Table to Contents
Introduction
Mindful Coffee or Tea Break
Mindful Eating
Mindful Movements
Introduction
The following article is a breakdown of some basic mindfulness activities that you can incorporate into your daily routine to promote mindful awareness. While many of these activities may sound simple and are once practised, to begin with, they may seem overwhelming to adopt. It is vital to be aware of this and kind to yourself if you have difficulty mastering any of these activities; practice is difficult. Mindfulness focuses on compassion, including being compassionate with oneself. Often, our inner monologue can be our own worst enemy.
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Once you can practice mindfulness effectively, the results are highly rewarding. In addition to promoting emotional intelligence and self-awareness, mindfulness can also affect those with whom you interact closely. Whether these are family members, friends, or colleagues, our behaviours will affect those around us.
It is paramount to exercise caution when practising mindfulness if you have a pre-existing psychological condition, such as suffering from trauma. Mindfulness is all about focusing on ourselves in great detail. That includes both positive and negative thoughts. It is also crucial to be cautious when practising mindful movements, ensuring we don’t over-exert or strain ourselves. I will discuss mindful movements later in this article.
Mindful Coffee or Tea Break
One way to start practising mindfulness is with a simple yet effective mindful exercise. I believe the mindful tea break is one of the simpler exercises with which you can begin. I use a tea break as I am not a coffee drinker, but both beverages are effective for this exercise.
This practice dates back to ancient Zen monasteries, where they would have a dedicated tea room. I do not have a dedicated tea room or all the intricate tea-making facilities. In my possession, I have a kitchen, a sofa, and a kettle. I also have tea and milk. I find these facilities sufficient to perform the practice.
Mindfulness is all about focusing on the present moment in great detail. Typically, this involves engaging all or as many senses as possible at the time and location available. Mindfulness can be practised anywhere and at any time. If you do not have a kitchen available when practising mindfulness, you can always attempt another mindful activity.
This exercise involves focusing on the preparation and consumption of your beverage in great detail, using as many senses as possible. While the kettle is boiling, you can focus on the sounds you can hear, the feel of the materials you are preparing, and the aroma of their preparation.
Once you have prepared your beverage, you can take yourself to a quiet space and continue to practice mindfully consuming your libation. Technically you can mindfully communicate with others. I am aware often beverage breaks are a social occasion. However, when beginning, I recommend practising this mindful activity in peace. That will allow you to focus on incorporating as many senses as possible. Mindful communication is an advanced technique. I recommend practising simpler techniques at first until you gain ability and confidence. If the office kitchen is not the best place to practice, try it alone in your own home first.
Mindful Eating
Another mindful activity that is relatively simple, albeit time-consuming, is mindful eating. Again, this is about appreciating your food with as many senses as possible. I believe it is prudent to practise this exercise initially with a small food component.
When I first studied mindfulness, I was given a single raisin to appreciate for 20 minutes. 20 minutes may sound like a long time to consume a raisin, and it is; however, it takes our brains 20 minutes to register that our appetite is satiated. Mindless eating can give rise to many negative habits and consequences. To read more on mindful eating, visit The Benefits of Mindful Eating (chloemephambsc.com).
How does the food appear? What is the aroma? Do these evoke thoughts or feelings? What is the temperature of the food? How does the texture feel, and what does it taste like? Again, do these answers evoke any thoughts, feelings, or memories?
I find mindful eating is impractical to perform at every meal, and it does take practice. However, I have found that my eating habits have significantly changed since I started to practice eating mindfully.
Mindful Movements
As I mentioned in the introduction, it is critical to exercise caution when practising mindful movements. It is imperative to be cautious when moving in general and be realistic about our capabilities. Mindfulness is not a competition with others; if anything, it is about exercising our abilities and focusing on improving our personal best.
Mindfulness can apply to any movement we make. For this article, I will use the example of a walk in the park. However, some mindful movements receive recognition for improving our self-awareness. These are Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Yoga. When performing any mindful activities, it is always important to be cautious, regardless of our experience level. Fortunately, these movements train the brain to be more mindful, but requires balance, poise, and focus.
If you are walking in a park or anywhere, you can practice moving mindfully. I find I can incorporate all of my senses into this mindful movement. To begin with, it may be prudent to try it when walking alone for practice purposes.
How does the climate feel on your skin? Is it hot? Is there a breeze?
What aromas can you detect? Can you smell freshly cut grass or flowers?
What can you hear? Are there birds singing? Is someone mowing some grass?
What can you see around you? Is it crowded with people, or are you alone? Are there trees or other signs of nature?
What can you taste? Do you still have the lingering taste of tea from your mindful beverage?
It is that simple, but it does require practice.
I will mention again that it is crucial to be compassionate with yourself when you are practising mindfulness. Mindfulness is all about expressing gratitude and being compassionate with yourself and others.
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