5 beginner tips for practicing mindfulness
1. Meditation
Other than having a few minutes to catch my breath after yoga, I didn’t really know how to meditate. I downloaded the headspace app after seeing a few ads and I can honestly say that this was the guide to help me through meditations (this is my honest opinion).
I also searched “sound bath bowls” on youtube and this helps me fall right to sleep. I attended a yoga session where the instructor brought in a sound bath and this was so good.
2. Unplugging
Sometimes this lasts a few hours, sometimes I need to unplug for a couple of days. Really this is about listening to my body and what it needs in the moment.
Usually, I carve out one evening and the following morning as my Sabbath or time of rest. This means that a day / evening that I had reserved once a week. For me this is Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. I try not to make plans, and usually dedicate this time to resting and resetting.
Friday evenings work best because I am usually exhausted from the week. I usually do NOTHING dental related… treat myself to my favorite foods, a movie, and usually a nice long nap. The next morning, I try and do a scripture or some type of dedication or self help reading.
3. Cutting back on mindlessly drinking coffee past 3:00pm
I love love love coffee. I specifically like the taste, and it’s part of my daily routine. The only times that I don’t have coffee is if I’m doing soft tissue surgery because I’ve noticed that I develop a slight tremor.
Beyond worse than the tremors are what comes at night when I’m trying to sleep. My heart is racing, and I feel restless. Limiting my coffee and transitioning to decaf has helped quite a bit.
4. Breathing techniques and Muscle Relaxation
Both help ground you, and bring you back into the present moment. It’s easy to find guided meditations online or YouTube. But taking deep breaths instead of shallow breaths helps release tension and stress.
Same goes for slowly focusing on each muscle from your toes to the tip of your head and relaxing the tension. (I think this is probably a whole separate blog post I can do if enough people are interested)
5. Warm bath or cold shower
Something about water just shocks me back into the present --this is slightly ironic because I’m not the best swimmer, but I love being in water. I find it so relaxing and comforting. I especially like hot scolding water, like at the temperature that almost burns you.
Usually in the evenings I enjoy taking a nice bath, with a glass of wine and my ipad playing in the background. I also enjoy taking a quick shower and then finishing the shower with a blast of cold water. (I will share more about the benefits of cold, like cryotherapy in a later post)
Bonus: Float spa. I can say that this isn’t for everyone especially if you’re prone to being claustrophobic. Floats are available in most major cities. You basically go into a salt bath pod or pool depending on the location and float for an hour. You can listen to music, a guided meditation audio or float in peace. This was recommended to me by a friend and the relaxation and peacefulness that I got out of this was the equivalent of 10 of my best yoga sessions.