How to turn your shower into a Zen retreat.

The 5-senses practice of everyday mindfulness for the anxious mind.

Trust me — you are already kicking a** being mindful.

Do you feel overwhelmed when you hear the words meditation and mindfulness?

Does that all sound like some voodoo, spiritual stuff that you do not understand or that it is not for you?

Or have you tried sitting cross-legged and focusing on the breath? And found it impossible to control your monkey brain?

If so, you probably have not understood what mindfulness is in its essence or are trying too hard.

What if I told you that you are already mindful every single day — even this very moment when you are reading these words.

Mindfulness is simply focusing your attention on an object of interest.

Imagine shining a spotlight on one object among a sea of others — That’s the no fluff definition of mindfulness.

Have you ever focussed on your work so much that you lost track of time?

Have you been on a great date where you clung to every word your date said and forgot the world around you?

Have you watched a movie with such attention that the people around you ceased to exist, and you became a part of the movie itself?

Congratulations! You have already aced mindfulness!

Who let the monkey out? Who? Who?

The problem is that such engrossing moments that capture our undivided attention are far and few in our daily lives.

We spend half our waking hours in a state of mind-wandering, with little awareness as life whizzes by.

A wandering mind is a mischievous monkey — it often rakes up the past or time travels into the future, robbing us of the only thing that truly matters — the present.

What if we managed to put this monkey on a leash?

What if we could turn mundane moments into mindful ones so we can experience life as it happens?

You can do it, and it is easier than you think.

Where do I shine the spotlight?

Traditional mindfulness techniques use internal cues like the breath, body, or thoughts as the anchor.

You observe various aspects of the breath — the way the belly moves, the temperature or movement of air through the nostrils, etc.

Body scanning focuses on identifying sensations in various body parts, the tension in muscles, pressure where the body meets the ground, etc.

While they are very effective, I find the breathing exercises very distracting and, frankly, a little anxiety-inducing.

The noise in my head reaches unbearable decibels when it is quiet outside.

The Sense-ible approach to mindfulness.

I recently picked up a copy of “Modern mindfulness- How to Be More Relaxed, Focused, and Kind While Living in a Fast, Digital, Always-On World” by Rohan Gunatillake, the creator of the “Buddhify” mindfulness app.

The book has several great ideas to include mindfulness in our daily lives.

Rohan rightly points out that while practicing mindfulness the traditional way is excellent, we are still left with several moments in our daily lives that we spend mindlessly- ripe for conversion into mindful ones.

While I like many of his suggestions, the following is something I enjoy a lot.

We perceive the world with our five senses — touch, smell, taste, sound, and vision.

Learning to pay attention to them is the perfect way to be fully present in any given moment.

There are several pros to this approach of mindfulness.

1. You can transform any daily, mundane activity into a fun mindfulness exercise.
2. You do not have to set aside time for mindfulness.
3. Because we focus on external cues, it is a lot less intimidating. This is particularly helpful if you are anxious like me.
4. You are instantly improving your life experiences every time you do this.

I have tried breath and body scanning exercises and, quite honestly, did not see any difference in how I felt the first few times.

I could not apply that to other moments in my life, and there were plenty of those where I needed some peace and calm.

This approach, in my opinion, is far more rewarding in that aspect.

The five senses mindfulness exercises can also be the warmup for more challenging formal practices.

When you are comfortable sustaining your focus on external cues, you can move on to conquering the ultimate challenge — observing your mind.

So, where do we begin?

Time to turn the spotlight on:

1. Choose one activity from your daily routine that you currently do on autopilot mode.
2. Choose one that involves one or more senses.
3. Try to sustain your attention on one of the senses for as long as you can
4. When your mind wanders away (it most certainly will), gently bring your attention back to your object of focus.
5. To make things interesting, switch your focus between the senses.

That is it. Let me give you some examples:

Shower or Zen retreat?

What better way to start the day than with a hot shower and a mindfulness practice?

Start by observing how the water feels against your skin.

Feel the temperature of the water.

Follow the water droplets as they run down your body.

Notice the sensation of soap as you rub it between your palms.

Feel the loofah as you scrub your body.

Take in the smell of the soap.

Listen to the sound of the water.

Feed the mind and the body:

If you do one thing every day that can excite all your senses, it is mealtime!

Unfortunately, most of us are passively shoving food down our throats and missing out on the pleasures of a beautiful meal.

Bonus point for being mindful while eating: You will control the portion sizes better and stay in shape.

The next meal you sit down to have, click a mental picture of the meal.

As you place the first mouthful of food, notice the different textures in your mouth.

Notice the different tastes and the medley they create in your mouth.

Take a deep breath and notice the aroma.

With every mouthful of food you have, notice your stomach fill up.

Listen to the sounds created when you eat — hear the crack of the crisp and the muffled sound of mashed potatoes.

See how your hunger pains subside, and a sense of calm appears in your tummy.

Appreciate the fullness of the tummy.

Listen very carefully.

This exercise is a great way to improve your listening skills.

Choose a podcast or an audiobook to listen to. Set a timer for 10- 15 minutes and pay complete attention to it.

When your mind gets distracted, gently guide it back to the listening exercise.

You can even listen to your favorite song as a form of meditative practice. Because there are so many elements in a song that you can focus on, this can become a little challenging.

Choose a particular element of the song to focus on — the lyrics or the steady background score. Try to focus for as long as you can.

A piece of gentle instrumental music with no lyrics also works very well.

This is an excellent way to quieten your racing mind and help you fall asleep.

You can even do this when you are having a conversation. Put your phone away and give your undivided attention to the person you speak with.

To sum up:

If you are looking to live and experience life as it happens, start paying attention to what you do.

Choose one activity a day and give your undivided attention.

Observe non-judgementally.

From doing the dirty dishes to dishing out life advice- make anything a mindful moment.

The more you focus, you will realize that there is more to life than what you see (or rather didn’t! ).

A word of caution:

Being in the moment is not always exciting or magical.

It is mundane and outright boring at times.

But, is there a better way to live life than to experience it as it happens — whatever that might be?

The mindful present is definitely better than clinging to the ghosts of the past or anxiously anticipating the future that may never arrive.

Make the most of your life — make the most of this moment.

Carpe Diem!