Mindfulness 101
How to Start A Mindfulness Practice
“Mindfulness is a purposeful practice that promotes tapping into the mind in order to get out of the mind.” -Atalie Abramovici
You may have heard the term mindfulness buzzing around as of late. Mindfulness is a Western adaptation of the Eastern Buddhist practice of meditation weaved together with other techniques to encourage and enhance focus and attention in the present moment. Practicing mindfulness helps us improve our focus, regulate our emotions, feel a greater sense of joy in our lives, and allows us to tap into qualities such as gratitude, gentleness and generosity more easily! Studies have shown that it increases our ability to communicate more effectively in our relationships, expands our capacity for empathy, and reduces negative emotional states during conflict.
As an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with years of experience as a mindfulness meditation teacher and yoga instructor, I am deeply passionate about infusing meditation and my knowledge of mindfulness into my therapeutic work. I have witnessed firsthand the immense benefits of starting a regular meditation practice—even if it’s just two minutes a day!
Developing a mindfulness practice can feel impossible when operating in a society that determines our identities through how much we do rather than emphasizes the experience to simply be, but there are many ways to integrate mindfulness practices into your daily life, even amongst the never-ending demands.
Mindfulness techniques come in two forms: formal and informal.
Formal mindfulness techniques are those that are practiced in a specific setting with a distinct intention and method, such as meditation. Informal mindfulness techniques can be accessed at any point throughout your day, such as focusing on flavors as you eat or observing the breath as you drive.
Whether you have time to integrate formal mindfulness techniques into your daily regimen or just want to dip your toes into informal practices, here are some techniques you can start exploring today! I encourage you to experiment with different approaches, and to pick and choose the ones that interest you most as you begin your journey!
Formal Mindfulness Techniques
Observing the breath
If you find yourself engaging in negative thought loops, you can attune to your breath to anchor yourself back to the present moment. This practice can be done by closing your eyes, noticing the sensation of the air in your nostrils, and feeling your chest and abdomen expand and contract as you draw in and release the breath.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
When we are stressed, our body tenses up due to the arousal of our sympathetic nervous system (flight or flight mode), and we often hold our breath or engage in rapid and shallow breathing. The practice of diaphragmatic breathing involves breathing deeply using the diaphragm in order to expand the lungs when drawing in oxygen and pushing out air when exhaling. This stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest mode) and slows the heart rate down, leaving you with an immediate calming effect. Begin this practice by sitting in a relaxed position while placing the right hand on the abdomen and the left hand on the heart. Slowly begin to breathe deeply as you feel these areas of your body expanding and contracting, and notice the sensations that arise.
Body Scan
The body scan is a formal mindfulness meditation that involves sitting in a relaxed position with closed eyes as you focus on different parts of the body sequentially. I like to begin by focusing on the crown of the head as I move down the body, but the specific order is not crucial in terms of receiving the benefits of integrating the awareness of the body and mind. Begin by closing your eyes in a comfortable seated position and as you place your attention on one part of the body at the time, take a moment to inhale, exhale, and notice any sensations.
Informal Mindfulness Techniques
Mindfulness in Daily Activities
Many of us have ever-demanding schedules, and the concept of carving out time to practice formal mindfulness techniques seems impossible. Bringing moment-to-moment awareness of what you are doing in the present can allow you to engage in mindfulness without needing to schedule it in. One example is cultivating the intention to approach your day with mindfulness as you wake up in the morning. Simply begin by noticing the breath, as well as emotions and sensations that might arise. As you do this, attend to what you notice with a sense of non-judgment, curiosity, and acceptance.
Using Environmental Cues
Utilizing environmental cues can be an accessible way to practice informal mindfulness during the day. Let’s use receiving a text message as an example. When you hear the audible notification, instead of rushing to answer it, pause for a moment and breathe. Take time to notice the sound of the text alert, the sensations in your body, and the emotions that arise in response to this environmental cue. Before responding, remind yourself to be present during the process of answering the message.
Observing and Describing
Relating to our experiences through the process of observing and describing allows us to engage with them in a more mindful manner. For example, if you’re stuck in traffic and late to a meeting, you may habitually engage in catastrophizing thoughts. Instead, begin to observe the emotions and thoughts that arise and describe them to yourself. This can look like: “I feel anxious. I feel overwhelmed. Breathe deeply, I am safe in this moment. My hands are on the steering wheel. I can relax and scan the cars around me.”
Sensory Exercises
Sensory exercises have a strong potential to anchor us into the present moment. We can use the senses of smell, sight, sound, touch, and taste to connect to our body and mind’s natural method of relating to our environment in order to attend to it with heightened awareness. You can pick one sense at a time to center your focus on, in any situation, at any time of the day.
Wherever and however you start your practice, whatever it looks or feels like, remember that that most important element to approaching mindfulness is to do so with a sense of nonjudgement, openness, trust, acceptance, and a release of attachment to the outcome.
Developing a mindfulness practice—even in just a couple of minutes a day—can decrease anxiety and stress, improve sleep, and increase motivation. Give it a try today! If you are interested in this topic, view our post about Building a Morning Routine which offers an abundance of ideas for different meditation and breathing practices.
I have also created free meditation videos that can help get you started. I love sharing my meditation practice with others and I have received such positive feedback from those who began to integrate it into their lives! I encourage you to find a quiet space, gently close your eyes, and give one of my meditations a try! :)
If you are interested in developing a deeper meditation practice with my guidance, I also offer individual 1:1 Mindfulness Consultations for Root to Rise clients to help you tap into the energy you are looking to cultivate with your own customized meditation practice. Call us today to learn more about our services & offerings.
With gratitude,
Atalie Abramovici, AMFT
Get started with this Loving Kindness Meditation today!