Practicing mindfulness has a slew of health benefits including improved memory, better concentration, and better stress management. With a list like that, taking the time to do some quick meditation every day is one of the best things you can do for your health and wellbeing.
Here are 5 quick mind meditations that only take a few minutes.
Recognize Your Stress Responses
Knowing is half the battle when it comes to mindfulness. All the best mind meditations in the world won’t help you unless you know when you should use them.
Take a couple of minutes throughout the day to check in with your body. Yes, even while out on the town with Mahiki guestlist.
Are your thoughts racing? Do you have an elevated heart rate? Are your shoulders tense?
Any one of these stress indicators is a sign you need to stop, take a step back, and employ a quick guided meditation.
Focus on Your Breathing
Breathing is unconscious most of the time which is why taking control of it can be a great way to practice mindfulness.
Taking a few minutes to breathe deeply is a great way to reset your body’s fight-or-flight response. This is because deep breaths act to slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure, essentially telling your brain, “there’s nothing to worry about here”.
Deliberate breathing, from the diaphragm, also focuses your attention on your body’s stress responses. This allows you to take better stock of how your anxiety is affecting you physically.
The “5-4-3-2-1” Tool
The “5-4-3-2-1” tool is a mainstay of mindfulness techniques and for good reason: it works. It essentially hacks your brain by making use of your five senses. So the next time you’re out on the town (perhaps with Mahiki guestlist) try this:
Look around yourself and identify 5 things you can see. Perhaps a martini glass, a hostess, a tiki statue, a candle, and a menu.
Next, identify 4 things you can hear. Music, laughing, singing, and the clink of glasses.
Pay attention to what you feel and identify 3 sensations. The seat under you, the glass in your hand, and the warmth of the atmosphere.
Note 2 things you can smell. The scotch in your hand and the perfume of the woman next to you.
Identify 1 thing you can taste. Your high-class nightcap.
So whether you need to de-stress at work or out at the club give this technique a go.
Put Words to Your Emotions
Humans like to organize things and that same tendency applies to our thoughts and feelings. Using this inclination is a great way to ground yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
So the next time you’re feeling overcome, take a few minutes to state how you’re feeling out loud. Words like “anxious”, “overwhelmed”, “angry” might apply.
Labeling your feelings serves to shift your brain from an emotional state to a thinking state, essentially inviting logic to take the wheel. This shift can help you curb impulsive actions and short-circuit your tendency to wallow in negative feelings.
Practice Radical Acceptance
Radical acceptance is the practice of differentiating what you have control over, what you don’t, and accepting the latter as something that cannot be changed.
So the next time you’re stressing or fixating on something, ask yourself two questions:
- What about this situation can I control?
- What about this situation is out of my control?
It can help to write these answers down. The next step is to sit with the results of number 2. Accept that you can’t do anything about things outside of your control.
With enough practice, this technique can help you compartmentalize and better handle everyday stressors.
Try These Quick Meditations for Better Health
Mindfulness and meditation have proven benefits. With these quick meditations, you’ll be more equipped to handle anxiety, stress, and other bumps in this road we call life.
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