Better Balance + Flow

“Health does not always come from medicine. Most of the time it comes from peace of mind, peace in the heart, peace in the soul. It comes from laughter and love.” – source unknown.

If you’re looking to make positive and healthy changes in your life, then it’s important to get to a place where you acknowledge and accept where you are so that you can make decisions that align with who you are and where you want to go. So how can you get to that place and start moving in the right direction? Well, you can start with mindfulness!

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, most often used as a therapeutic technique. It’s not a quick-fix solution, instead it’s more of a shift in perspective, a slowing down and a commitment to being happy and healthy. By being more mindful in your life you can start to make healthier choices by listening to your body and responding to its cues.

What are the benefits?

You may have heard about the benefits of practicing mindfulness regularly, research has shown that mindfulness lowers blood pressure, can alleviate anxiety, reduces cortisol levels and improves sleep quality, amongst others. Through practising mindfulness you’re more aware of yourself, your mind, body and your needs and are therefore more likely to make healthier choices for yourself, along with being a calmer and happier person!

How to cultivate mindfulness:

Create a morning routine

Make space for a morning routine to help you anchor into the present and set you up for your day ahead. By giving yourself time in the morning, you set the tone for the rest of the day. You can create any routine that suits you, it could be following a skin care routine, or even just dedicating 5 minutes in the morning to sitting with a cup of tea and just being. You could even try journaling in the morning to write down your thoughts or express your gratitude, or you could take 10 minutes to stretch your body or meditate.

Practice yoga 

Yoga is a mind-body practice helping you to connect body and soul through movement and poses. As you practice, you’ll start to be aware of how your body feels and you’ll focus in on the movements, you won’t even notice that your mind isn’t wandering. Not only will you cultivate mindfulness but you’ll tone up and build your flexibility in the process.

Eat mindfully

Similar to intuitive eating this is the act of tuning in and listening to your body and understanding what it needs and wants. It’s not a diet, more of a series of conscious choices. The act of mindful eating encourages you to eat slowly, savouring the tastes and flavours, being fully aware of what you’re eating and taking your time to enjoy it. As you’re more aware of your body, its needs and what it wants, you’re more likely to feel encouraged to make healthy choices.

Get outdoors & connect to nature

There’s been plenty of research on the benefits of getting outside and immersing yourself in the natural world, and it’s often a humbling experience to spend time in mother nature. You can cultivate mindfulness while outdoors by noticing what’s around you, take your time to observe what’s around you, notice the different smells, the different textures. You’ll leave feeling refreshed, calm and energized.

Breathwork

If you’re not in a situation in which you can get outdoors and hike, or go through a yoga routine but just need to get yourself back into the present moment, a great thing to do is to take some long, deep, cleansing breaths. Notice where you are holding tension and let it go. You can do this in moments of stress, anxiety, worry, or even just moments of overthinking or distraction. It’s a quick and easy way of tuning into your body and listening to yourself, bringing yourself back into the present moment. This will help you to manage stress and anxiety and lead you into a calmer state of being.

If you’d like to learn more about mindfulness or need some help getting on track with your health goals, join us inside the Better Balance + Flow Community on Facebook where I share some of my best tips and host free sessions every month.

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