Mindfulness

Hello everybody! Welcome to or back to Guiding at Home. Today I wanted to discuss an important subject of mindfulness and teach you ways to add mindfulness into your daily routine.

First let's discuss what mindfulness is because to some of you it might be a new concept and to others you might have an idea but aren't one hundred percent sure. Mindfulness is bringing one's mind into the present moment and being calmly aware of yourself, this can be in by being aware of your thoughts, emotions or body. Some of you might be thinking this is silly because surely by just living you are being mindful ? You can argue yes but without practise no one is ever living a truly mindful life, we are always thinking about the future or the past. We spend hours of our lives worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet, we worry about things that we can't change. I know I do this a lot, I am always worrying about my future and what my life is going to be like but by spending time doing this I'm wasting my current life. I'm so focused on the future I forget to enjoy the now and being a teen. But if I was more mindful I could enjoy every part of my day and I wouldn't stress so much about things that in reality are going to turn out just fine. The following quote from Buddha sums up in my opinion the purpose of mindfulness - "Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life". Mindfulness reduces anxiety, stress and leads to a calmer way of life. Just a few minutes everyday could change your life.

Now we understand what mindfulness is and the importance of it, let's think of ways to practise mindfulness. With mindfulness you have to realise that the benefits come when you do it frequently and take time to practise it, you can't just do it once and expect all the benefits. There are many ways to be mindful, let's start with one of the most popular forms, Meditation. Meditation is the act of sitting still and focusing on your body and breathing, it is not easy as your thoughts wonder but there are so many apps that you can use that can guide you through the process. I like to use the app Calm but Headspace is really good to, however I do realise that to use the full app you need to pay a monthly fee. But a totally free alternative is videos on youtube, just type in guided mediation and there are so many good videos to help you. You can do five minutes to an hour, it all depends on how you feel, but for beginners I recommend to start with small sessions and build yourself up. 

Another way to be mindful is through yoga, to be honest I don't have much experience in this but I have heard great things about it. Once again youtube videos are a good way to start. Some less time consuming ones that you can easily fit in your schedule include mindful eating, this is where when eating you focus on the taste, sight and textures of the food, another way to be mindful is through mindful moving, this is where you pay attention to the feelings when you move, this could be the wind on your skin, feeling the floor beneath your feet or the way your clothes feel and lastly body scanning, this is where you slowly move your attention through your body, starting from the top of your head moving all the way down to the end of your toes, you can focus on tension, warmth or tingling feelings in the different parts of your body. With all these methods you are just bringing your focus into the present moment and being aware of yourself. 

To conclude another way to be mindful is through being creative, colouring is a popular one. To be mindful when being creative focus your mind fully on the task. Be aware of the textures of your materials, how it feels when you are colouring with your pencil or the colours. Don't think or worry about anything else, all your focus should be on your creation, nothing else matters. 

I hope these practises will be helpful for you on your journey to a more mindful life. For those Guides that want to push themselves how about you look at the meditation interest badge and see if you can complete it. I would love to hear what you have been practising to be more mindful so feel free to leave a comment.

Thank you for reading and make sure you keep safe and keep on Guiding!