Mindful Movement

3 Simple Mindfulness Practices When Meditation Isn’t Working for You

Mindfulness is good for every man, woman, boy, or girl

1. Walking Mindfully

The art is mindfulness has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, clear and free the mind of clutter, and sharpen focus, but still, practices like meditation aren’t as easy as it sounds. Sitting still is not that simple.

It’s hard to just sit there doing nothing when there’s so much work to do. This is not because we don’t know the power of meditation, but because we can’t be still.

Today’s world has made us forget we’re human beings. We only feel productive when we’re doing. We should call ourselves human doings for all the work we do, which leaves little time for just being.

Meditation is powerful and can take you into spiritual realms and other worlds, but sitting still, crossing legs, and closing eyes isn’t the only way to reap the benefits. You can be mindful as you do.

There are other ways to meditate to feel the same power and yield similar results as sitting still. All it takes is to be mindful, and to be mindful is to be aware.

You can be mindful as you do just about anything.

You can be mindful as you talk. You can be mindful as you eat. You can be mindful as you shower. You can be mindful and meditate as you walk.

You walk every day, actually; you walk quite a lot, so if you turned all that walking into a meditative experience, then you would be meditating quite a lot. If you’re mindful, the more you walk, the more you’ll meditate. And the more you meditate, the more you free your mind.

As you walk into the office, you could meditate to prepare your mind for the day ahead. Think of every step you take as every challenge you’ll overcome. Breathe life into your body as your foot touches the ground and visualize how you want the day to go. You get to make that choice. As you’ve conquered half of the day and take a break to the bathroom, breathe in more life to sustain you throughout the rest of the day. As you breathe out, let go of anything that didn’t go as you hoped. And as you breathe in, say, “You’ve got this!”

Allow the breath of life to flow into you as you walk to refresh and renew your mind and spirit.

As you walk to your car after the day's work, meditate to clear your mind from the stresses of the office with the intention of not taking work problems home with you. As you drive or walk home, be mindful by paying extra attention to the road or street you’re walking on. Feel inside your shoes. Are they hurting your feet? Feel your feet touch the ground. Do you feel grounded and supported? Feel your entire body moving you ahead in life as you walk. Notice the way your body weight moves from one leg to the other and pay attention to any sensations in your body. What are they saying to you?

If you’re lucky enough to walk past some roses, stop and smell them. If the sun feels so good on your skin, stop walking and soak it in.

Instead of just walking and doing things mindlessly; instead of wandering about in your thoughts, you can bring your mind and all of your attention into the present moment.

Live mindfully.

You deserve to give yourself that kind of attention.

Instead of just walking mindlessly and wandering in your thoughts, bring your mind and all of your attention into the movement of your body.

2. Eating Mindfully

There are so many things you can do as you eat. You could use that time to talk with a friend. You can scroll through Twitter or Instagram to see what the world is up to. You can check your email and text message so you don’t miss a thing. You can even watch a movie on Netflix.

While this isn’t a bad thing, it isn’t a mindful thing to do while you eat.

Mindfulness is the ability to focus and pay attention to one thing at a time. That means when you’re eating, you’re doing nothing else but eating your food.

A mindful person is alert at all times, even as they eat. They carefully observe the food on their plate. They pray and meditate on their food. This may sound difficult, but it’s actually quite simple.

When you’re eating, just eat.

Charge your phone in the other room. That way you’re not tempted to check notifications. As you eat to recharge, you allow your cellphone a break to charge too. Put away or turn off other things like books, newspapers, television, radio and anything that will compete for your attention so you can just focus on one thing — eating.

Eating mindfully means paying close attention to the stuff you’re about to put inside your body. If you can pay attention to your food, you can really see what it is you’re consuming. Pay attention to how your food feels in your mouth. Does your body welcome it? Pay attention to how it smells. Does the smell make you want to put the food inside your mouth or does it make you question what’s inside? Pay attention to the texture of the food. Does it feel good going down your stomach?

And also, learn to be okay eating alone. Enjoy your meal without rushing and with no one rushing you. Eating is a part of living. Allow yourself to live by eating in peace.

Also, savor and be grateful for every bite of your food. Somebody out there didn’t or can’t eat today.

Mindfulness is the ability to focus and pay attention to one thing at a time. That means when you’re eating, you’re doing nothing else but eating your food.

3. Listening Mindfully

Meditation is all about listening. You can’t meditate while you talk. Whether you sit to meditate, walk to meditate, eat to meditate, or shower to meditate, you must listen.

You reap the full benefits of meditation when you talk less and listen more.

The more you meditate, the better you get at listening. The more you meditate, the more comfortable you will be with listening. Listen to intuition. Listen to your inner voice. Listen for insights and guidance. Listen for God’s voice.

When you talk, you give all the information. When you listen, you take it all in. When you meditate and do it often, listening becomes your default mode because you see how cool it is to just listen.

When you can listen better, all of your conversations will flow easily because you’re not rushing to say something, but you’re allowing space for the other person to say what’s on their mind. Yes. People will talk and talk some more if you just allow them to talk, but you know why you listen.

Those who speak less and listen more are some of the most mysterious and interesting people you will ever meet. People will be eager to be in your presence because you make them feel heard when you allow them a safe space to talk. You make every situation calmer.

Being able to listen to another person is one of the most expensive gifts you can give and an even greater gift to give yourself because when it’s finally time to talk, you speak wisely because you heard, saw, and felt everything.

Note: This article is only meant to provide spiritual guidance and light-hearted content.

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