How to Infuse Your Life With Mindfulness

It’s easy to neglect our mental health when we are caught up with balancing work, family, and friends. It is important to break our monotonous weekly cycles and tune into ourselves so that we can determine what we need to feel fulfilled and centered. Here we will discuss two different methods to center ourselves and reconnect with our inner thoughts and feelings.

Meditation

Meditation is one way to achieve a greater sense of mindfulness in your daily life. Whether you have time to sit down for thirty minutes or just five, tuning in to your internal state and observing the thoughts that pass through your mind has several benefits not only for your mental health but for your physical health as well.

Restructures Your Brain

The simple act of meditating has the ability to regulate your emotions and to improve overall cognitive functioning. Most importantly, meditation can help us to throw out negative thought patterns, such as those that can exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression, and replace them with positive thoughts that are beneficial to our personal growth and self-image.

Improves Immune System Functioning

When we meditate regularly, our immune system is more effective in warding off disease and illness. This is evidenced by reduced levels of interleukin six which can indicate greater system efficiency. In the same vein, it can result in a slower aging process as our body’s cells turn over at a decreased rate.

Grounding

If you’ve ever gone hiking in the Appalachian mountains, you might have taken proper precaution and bought a pair of proper hiking boots for the trip. It is also possible that you’ve had a chance encounter with other fellow hikers who opted to brave the trail barefoot, foregoing the sturdy boots you laced up before climbing any rocky paths. While it may seem like a dangerous idea, these hikers might have a better idea of how to get in touch with themselves through the natural world.

Grounding is the practice of reconnecting yourself with the earth. This is most easily done by walking barefoot outside, whether that’s in your background or along a mountain trail–though it is not advisable to do so while hiking due to safety concerns. Other methods of grounding include lying down outside or plunging into a pool of natural water.

Benefits of Grounding

Most of the benefits you’ll receive from grounding have to do with your physical health, but there are documented impacts to your mental health as well.

Improves Quality of Sleep

Those who practice grounding regularly see improvements in their sleep patterns, including an increased amount of time they remain asleep each night as well as a reduction in sleep disturbances. Grounding can also benefit people who suffer from chronic fatigue.

Anxiety and Depression

In one study, after as little as one hour of grounding, participants reported an increase in positive emotions and overall mood. By allowing yourself regular time to reconnect with the earth you can also give yourself the opportunity to tune in to your internal state through mindfulness.

Other Forms of Mindfulness

For those of us with busy schedules, it may seem daunting to pencil in even half an hour devoted to these activities. Here are some additional ways to connect with yourself without a hefty time commitment:

Focus on the moment

Rather than going through the motions of the day, make an effort to intentionally notice your surroundings and any reactions you might have to your environment.

Regulate your breathing

Breathing exercises such as box breathing, also known as the 4-4 method, can draw our attention to our physical selves and how we are feeling in the moment.

Count your senses

Whether you are indoors at work or outside on a walk, take note of your five senses and try to name one thing in your environment for each.

By taking notice of our internal states on a regular basis, we can not only boost our mood and nullify symptoms of anxiety and depression, but we can also benefit our physical health. Taking the time to practice mindfulness can only serve to improve our quality of life, even on our busiest days.