Guest Blog Post
Thank you to Gigi for guest blog posting on Mindfulness on Simply Alex Jean. Gigi Lee is a full-time blogger, content creator, and spiritual entrepreneur. Through her small business Guidance by Gigi LLC she offers written blog and video content on spiritual and holistic concepts for wellness, tarot knowledge, and tarot consultations. You can find out more at www.guidancebygigi.com and you can follow her on Twitter @Gigiguidance
Mindfulness
The world, as shaped by the global events and astrological transits of our current times, have pushed the concepts and practices of mindfulness to the forefront of our daily lives. Due in part to the global pandemic, many people are waking up for the first time to the idea of truly living in the moment of the present. Many are asking themselves heavy existential questions for the first time in their lives.
“Am I truly happy?”
“Why am I so anxious?”
“Do I work too much and enjoy myself too little?”
Mindfulness is not a complex practice or technique reserved for monks or health gurus. Mindfulness is simply the purposeful choice to be as in tune with your body, mind, and spirit. It’s a mindset that transcends the mental realm and pours out into our presence allowing for complete and unfiltered awareness.
Actively practicing mindfulness is the ability to release the concerns of the past and future, and only feel what is unfolding in the present. After all, we cannot change the past, and the future is never guaranteed. Even though this may sound like whimsical chattering of a mad woman, there truly is nothing magic required to practice this liberating practice. There are simple techniques you can do any day, any time, and mostly anywhere to reground your mind when you feel the anxious thoughts of life pulling you away. Staying grounded allows us to handle life’s challenges and overcome with grace and confidence.
Belly Breathing
Stop what you are doing and pay close attention to how you are breathing. Are you breathing through your mouth or nose? Does the air completely fill your lungs? Do your muscles feel tense or relaxed and loose? Throughout our day as the stresses pile on, we subconsciously tend to breathe in a way that is shallow and only partially fills our lungs. Belly breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, is the act of taking slow and deliberate breaths until you feel your belly area expanding.
-Breathe in slowly through your nose with your hand on your abdomen
-Feel until you feel the belly area rise
-Hold the breath for a few seconds (or only as long as you can)
-Release the breath slowly through the mouth (longer than the inhale is the rule of thumb)
This simple act increases the flow of oxygen to the bottom of the lungs, where the oxygen exchange for your body happens. Increasing the oxygen to your body can reduce racing thoughts, stress, nervousness, and some pain by lowering the heartrate, blood pressure etc. by activating your parasympathetic nervous system.
Avoid Multitasking
I used to pride myself on my ability to do several tasks as once, especially back in my professional healthcare days. However, the truth of the matter is cemented in the old saying “Haste makes waste”. Science has taught us that while the human mind is able to handle two tasks at once, the efficiency of outcomes decreases with every task we try to take on at the same time as it decreases focus. It’s tempting to think that rushing to finish every task at once can crunch some extra minutes, but the reality is you’re better off dedicating time to an individual goal at a time. Dealing with tasks and duties with a clear focus allows for less stress, less mistakes, and less work that piles up in your future due to poor outcomes.
Emotional Freedom Technique “EFT” Tapping
EFT is an alternative acupressure technique. It involves tapping on certain points in the body regarded in Chinese Medicine as areas that our energy can become “blocked”. Regardless of whether or not you believe in Chinese Medicine or energy flow, tapping is an effective way to quiet the mind that ushers in mindfulness. While you are gently tapping with your fingers onto certain areas you are to focus on a singular issue that you are wanting to work through. My good blogger pal, Tiffany, has a wonderful instructional video on EFT tapping. You can watch and learn here.
Mindfulness through Sensory Aides
There are products we can use to assist us in staying present if we struggle with our mind wandering. Carrying a physical object such as a stress ball can come in handy. However, rather than mindlessly squeezing the ball you want to focus your attention on the object while using it. This can help with pushing out your external environment and whatever triggers are causing you to lose your touch with the present moment. Stress balls are just one idea, but there are many others sensory aides that would work just as well.
Check this out for a full list of aides to assist with mindfulness when you struggle with sensory overload.
Gazing
The easiest and most discreet technique I can think of is gazing. I enjoy practicing gazing with a candle. I light the flame and allow myself to sit quietly and stare as I allow my thought to pass through without judgement. After awhile, your mind starts to drift. Eventually, the mind is able to let intrusive thoughts melt away like the wax of the candle. Luckily, you can choose any object in your environment to focus on.
What do you think of these techniques? Have you ever used any of them? What would you add to the list? How have you added mindfulness to your day?
Thank you to Gigi for this wonderful guest blog post!
https://www.pinterest.ca/simplyalexjeanpinterest/Talk soon!
xoxo,
Simply Alex Jean
A very helpful article 🌟
Great post! Although I have been practicing mindfulness for many years, I still have times where I struggle with it. EFT and breathing exercises are both amazing ways for me to become more present. I also find it easier to be mindful when I meditate regularly. Thanks for sharing these great tips!
Thank you – lots of wonderful information Gigi has shared! 🙂
Same! It’s always a work in progress for me, and I’m glad these tips are helpful reminder to meditate and do breathing exercises more regularly ( I need to as well!)
What a great post on mindfulness and tips! I’m jotting some down, so thank you Alex (and Gigi!) for this x
This is a really great explanation if like me you are new to practising mindfulness and how you can practise being more mindful. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren -bournemouthgirl.com
such an interesting & helpful post! i’ll check out gigi’s blog! 🙂
I read a post about EFT recently and it was very interesting, not something I’d come across before. Nor have I heard of Belly Breathing, but that is something I am going to try later tonight, it sounds perfect for bed time, after lights out but before I fall asleep. Fab guest post, thank you for sharing!
Oh I wondered what EFT was. I may try that.
Mindfulness is so important and I love all these tips you’ve shared! I’ve definitely mastered the breathing technique as I’ve gotten older x
These are such great tips and tricks for everyday mindfulness. Thanks so much for sharing!
These are helpful tips. I find concentrating on my breathing can really help me to feel relaxed and at one with the world.
I love how accessible these tips are — they are actually things I can incorporate into my day with little stress, etc. Thanks!
I’ve been hearing more about EFT recently and I’m curious about it. Great post <3
Great post, I for one love mindfulness it is how I get through the day and I have yet to try EFT but it is on my list of things to do.
Thanks Simona – Gigi did a wonderful job with this post! Hope these mindfulness tips help!
Thank you – that’s wonderful to hear you’re trying to incorporate to help with anxiety. Belly breathing is fantastic and so easy to do, I’m glad it helped provide a sense of calm and is now a tool to help with mindfulness. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Thanks, Gigi did a lovely job! I’m glad to hear you’re trying to incorporate mindfulness more into your everyday life!
Thanks – yes please give Gigi’s blog a check out, she’s always got lots of great tips and info!
I’m glad this post was informative, be sure to check out Tiffany’s page (linked in the post) as she has LOTS of info on EFT 🙂
Wonderful to hear this provided some ideas for you Lisa. I, myself just did EFT with Tiffany last week and it was honestly amazing! I hope Belly breathing helps as well with providing a sense of calm. Gigi did a lovely job, and I’ll be sure to pass along your kind words.
Fantastic to hear Della – it’s so important! Thanks for your kind words about the post, I’ll be sure to share with Gigi!
Thanks – Gigi did a great job of making them so easy to incorporate into everyday life!
Thanks Kelly – I’m glad to hear belly breathing really helps you!
Awesome – that’s great to hear! Gigi did a wonderful job in making them attainable and realistic!
Amazing, thanks for your kind words. I encourage you to check out Tiffany for EFT she’s amazing!
It’s amazing, I did a session last week and honestly it was one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a long time. I’d highly encourage it. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I currently have been trying to practice good breathing habits every time I feel stressed. It’s been wonderful help. Great tips.
I love how accessible you’ve made mindfulness. I think people always jump to meditation and decide it’s not for them. And they miss out on all the other great ways to practise mindfulness!
Awesome – breathing exercises are really helpful!
Gigi did a lovely job with this post and giving lots of options – i’m glad you enjoyed it!
These are great tips and ideas! I really need to focus on not multi-tasking. I often jump between tasks and can see how that wouldn’t be the best thing. I didn’t know gazing was an official thing, but I do this quite often. It really helps clear and calm my mind.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this post and found it useful with mindfulness made easy! Gazing is wonderful and I’m glad it works well for helping to clear your mind.