Mindfulness is a technique to attain alertness, body awareness, paying attention to your thoughts and sensations without judgment. In society, you have so many distractions. Whether it's the constant information overload with phones or constantly checking emails. When you check in with your mind and body, you can get a sense of how you feel. This is how we navigate through grief without overwhelm. Noticing how you feel and going through the emotions. Here are six ways to bring more mindfulness while grieving.
1. Gratitude Practice
It's easy to get into a downward spiral of negativity while going through grief. Bringing a gratitude practice into your life can help you bring some positivity. This helps show you there are things to look forward to in your daily life.
2. Listen to your body
Your body sends you messages throughout the day by what you feel. Pause, and notice what your body is communicating with you. Is your body tense? Achy in certain areas? Heavy or light? Paying attention to how your body feels throughout the day will help you come back to mindfulness.
3. Pivot to your heart center
Another way your body communicates with you is with emotions. As you grieve, you feel a wide range of emotions. No matter how uncomfortable those emotions are, sitting with them is the best thing to do. That is how mindfulness comes into play. You don't judge your emotions. Feeling is where the healing happens.
4. Focus on the five senses
This is one of the easiest ways to bring mindfulness while grieving. Take a moment to pause and observe your surroundings. Find five things you can see. Four things you can hear. Three things you can smell. Two things you can hear and one thing you can taste. Or you can focus on one of the senses. For example, while you are eating, notice the texture of the food. When you are taking a shower, notice the scents you use.
5. Observe the breath
During different emotions, our breathing pattern changes. When you are happy, you breathe fully and slowly. While anxious, your breath is shallow and choppy. When you notice your breath, can you recognize the emotion you are feeling? Once you recognize the emotion, place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly. Take three deep breaths.
6. Bring awareness to your thoughts
With the number of distractions, life has, the mind can go in 10 different directions. For example, you may be watching TV, and suddenly, a thought comes up about dinner, and then you start thinking about what you are planning to eat. Somehow that initial thought turns into; I need to work out more often. Try this- close your eyes and imagine your thoughts floating in bubbles. Then, as you watch your thoughts, observe. You can also try the visual cloud meditation on my Instagram.
Bringing mindfulness in our life doesn't require you to sit and be still for hours at a time. It takes little techniques like this to incorporate into your daily life. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, you can use these techniques.
Let me know in the comments below what technique sounds like you can incorporate in your life.
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