Six Ways to be Mindful Without Meditation
When you hear the word “mindful”, we bet the first thing you think about is a yoga pose, possibly cross legged with palms faced upwards! However, to be mindful you don’t have to meditate but you do need to factor in some calming, positive thinking. Meditation is absolutely wonderful and can work wonders to rejuvenate how you think and feel about yourself. It creates positive energy and when practiced regularly can definitely improve your outlook to life. There’s also lots of belief that mindfulness can help in the battle against ageing and actually, it makes sense. Mindfulness is about learning to switch off and relax. When the body’s under stress, it goes into overdrive and that impacts health. Poor health tells on the skin so it seems likely that there’s a lot of truth in factoring in relaxation. While it’s a good idea to try and factor in some meditation to your daily routine, let’s be honest, for many of us, finding a few minutes spare to sit and empty our minds is near on impossible!
So what does "mindfulness" actually mean?
Firstly, let’s re-examine what mindfulness means. The dictionary definition tells us that it’s a mental state we achieve by focusing on the present, but while also being aware of our own feelings, thoughts and appreciating how our body feels too. It’s also believed to be a form of therapy. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be in a therapeutic state, or that you can only be mindful with meditation? With that in mind, here are our six ways to be mindful without mediation. Let us know how you got on and don’t forget to tell us your own tips!
1. Learn how to breathe!
Yes – we know, you already breathe all day, every day but do you know how to breathe? Breathing deeply is far better for your body than taking short, shallow breaths. When you’re under stress, your breathing shortens and you might even feel breathless. It’s worth trying some deep breathing techniques and you don’t have to do this when meditating. You can do this wherever you are, in the car, in the queue for the bus, at the supermarket – even watching TV. As you draw breath inwards, do it slowly and count to 5, then hold for 5 and release while slowly counting 5. This helps to slow down a rapid heart rate too. If you can’t sleep, it’s wonderful for calming down.
2. Prepare a personal ritual
This is really easy. You have rituals you perform every day. One of them is cleansing your face, so make this a mindful ritual. You’re doing something for yourself after all. Don’t just “do it” out of habit. Make it something wonderful. Go to your bathroom, sit down, light a scented candle (perhaps something with lavender, an intensely calming essential oil) and start removing your make-up slowly. Make it an experience; really take time to nurture your skin. Cleanse it, tone it and moisturise it using massaging movements. This is extremely relaxing and nourishing too – plus it’s mindful because it’s soothing. Of course, your skin deserves something truly fabulous to keep it looking wonderful, so treat it to the Edible Beauty collection. Our Core Four collection is ideal, it features a Belle Frais cleansing milk, Citrus Rhapsody Toning Mist, Exotic Goddess Ageless Serum and Vanilla Silk Hydrating Lotion. Using these products creates a therapeutic experience all of its own.
3. Take a shower
Hopefully you already do this every day! However, your shower is a great place to be mindful. Use it as more than just a cleansing necessity – make it a cleansing experience. Appreciate your body; treat it with the respect it deserves. Exfoliate gently and use a really rich, luxurious shower cream. Light another candle, perhaps a minty fresh aromatherapy candle to set you up for the day if it’s morning time. Spend a good amount of time in the shower, factor it into your day, five minutes isn’t enough, make it 10! Sing; think positive thoughts because we all feel better after a good shower so use this as time to be at one with your body.
4. Be mindful from within
For us, this means detoxing your body using a quality product. We swear by our Beauty Teas, they contain natural antioxidants so cleanses and rids the body of impurities. When our bodies are clean, we feel better which helps with mindfulness. Try our No.4 Golden Glow, which is a delicious tea that consists of some wondrous herbs that purify and detoxify while balancing the hormones and hydrating your skin from within.
5. Look upwards!
We’re all busy people, rushing from one place to another – sometimes running to catch that train or perhaps dashing to the shops to buy some last minute bits and pieces. We have kids to get to school, offices to work in and friends to visit; there aren’t enough hours in the day! Next time you’re outside doing your chores or going from place to place, remember to look up. See the sky, look at the trees, if the sun’s out, savour its glory (without looking directly at it). Listen to the birds and tune into nature. It only takes a minute and it’s amazing how it lifts spirits and makes you appreciate the world you’re in.
6. Limit your social media time
Unfortunately, one of the biggest obstacles to mindfulness is our connected world. While it’s fantastic to be able to see what our friends are doing across the globe or catch up on the latest distant family news, social media is also damaging our ability to relax. We are all so connected; it’s hard to put down our tablets and smartphones to just relax. How many times have you had to rewind a TV show because you weren’t concentrating due to a WhatsApp message? Let alone listened to what your partner said because your mind was elsewhere, focused on a Facebook post. Be vigilant, switch it off when it’s past 7.00pm and chill out! Watch TV, be with your loved ones, read a book just let your mind focus on what’s around you rather than what’s happening outside of your own private, personal world.
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