What Is Mindfulness? 3 Ways To Improve Your Mental Health At Home With Quiet Moments Today

Mindfulness is an ever-growing concept that takes humans out of their everyday, technological lifestyle to enjoy a moment of un-stimulated peace. As the term and concept gain traction, both in a personal movement as well as in conversations surrounding health, more and more celebrities and online personalities are mentioning how to practice to slow down has positively benefited their lives.

If you're looking to incorporate the practice into your own life, there's good news. You can try practicing mindfulness anywhere, including your own home. Here's everything you need to know about expanding your awareness, attention and inner peace today.

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is "the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us," according to Mindful. The practice aims to bring individuals into a state of current being. This means, any added stimulation, aggressive thoughts or stress can be eliminated through practicing the calm-inducing concept.

How Can You Start?

The goal of mindfulness is to cut out the noise in everyday moments. The best way to start is to dedicate a designated amount of time per day to the idea. Start with your comfort level. This can be as little as five minutes on a work break, or you can take hours to focus on your inner self. Mindfulness can fit into any routine, so long as you dedicate your full attention to the practice.

Best Practices

Meditation:

Meditating is one of the most classic forms of mindfulness. In a way, all mindfulness is meditation. For this practice, though, lead with the classic idea of meditation. Find a comfortable seat, and close your eyes. Focus on your breathing, and try to let go of any incoming thoughts. The idea of meditation is to think as little as possible, and just be. Focus on your breath, and accept the idea of for a moment, just existing.

Meditation can become increasingly difficult in today's society because of the constant stimulation around us. While practicing any form of mindfulness, silence and set aside your phone. Limit distractions that do no promote peace and well-being in the moments of quiet.

Observation:

Some mindful exercises call for reflectance on surroundings. Leave you phone, or any other technological devices, inside and go observe your outdoor environment. Look closely at the parts of nature, from leaves to water sources. Spend time observing them, and be in no hurry.

In urban environments, this type of mindfulness may be challenging because of the hundreds of distractions around you. Take time to breathe and focus on what you're meant to be doing. Hear the noises around you, but let them go without stress.

Make Art:

Want to be mindful while also practicing your creativity? There are so many forms of art that can be beneficial for health, and help deepen focus on the individual moment. Try your hand at painting or drawing, and allow yourself to get lost in the work. Or go outside and take photographs of the things that interest you most. No matter what art form you choose, allow it to take over your time and thoughts. Practice the same form of meditation: let thoughts come, but let them go to increase your momentary awareness, and enhance the idea that you don't need to think at every moment.