How can I incorporate mindfulness into my day?

You can incorporate mindfulness through small activities and approaches. Brush your teeth while paying attention only to that (ie: smell, taste, feel of the brush). Start a meal with two mindful bites of food noticing texture, color, the feel in your mouth. Find small things that you do during the course of the day and do them intentionally, keeping you in the moment. I call these moments "mindful resets".

I recommend taking moments throughout the day to be mindful. These can be scheduled at first, you can even set alarms in your phone, until these mindful breaks become a habit. These breaks can be anything from 2 minutes of conscious breathing, a walk outside, a check in with your feelings and needs, or perhaps just a moment of silence and reflection. A simple, "how am I doing today?" will allow you to be mindful. I also recommend aligning your mind, body, and soul as much as possible. Closing your eyes and focusing on your senses...what you are hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and feeling in the moment can bring you back into your body.

I have had the same thoughts regarding meditation. It is common to feel centered, focused and calm immediately following meditation, but those effects can dissipate throughout the day as you go on with your normal routine. I find it helpful to check in with myself regularly throughout the day to see how I am feeling. I will take several deep breaths, quiet the chatter in my mind and make sure to release any tension I am holding in my body. It can take some time to develop the habit of frequently checking in with yourself, but it is a wonderful and quick way to make sure you are staying mindful, even off the meditation cushion.

Hi there,

I would recommend starting with a simple 1-2 minute meditation practice daily. Soon enough you'll develop a healthy habit and continue down a thread of mindfulness.

Learning tai chi is a great way to learn mindfulness techniques and carry them into your day

I love reading all of your thoughts and your ways of bringing mindfulness in to your day and how it feels for you. I don't know about you - but for me the change of seasons always is a reset button in where my mindfulness focus lies..some days I have to really look for it and other days it just washes over me and off I go...Have a great day!!

For me as a Life Coach, I try to start my day with a mindfulness moment..it is a time when my mind is not flooded with the daily buzz yet and also at various times of the day - stepping outside -taking a breath and just being in that moment...it is so very personal for all of us...

I have heard that taking 3 conscious or aware breaths every hour when you are awake in and of itself changes and improves all aspects of your life! Healthy and natural breathing is when your stomach and maybe chest expand out followed by exhaling and bringing your stomach back toward your spine. Mindfully observing (without a need to change anything) your breath and body regularly is easy and amazing!

How wonderful that you are aware of the feeling of presence! One way to take your meditation practice into daily life is to practice mindfulness around a variety of daily tasks. Become aware of the sensory experience of say, tooth brushing by experiencing the smells, tastes, sounds, tactile sensations of the action. Doing this with activities that you normally do on "autopilot" can enhance any experience. You may also use triggers throughout the day that point you back to the felt sense of your body and/or breathing. A trigger is a reminder to feel yourself and a sense of being. Examples include, stop lights, turning on the car, stepping across a door threshold, a text ping, a phone ring, the alarm clock. Whatever you choose becomes a "mindfulness bell" of sorts and you simply decide to pause and feel your body breathing for some period. At a stop light it may be simply 5 breaths! Enjoy your mindfulness practice off the meditation cushion in as many moments as possible. Peace.

An excellent practice from the world of ontological coaching is to notice when you are shifting from one domain of permanent human concern to another as you flow through your day. i.e. I am moving from the domain of work to the domain of body when I get up from my desk to get a glass of water. This keeps you in present moment awareness.