How do we be more mindful and how can we make it a habit everyday? Mindfulness has been clinically found to have a positive affect on our mental wellbeing, reducing stress, anxiety, low mood and improving wellbeing. As a mindfulness meditation teacher for the past five years I have had the pleasure of helping people understand the basics of what of mindfulness is, means, and how to build it into your day.

Mindfulness is defined as ‘ noticing the present in a non judgmental way’.

Everyone can be mindful if we choose to notice the present

We are all so busy in our lives rushing around multi tasking we do this in automatic pilot. Our routines are habits and we may not notice our thoughts until we start to feel stressed, anxious and over whelmed. Taking two minutes each day to be mindful encompasses taking a moment to pause…either at work, on the train, at home or in bed (sitting or standing either with your eyes open, closed, or gazing down)

As you pause start to notice how you are breathing, this is something you may not consciously notice , but when we start to notice our breathing it is the first step of coming out of automatic pilot and into the present moment. As you notice your breath try not to change or judge it, just begin to notice how you breathe, the sound and sensations as you breathe. Your mind will want to wander to busy doing thoughts this is natural and normal. Acknowledge what thought comes into your mind and then bring your focus and attention back to your breath. Every time you bring your focus to your breathing your are breaking the habit of following busy doing thoughts, finding a calmer more peaceful mind as you focus on one thought your breath.

This takes practise, so aim to be mindful for 2 minutes or more every day at least once a day. The more you focus your attention on the present the stronger the pathways in the brain become at letting go of over thinking, judging, reacting and focusing on negative emotions.