Start by setting a maximum time of 10 to 15 minutes. As you become more experienced, you can gradually increase this period of relaxation.

3. If possible, wear comfortable clothes

To feel freer in relaxation, without movement being blocked.

4. Choose a comfortable position

The more comfortable you are, the more you will be able to relax. Sitting or lying down the choice is yours!

5. Feel your breath 

Inhale and exhale deeply, bringing your attention to all these movements.

6. Let your mind flow

While allowing yourself to be absorbed by the breathing movements, focus your attention only on that. Let your mind flow and focus on thoughts without any kind of judgment. Remember that what really matters is focusing on the now.

 

Meditation Exercises

Here are some exercises you can do to feel good and at peace:

Body Perception

This exercise aims to increase awareness of each part of your body and how everything is connected. This also includes the observation of physical sensations, such as the perception of your own skin, allowing you to be more aware of how they influence you.

You must do this:

• Take a comfortable position (e.g. sitting cross-legged) and a quiet environment
• Close your eyes and take a deep breath 
• Feel your body: the way the head is connected to the neck, the neck to the shoulders, the arms to the torso and so on, all the way to the feet.
• Now do the opposite, starting at the feet and ending at the head.

Muscle relaxation

This technique makes you understand where the tension points are in your muscles. If, for example, you have pain in a certain place, this exercise is ideal:

• Close your eyes and visualize the pain site
• Contract that muscle
• Count up to 5 
• Release the tension
• Repeat this 3 times, keeping a gentle breath. 

Garden Technique

This is a mental visualization exercise, which helps to increase awareness.

• Close the eyes 
• Keep the rhythm of your breathing
• Imagine a garden 
• Observe every detail of this garden, without judging what is wrong
• If you immediately imagine a neglected garden, it may be a sign that you need to work on your emotions and pay more attention to certain areas of your life.

Equality in Breathing

This exercise will help balance your breath and your entire body. It is a great option to start meditation as it helps you focus. So, to get started, you will need to do the following:

• Close the eyes
• Inhale while counting 1, 2, 3, 4 
• Expires during the time you count 1, 2, 3, 4
• Repeat for as long as you feel necessary.

Watch this video
 

Mindfulness Exercises

Chocolate

This exercise is quite interesting and out of the box. This is all you have to do:

• Choose a chocolate you haven't tasted yet.
• Open the package and feel your aroma.
• Focus on the smell of chocolate.
• Break a piece of chocolate and look at it. Take a good look at their appearance and pay attention to details you hadn't paid attention to before.
• Put it in your mouth and let it melt. Focus on all the flavors and on the contact between chocolate and tongue
• If your mind wanders, record where it went and bring it back to the present moment.
• Once completely melted, swallow it very slowly and let it run down your throat.
• Repeat with the next piece.

Focus on Sounds

This exercise will help you focus on everything around you. Follow these steps:

• In a comfortable position and place, close your eyes.
• Take 3 deep breaths.
• For 1 minute, focus your attention on the sounds around you and try to identify them.
• Try to register or maximum sounds you get.
• Repeat and record new sounds you didn't hear the first time.

Focus on Music

If you love music, I'm sure you'll enjoy this exercise:

• Put on earphones and choose one song what do you like.
• Focus your attention on the various aspects of music: what instruments are played? What are the highest and lowest parts? What is the timbre of the singer's voice?
• Repeat with this or another song, and try to pay more and more attention to the details.

Countdown

Whenever you need to calm down and concentrate, you can use this count:

• Sit down and take a deep breath, 3 times.
• Account from 50 to 0.
• If you want to complicate things, you can count from 50 to 0 every 3.
• Repeat as many times as you want.

 

 

 Watch this video

 

As you can see, you already have many tips here on how to start doing meditation and/or mindfulness. You don't need to be an expert in the field to benefit from its effects. Try it and you'll see!