8 Ways to Develop Mindfulness

Here are eight ways to develop mindfulness:

1. Practice meditation – start your own daily meditation practice. Start with 5 minutes per day and increase when it feels right.

2. Mindful movement– this is being aware of your body and the present moment during exercise. Walking is a great way to start practicing this. You can do it with any type of physical activity.

3. Mindful eating - this is bringing your attention to the process of eating and drinking. It is slowing down and really tasting your food.

4. Give people your full attention - whomever you are talking with, give that person your full attention.  "The most precious gift that we can offer others is our presence.” Thich Nhat Hanh

5. Daily check ins - these can be one minute long and you are stopping what you are doing and checking in with yourself. To do this you can connect to the breath and notice how your body is feeling.

6. Being mindful with daily habits – bring your attention to what you are doing when performing daily habits such as brushing your teeth, taking a shower, washing your hands, etc.

7. Do one task at a time – bring your full attention to the one task that you are doing. Once you have completed this task or have worked on it for a certain amount of time then move on to the next task.

8. Eliminate distractions - allow yourself to fully concentrate on what you are doing by eliminating distractions. This means putting your phone away, turning off alerts, and allowing yourself to be present with whatever you are doing.

Which one of these would be most beneficial for you to focus on?