(This is a transcript from my Tea Time with Becky podcast episode by the same name, not a written blog.)
Today we are going to be talking about seven simple mindfulness practices or exercises that can really, really have a huge impact on and change your life if you practice them daily.
But first, I want to invite you to just take a moment with me. Just close your eyes or soften your eyelids if you can and just really allow yourself a moment to be present.
Just taking in a nice deep inhale and a big releasing exhale.
And one more if you can, another nice deep inhale, filling the body all the way up with air and a big releasing exhale, emptying all the way out.
Just feeling the full weight of your body, any impact, whether it's on a chair, on the ground, whether you're sitting or standing just allowing yourself to be fully present in this moment and in your body.
And now that we're fully present, let's dive in.
Exercise number one is mindful breathing.
So really allowing yourself to fully focus on your breath, to feel it just like we just did as it goes in and expands the body and feel it as it moves out and contracts the body. So even count your breaths to do a little bit of breath work here if you're really spiralling in the mind. You can do a nice inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for eight, and then repeat.
You can try this maybe five to seven times just to see how it feels for you.
Exercise number two is a gratitude practice.
Now we know the importance of daily gratitude, but really allowing yourself to fully check in every single day, just taking a few moments to really feel into what you're grateful for. Now it's one thing to just say, I'm grateful for this, I'm grateful for that. Like today I am grateful for the sunshine and I'm grateful to have time to record this podcast, but getting clear on the feeling of that gratitude, really allowing yourself to feel how grateful you are for that sun being out, for the warmth on your skin, for the time to do whatever it is that you're currently doing, allowing
yourself to feel that gratitude in your body and really just being mindful of all of the things that you have to be grateful for, whether they're big or small.
Number three is positive affirmations.
You know how much this girl loves affirmations, but really committing to actually saying or repeating those affirmations aloud. I love, especially if you're a little bit resistant to affirmations, choosing one single affirmation and repeating it at the same time every single day. So I usually suggest after you're finished brushing your teeth, either using a window marker something that you can write on your mirror or putting up a little sticky note on the mirror and saying that affirmation aloud while you look yourself in the eyes. A couple of examples, "I trust myself and my inner knowing." "I am exactly where I need to be in this present moment," or "I love myself without condition." Just a simple affirmation like that and really committing to it every single day can have such a major impact.
Number four is meditation.
Now before you have that response of, oh, no, I can't meditate and this happens all the time. The "no, Becky, you don't understand. I literally cannot calm my mind to do meditation. I cannot let those thoughts stop swirling around to sit in meditation for 20 minutes for 10 minutes," and that is completely okay and completely normal. No one, the first time they started doing something was great at it and the point of meditation is not to be good at it. It's just to take a few moments in stillness even if you can only start with two minutes at a time and work your way up to five minutes, up to 10 minutes, or whatever it is, just allowing yourself to sit in stillness, to still your mind to the best of your ability by trying to focus only on your body, on the breath, literally like I had mentioned before it without judgment as just a thought and then bringing your awareness back to your body and your breath as soon as you can. It may even be helpful for you to play some soothing meditation music or guided meditation or walk out in nature if you're not someone who can sit in stillness or if you're just not at a place right now where you're able to sit in stillness. Allow yourself to walk out in nature, to witness nature and to see if you can just be fully present in your body and do a moving meditation.
Number five is a body scan.
So just becoming fully aware of your physical body, starting at the top of your head and working your way all the way down through your face, through your shoulders, through your arms, through your hands, through your chest, your abdomen, your legs, to your knees, to your calves, to your ankles, to your heels, all the way to the tips of your toes. And just acknowledging the physical sensations in each part of your body, allowing yourself to notice them without judgment as you move through each area. If you're clenching your jaw, maybe you can unclench your jaw, if you're clenching your butt cheeks or you're clenching your abdomen, just really allow yourself to become aware of how you're sitting or standing in your physical body.
Number six is to witness your thoughts and emotions.
Notice your thoughts and emotions without judgment. Notice how the emotion feels in your body and simply allow it to be there, to be there and to be acknowledged. If it's uncomfortable, allow yourself to just send love or send loving kindness to that area of your body, to that emotion, to that thought, just allowing yourself to witness how you've been talking to yourself in your mind, the things that you've been thinking about yourself or others or a situation, just allowing yourself to witness that, just to be present in it. And then if you want to, to go from there, whether you want to continue on with that thought pattern or if you're ready to let it go and move into a new one.
And number seven, one of my favourites, is mindful eating.
So sending love and gratitude to your food before you eat it. As a Reiki master, I personally love sending my food Reiki and literally thanking it before I put it into my body. I just love sending that loving universal energy to the food just as a thank you and just to be grateful that I have this food and that I'm able to nurse my body with it. And then also knowing that as I eat it, I'm also taking that loving Universal energy into my body and sending my body love as well. And then just take your time to enjoy each bite of food and really savour the flavour and the texture of every single bite instead of just mindlessly shovelling it in.
I really hope that you enjoyed at least one of these practices and that it feels good to bring it into your daily routine because we know that it is so much easier to add something to our daily life than it is to take away. So if you can take one of these mindfulness practices and commit to adding it into your daily routine, I know that it is going to have a beautiful, beautiful major positive impact on you and your life.
I'm also attaching a link to my self-healing support guide that will support you with mindfulness and manifestation rituals, as well as walk you through getting clear on your multidimensional why, how to identify and release limiting beliefs, and how to check in with your daily routine and consumption to make sure it supports and aligns with your path. Access it here.
So much love to you,
Becky xx