Mindfulness and Body Awareness Practices

Practicing breath awareness gently brings us back into the present moment whenever our worrying mind causes us to feel overwhelmed and anxious.

Focusing on our breathing has a calming effect on our body. It helps us learn to accept our feelings without reacting to them or allowing them to control us.

When we slow our breath down and breathe more deeply, we send the message to the body that it is safe in the moment, calming the “fight or flight” reaction. 

Be patient and take the time and attention the body needs to calm itself. This can’t be rushed. 

With consistent practice, even when we aren’t sensing the anxious feelings, we can rewire the brain into a consistently calmer state. 

Benefits

• Promotes balanced brain behavior.  Emotion Mind/Analytical Mind = Wise Mind

• Relaxes the activity of the worrying mind

• Increases optimism

• Improves social behaviors

• Improves present-moment attention

• Reduces and eventually eliminates self-bullying past/future critical thoughts

• Improves compassion toward oneself

• Improves emotion regulation

Mindfulness activities that resonate with your needs can be done on a daily basis.  

It’s OK to start being mindful by trying a variety of techniques to see which ones fit. 

Different activities may also have different benefits.

Some may encourage relaxation, while others may encourage awareness. 

Mindfulness is full-body awareness - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Here are some Mindfulness Practices you might enjoy:

Exercises

Build in the Pause

One of the most powerful approaches to calming the activity of your brain is to stop for a moment, take a deep breath and pause whatever you’re doing, thinking or are distracted by.  Let go of moving away from the moment through several breaths, reminding your brain that it’s ok to pause its activity.  

Basic Breath Awareness

Sit in a comfortable chair or on the floor with your back straight but not rigid.  Let your hands rest on your thighs, palms either down or turned upward. You may close your eyes or leave them open, whichever makes it easier to remain present in the moment.

1. Tune into your breathing.  

2. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

3. Notice your breath as it enters your body.

   • How far down does it travel into your lungs? 

   • Is it shallow? Is it deep into your belly?

   • At what rate is your breath coming? 

   • Is it rapid? Is it slow? 

4. Change nothing.  Just notice the presence of your breath.

5. Try counting slowly on the exhale.  You may count silently or softly out loud. 

6. Try varying the depth and the rapidity of your breathing.  

7. Try breathing deeply and slowly.  

8. Try breathing rapidly and shallowly.

As you do these variations, what happens in your body? How does it feel?

Notice Your Thoughts

1. Notice your thoughts.  Are you able to remain focused on your breathing or does your mind wander off?   Most of us find that our thoughts want to take our attention away from the moment and from focusing on our breathing. 

2. When your mind wanders off it’s ok and expected.  Just notice its journey.  Treat your thoughts like clouds coming across your view. Let go of attaching to them. Thoughts are your mind’s effort to stay busy and nothing more.  

3. When you’re ready to return to the moment, gently but firmly invite the mind’s attention back to the breath. 

Scan Your Body

1. As you practice breath awareness, notice the sensations in your body. Let your awareness slowly travel through your body, from the top of your head through to the tips of your toes.

2. If you notice that you are carrying tension in any part of your body just focus your breathing on the areas of tension.  Imagine the tension releasing with each breath, flowing out through your body, down through your feet and dissolving into the ground. 

Notice Feelings

1. Notice any feelings you might have. Let go of judging them as good or bad or attaching to them. Just breathe into the feelings with acceptance.

2. Notice how you can generate feelings with the thoughts that are floating by. Try generating anger, sadness, or fear by intentionally creating and giving attention to a thought that might generate such a feeling.

3. Now breathe into and release the thought. Let it float away while breathing into the feelings that remain, letting the energy resolve.

Mantra Breathing

Introducing a mantra, a statement of self-affirmation and care, with your breathing is very powerful. It also helps to calm and heal the pattern of negative self-talk that developed with chronic stress. You can pair Mantras with Belly Breathing or another breathing exercise. 

1. Find a comfortable position. Close your eyes and give yourself a few minutes to rest in relaxation, then turn your attention to your breath.

2. Choose a word or two that captures the feeling or thought that you’d like to focus on.

3. Pair that word with the phrase “I am….”, such as:

   • I am safe in this moment. 

   • I am enough.

   • I am ok.

   • I am allowed to make mistakes. 

   • I am grateful. 

   • I am powerful.

   • I am loved.

4. As you slowly draw in and release each breath, repeat your mantra and practice cultivating the feeling or experience of your statement. Breathe that fresh feeling in. 

What other mantras would you find supportive?  It’s ok to make up your own!

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

1. Tense and release specific areas of your body.  For example, scrunch your shoulders up to your ears; bring as much tension as possible to your neck and shoulders. Slowly count to three and release all that tension. 

2. Now continue that with other areas, including your hands, arms, legs, chest, back and stomach, face, remembering to breathe and release each area.

Grounding With 5-4-3-2-1

Look around your environment, notice and say out loud or internally while breathing gently:

• 5 things you can see (pick a color, for example, 5 blue things)

• 4 sensations you can feel (e.g., your back against the chair, cool air on your hands)

• 3 sounds you can hear

• 2 things you can smell 

• 1 thing you can taste

Journal

Journaling can be mindful, especially when it is given full attention without judgment. Journaling can be done as a “free write,” where you write whatever comes to mind without editing or censoring. Prompts can also be used to guide the writing toward specific topics.

Coloring

Bring a sense of creativity and playfulness to mindfulness. Give it your full attention. When the mind wanders, gently and nonjudgmentally bring it back to the coloring. Some people choose geometric patterns called mandalas to color and focus their attention. 

Listen to Music

Listen to a favorite song with your full attention. Close your eyes and listen to everything – the lyrics, melody, beat, vibration. Notice how the music makes you feel.

Movement/Exercise

Any physical activity can become a mindfulness activity when approached with awareness. 

1. Take a mindful walk. Deliberately walk at a very slow pace. 

2. Focus on the feel of your feet hitting the ground, the swinging of your arms, your breathing, your heart beating.

3. Notice everything around you - sounds, temperature, bodily sensations, nature, and sights.  

Mindful Eating

1. Try eating a snack or your meal mindfully.

2. Notice the color and texture of each bite; notice the smell, the taste.

3. Chew slowly and examine what it’s like to eat mindfully.