Tips for Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is key to starting healthy eating habits! It helps you focus your attention on your food and the experience of eating, and being more present while you eat will add more joy to your life. Here are some tips on mindful eating:
- Eat slowly, this will allow your stomach to signal your brain that it’s full
- Savor each bite, really enjoy the smells, tastes, textures, and sight of your food
- Chew thoroughly, chewing your food 25+ times allows you to absorb more nutrients
- Sit down to eat at a table, do not eat at a desk or on the couch
- Focus on eating, do not multitask while eating
Start practicing mindful eating today by really savoring the first 2 bites or sips of each meal and drink!
Dark Chocolate Meditation
Both dark chocolate and meditation improve your heart health and mental health! So why not combine them and get double the benefits!?!?!
Grab a piece of dark chocolate and give this chocolate meditation a try!!
Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners
While you read this, take a couple minutes to center yourself by focusing on your breath. Follow these steps below now, and every time you want to meditate.
1) Put your phone on silent or airplane mode.
2) Set a meditation timer with a nice alarm tone. That way you’re not tempted to look at a clock and you won’t need to worry about spending too much time meditating. You want to come out of meditation slowly, so don’t be in a hurry to open your eyes. Take a few moments to remain present in the stillness you’ve created. When you’re ready, gradually become aware of your body and surroundings.
3) Sit in a comfortable position. If you’re sitting on a cushion, feel your sit bones rooting you into the ground. If you’re sitting in a chair, place your feet firmly on the ground and feel your body weigh heavy in your chair.
4) Close your eyes, be still and sit up straight with your chin tucked in slightly. If you find that closing your eyes makes you sleepy, then softly stare at a spot on the floor. Maintain a small smile on your face as this helps you maintain a relaxed and peaceful experience.
5) Breathe deeply. Breath through your in and out through your nose deeply and slowly. Alternatively you can breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, letting your breath flow effortlessly in and out of your body. Don’t force your breathing here – just breathe naturally and observe your breath without thinking about it.
- If you’re having trouble focusing on your breath, there are techniques to help:
- count the time it takes to inhale/exhale
- count the number of breaths you’re taking up to 10, then restart
- say the word “inhale” so slowly that it takes the entire inhale to finish saying the word and repeat for exhale.
6) Let go of your thoughts. Let go of things you have to do later today or pending projects that need your attention. Simply let thoughts come and go and be at one with your breath. Sometimes it’s tough to calm your mind down, but focus on your breathing and what your body feels like. You can imagine a relaxing picture in your mind like waves on the beach, or bring your attention to parts of your body. Don’t think or analyze, just focus on your breath or the image.
7) Continue to purposefully watch your breath, focusing your sense of awareness on its pathway as it enters your body and fills you with life. Imagine every cell in your entire body filling with air, from the top of your head down to your toes.
8) Then watch with your awareness as it works its way up and out of your mouth and its energy dissipates into the world.
9) Smile when you’re done and give yourself a high five! Be grateful that you had this time to yourself, that you stuck with your commitment to meditate, that you showed yourself that you’re trustworthy, where you took the time to get to know yourself and make friends with yourself. That’s an amazing two minutes of your life.
Ditching the Worry with Yoga
Yoga is fun! However, if you’re new to yoga it’s easy to be stuck in your head and think too much about what you’re doing. Remember that yoga is a practice, so don’t expect to be perfect. Just be in tune with your body.
To get the most out of yoga, ditch the worry and really focus on being present.
Yoga Meditation – A Guide for Beginners
Yoga is a great exercise and an awesome way to practice mindfulness!! You should do yoga for at least 30-60 minutes per week!
Yoga helps you build muscle strength, increases flexibility, improves blood flow, decreases blood pressure, improves posture, concentration and energy, decreases stress and anxiety.
Taking to a yoga class is a great way to exercise, get hands on guidance, make friends and build community! If you’re new to yoga, check out this 20 minute yoga routine you can do at home!
A Strong Mindset for Strength Training
Mindfulness and strength training go hand in hand! Meditation through movement is easy, you just move mindfully and focus your attention on your body movements. Counting the repetitions in your lifts can be calming and meditative, similar to focusing on your breath. Try of these suggestions the next time you’re lifting weights:
– Focus on your breath. Pay attention to the air going in and coming out of your lungs.
– Have a mantra. Create a mantra to say with each repetition or each inhale/exhale. You’d be shocked how much having a powerful mantra can boost your workout!
Make your own mantra or try these out: “I am enough,” “I am strong,” “I am powerful,” “Yes I can,” “I’ve got this.”
– Concentrate on the movement. Move your muscles slowly and really think about the muscle groups you’re using. You can focus on any aspect of the physical movement you like. Some examples are focusing on your form or thinking about what the muscles feel like as you move them.
A Successful Workout Mindset
The right mindset is the most critical element to making an exercise routine work for you! Here are some important steps to getting the right mindset:
1) Set Realistic Expectations: It’s important to set a goal, but start very small. By making a large goal, you make it difficult to achieve. Instead of setting your goal to run a mile everyday, start with a goal to run 15 minutes 3 days per week. Once you hit your goal, increase it to slowly over time.
2) It doesn’t matter what you do … just do something! It doesn’t matter what you do, just get your body moving. You don’t need a gym membership or weight set to get healthy. Walk the dog, or run the stairs in your house for 5 minutes, anything that’s easy and attainable for you. Doing anything is better than doing nothing!
3) Make it fun! Pick an activity that you enjoy doing. If it feels like torture, you’re less likely to do it. Taking a fitness class or joining a sports league or dancing to a zumba DVD, whatever sounds fun to you!
4) Remember why you’re living an active lifestyle: When you’re working out, remind yourself why you’re doing it. Even if working out seems like a chore, adopting a grateful attitude and appreciating your ability to more your body will make every workout more enjoyable.
5) Get an accountability partner and schedule your workouts: Both of these tips help you get in the mindset of working out and inspire you to keep going. Scheduling your exercise around an existing habit is great trigger to also get you into the exercise mindset, so try to schedule at the same time so that exercise becomes second nature.
Meditation Through Exercise
Many people avoid meditation because they don’t like to sit still. But mindfulness can be an active process that happens through movement! Meditation during exercise can increase your satisfaction from workouts. Read this article for more ideas about how to bring mindful meditation techniques into your workout!
Holiday Mindfulness Tips
The holidays are full of joy but they can also be stressful. Here are some techniques to help make your holiday more joyful!
1) Take a walk. Pay close attention to the sounds, sights and smells. Really appreciate the scenery around you. Walking is an excellent way to decrease stress and boost your mood!
2) Take 3-5 minutes to meditate. Meditation is a great way to center yourself. It’s easy – simply find a quiet place to sit for a few minutes. Focus on your breathing, deep calming breaths that fill your lungs. If your mind wanders (which is natural), gently come back to focusing on your breath. The goal is to be present in the moment.
3) Be kind to yourself. Take a bath or a nap. Call a friend. Go to the movies or play a game. Anything to reminds you of the joy this holiday season is filled with!
