You have no more excuses …… you do have time to practice mindfulness. It can be so quick, easy and powerful! Here, try this: Right now wiggle your toes. Wiggle your butt. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth.
What do you notice? Most likely, you are aware of being more present and conscious in your body. Using this simple technique you become mindful. When you live mindfully, happiness becomes your choice.
The Top 5 Excuses for Not Practicing Mindfulness and How You Can Do It Anyway
The Huffington Post, February 22, 2014: Here are the top five excuses why you aren’t practicing mindfulness or mindfulness meditation and how to overcome them:
1. I don’t have time.
It’s not that you don’t have time, you just don’t make time. Ask yourself: Do I have five minutes, or even five seconds, to stop and pay attention to my breath? Then sit quietly in your office/home/car and breathe. If you’re experiencing monkey mind, that incessant mental chatter, then try the 4-4-4 technique. Close your eyes (unless you’re driving), inhale slowly to the count of four, calmly hold your breath for four counts, and then exhale slowly to the count of four. Just try it for one round. When you’re comfortable with this, then try it for five rounds once or twice a day.
2. I tried it and it doesn’t work.
Did you ever take up a sport for the first time, only to discover that you weren’t Serena Williams or Derek Jeter? Just like sports, mindfulness and meditation require practice. When I first started learning, I cheated and opened my eyes during the “eyes closed” part of the seminar. Everyone else seemed to be getting it and I wasn’t! It wasn’t until after we finished the meditation and the discussion opened up, that I realized that many other people were feeling as unsuccessful as I was. The only way to get better at mindfulness and meditation is to practice. If it doesn’t work out for you the first or second or even tenth time, just keep at it. You’ll get it.
3. I’m too stressed.
Eat a Kiss. No joke. Jon Kabat-Zinn used raisins, I use Hershey’s kisses. Take the Kiss in your hand, mindfully open the foil wrapper, put it to your nose and inhale that chocolaty goodness, and then place it in your mouth, close your eyes, and slowly eat it. While you are doing this, notice the texture and taste. Just focus on doing that with one Kiss, and you can gradually increase the amount (although I don’t recommend the whole bag). You can also do this with other foods. Instead of inhaling your lunch while simultaneously checking emails and talking on your cellphone, take a moment to pay attention to your food and just eat. Even something as simple as mindfully eating can help to reduce your stress level.
4. It’s too “New Agey” for me.
No one says that you have to sit on a mountaintop in full monk robes or a meditation cushion (although they are really comfortable!). If you’re not a fan of spirituality, then focus on the science. Mindfulness has been proven to have physiological, psychological and emotional benefits. Some of the benefits of mindfulness and meditation include: lower cortisol levels (which lead to less stress), boosts in the immune system and a significant change in our brains that leads to better memory, higher attention skills and better emotional regulation.
5. I’m too busy to add even one more thing to my plate.
Then don’t. Keep on doing what you’re doing, just do it mindfully. Pay attention to that one thing that you’re doing, and just do that. If you’re in a meeting, then listen mindfully (don’t text under the table), and when it’s your turn to speak, speak mindfully (don’t text under the table). If you’re listening to music, then listen mindfully. When you walk/drive/sit on the train on your way to work, then just breathe (and don’t text!) Work, cook, eat, exercise — do whatever it is that you do during your busy work day, just do it mindfully. What you may find is that by practicing this, you’re more productive and have more time in your daily schedule to actually schedule in some meditation. Maybe not today, but with practice, hopefully one day soon.
Read The Top 5 Excuses for Not Practicing Mindfulness and How You Can Do It Anyway
Mindfulness changes your brain so that your default mode is a positive frame of mind and a sense of well-being. Using mindfulness techniques, you can choose to be happy. Suffering truly is optional!
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Happiness is my choice.
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