Mindful moments offer a way to reap some of the benefits of a meditation practice in just a few quick minutes.
It’s no secret that life moves fast. It feels like New Years’ Eve was yesterday and here we are, almost 3 months into 2021.
These days, it feels like we never stop moving. From the moment we get up to the moment we fall asleep, we are in a constant state of doing.
This sort of frenetic speed we move at day after day causes serious tension in the body and mind, and it takes its toll on us.
Tia Rich, manager for Resilience, Stress Management, and Contemplation programs at Stanford University, says “there is a growing body of research that shows that your production, creativity, and memory all suffer when there is unrest in the body and mind.”
So, how do we slow down?
Practices like meditation and breathing exercises are game-changers. But, jumping right into a practice can feel overwhelming, and that’s totally fine.
If you’re used to moving at full speed, the thought of sitting down and breathing for 20 minutes might even stress you out more.
Thankfully, we can ease into a practice like mindfulness, and still reap some sweet benefits.
Baby steps friends, baby steps.
Mindful Moments
Instead of sitting down and trying a formal meditation, mindful moments allow us to access a similar mindset in just a few minutes or even seconds.
The benefits of adding pauses into your day are well-documented. It’s a common practice for folks in high-stress positions like doctors and judges.
Mindful moments take pauses a step further; instead of just doing nothing, we attempt to briefly tap into a state of mindfulness. This leaves us refreshed and focused when we move onto our next task.
On top of being relaxing, mindful moments are also a simple brain training exercise.
Our brains love patterns. In the book Grateful Brain, author Alex Korb says that our brain is conditioned to function in a repeated way.
When we practice mindfulness, even for a few seconds, our brains get used to the action of popping out of our thoughts and into the present.
Over time, it becomes an automatic habit.
Mindful moments offer a way for anyone to access the benefits of mindfulness and work their way towards a more in-depth practice.
I explain exactly how to drop into a mindful moment in this free exercise.