<\/p>\n
Between busy schedules and the end of the school year, it can be difficult to take time for yourself.<\/p>\n
The chaos and stress of daily life can make it impossible to be present in your body, especially if you haven’t mastered the skill of stopping and grounding yourself in the present moment.<\/p>\n
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Dora Kamau, Headspace’s lead mindfulness teacher, stopped by Studio 1A to break down the differences between mindfulness and meditation.<\/p>\n
Kamau shared some small changes and techniques that can make a big difference in your mental health.<\/p>\n
Mindfulness is a fundamental human ability to be fully present.<\/p>\n
“It’s a different way to pay attention to yourself, others, and the world around you,” Kamau says.<\/p>\n
With busy schedules, caring for loved ones, and life and work responsibilities, it can be easy to lose track of what you’re doing and how you’re feeling.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot to explore in the world of mindfulness,” Kamau explained. \u201cYou can be thoughtful while eating, drinking, talking, texting, and commuting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mindfulness is the ability to pay attention to the present moment. It’s not about excluding yourself or cutting yourself off from the world around you.<\/p>\n
Mindfulness teaches you to be more present, which can help you manage and relieve stress, improve your sleep quality, and improve your relationships with others.<\/p>\n
Here are three simple exercises to help you feel more grounded and present in the moment.<\/p>\n
Start this exercise by walking alone. This practice involves paying focused attention to your body, surroundings, and environment. It’s important to pay close attention to how your body feels when you move.<\/p>\n
Leave your headphones at home, put away your phone, and pay close attention to your surroundings. It is important to avoid distractions during this exercise.<\/p>\n
As you walk, think about the following questions.<\/p>\n
This is a great method for beginners as it is important to connect your body and mind with your surrounding environment.<\/p>\n
“For beginners, it’s often easier to practice mindfulness through movement than sitting alone in silence,” Kamau says.<\/p>\n
In this exercise, focus all your attention on your breathing. First, don’t change your breathing at all. Instead, try to be aware of how you are breathing.<\/p>\n
“If your breathing is short and shallow, you may be feeling anxious or nervous,” Kamau explains. “If your breathing is slow and steady, it shows you are feeling connected and safe.” <\/p>\n
Next, focus on breathing deeply to use your breath as an anchor.<\/p>\n
This exercise can be done at any time that suits you best, such as before bed or at the beginning of the day. The important thing is to make it work.<\/p>\n
The acronym STOP is a popular mindfulness tool used to pause and focus on the present moment. This method can help you change the way you react to stressful situations and manage problems.<\/p>\n
#Mindfulness #teacher #shares #top #exercises #beginners #hooked #practice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Between busy schedules and the end of the school year, it can be difficult to take time for yourself. The chaos and stress of daily life can make it impossible to be present in your body, especially if you haven’t mastered the skill of stopping and grounding yourself in the present moment. May is Mental … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[826,622,1367,1365,1368,607,1366,428],"class_list":["post-640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-beginners","tag-exercises","tag-hooked","tag-mindfulness","tag-practice","tag-shares","tag-teacher","tag-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}