Mini-mindful moments you can take without needing an app, a dark room, or your eyes closed!
The benefits of mindfulness, even brief practices, are well documented. Mindfulness training can lead to less emotional exhaustion and more job satisfaction (Hulsheger et al, 2013), can increase our tolerance of distress (Verplanken & Fisher, 2014), can reduce sub-clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (Schreiner & Malcolm, 2012), can reduce impairments in working memory due to stress (Banks, Welhaf & Srour, 2015), can reduce anger and increase attentional control (Rodrigues Vega et al, 2013), and can even increase connectivity in the brain (Kilpatrick et al, 2011).
However, there are lots of misconceptions about mindfulness. We can often confuse it with meditation and think we need to be completely ‘zen’ to give it a go, we need a youtube video or app to guide us through, we need to be lying down or have our eyes closed, we should be able to totally clear our mind, and we need to be doing it for 10 minutes or more.
Mindfulness at it’s core is about being aware of the present moment, with a curious, non-judgemental attitude.
Maybe even sitting down for 5 minutes of guided mindfulness is too tricky for you right now – that’s okay! There are a myriad of mini-mindful moments that present across the day, every day.
Here are 10 examples of mini-mindful moments (some not lasting more than 60 seconds) which you might want to embrace:
1. When you sit down at the end of a day at work/school
This might be in the car, on the bus, or on the train. Maybe it’s not until you get home and take a seat on the couch. Pause for one moment, even just one breath. Notice the shape or your steering wheel, the hum of the bus, the movement of the train carriage. Try and shift your thoughts away from what you just did at work, or what you’re going to cook for dinner. Perhaps it’s even just taking a few seconds before you put your key in the door – catch yourself and pause.
2. In the shower
Our minds love to wander in the shower! And this can be a great time of processing, planning, perhaps even creativity! Practice ‘watching’ your thoughts – like cars on a highway, or leaves on a stream – just passing you by. Or maybe just notice the sound of the water as it falls, if you can hear individual drips or the hum of the pipes. Notice the feeling of the pressure on your shoulders or scalp. Notice the way different parts of your body have a different temperature. Look at the droplets forming on the tiles or glass, the patterns they make.
3. When you brush your teeth
Notice the taste of the toothpaste as it hits your tongue and then moves around your mouth. Notice the foaminess increase. Perhaps the zing of the mint – does your mouth change temperature. Maybe even try and focus in on each tooth as you brush it – the feeling of the bristles on your gum. Maybe notice the sounds you can pick up on as you brush each tooth.
4. Whilst you eat a snack or 5. Before you eat your lunch
Take a second to pause before eating (maybe even take a seat!). Notice the colour and shape of your food – any light or shadows. Notice the smell of your food. Notice the feeling in your belly – ask yourself ‘how hungry am I?’. Then, take a small bite and chew slowly – notice the texture and taste of the food. Bring as much attention as you can to each bite.
6. Before you take a sip of your morning tea or coffee
Another moment to pause before doing something that is pretty easy to do on ‘autopilot’. This can also be a very sensory experience – can you tune into the swirls of steam rising from your hot drink? Take a moment to notice the smell of the drink, or try and describe the exact colour of your tea or coffee. Maybe notice if there are any reflections on the surface, or patterns in the foam.
7. When you first wake up
This might the hardest mini-moment – we’re groggy, tired, confused, or reluctant when we first wake up! Maybe try and pause for even 10 seconds before reaching for your phone or turning of your alarm. Maybe you want to keep your eyes closed and tune into as many different sounds as you can – your alarm, any birds, traffic outside, wind or rain, the movements of anyone around you. Maybe you want try and grasp onto the last remnants of your dreams. You might even want to choose an intention or affirmation for the day, or create some mindful space to focus on a particular personal core value. Ask yourself – how do I want today to go?
8. When you’re stopped at the traffic lights
Sometimes this is one of the moments where, depending on how our day is going, we can feel stressed, agitated, frustrated, annoyed. Maybe in this moment you might want to tune into the sensations of that feeling in your body and observe it – the tapping of your fingers on the steering wheel or gear stick, the feeling of your foot on the break pedal, the tension in your stomach or shoulders. Or maybe you just want to notice the colour of the car in front of you, a pedestrian on a footpath near your, maybe look up at the colour of the sky or the movement of a tree.
9. When waiting for the kettle to boil (the microwave to finish, the sink to fill up, the hot water to come through, etc).
This can be a moment where we reach for our phone, or start ruminating on a particular situation, or impatiently wait. There’s often many moments in the day where we have to momentarily wait for something, and impatience can make those 30 seconds feel like it’s dragging on and on. Perhaps use that forced waiting time as an opportunity to pause – what’s going on in my body right now? How is my day going? What is going on in my head right now? Take a take few deep breaths? Can I take a second to remember my intention for the day? Can I try and recall a gratitude?
10. Before you go to sleep
Your last pause for the day. This might be reflective space – what did I do well today? What worked well for me? What moments do I want to remember or what do I need to let go of? Maybe just focus on counting your in-breaths and out-breaths. Tune into the rise and fall of your belly or chest. Maybe notice the feeling of your body in bed – the feeling of the sheets against your skin, where your limbs press into the mattress, your head against the pillow. Maybe noticing any tension in your body – where specifically you feel it and if you can release certain muscles.
