5 Quick Mindfulness Activities For Busy People
Mindfulness is a beautiful practice of staying in the present moment by letting go of all the worries of the past and future. When a person is mindful, they are naturally non-judgmental towards everything and everyone in their life. This beautiful habit, or rather lifestyle, becomes the core reason for attracting all your desires and manifesting them in your life.
Mindfulness helps reduce stress and strengthens focus by making things clear and achievable. For example, simply paying attention to your breath or focusing on how a cup of coffee feels in your hands can be a mindful act. These simple acts work wonderfully in creating a huge difference in shaping the quality of your life. The key is to take a few minutes to engage fully in the present moment, helping you feel calmer and happier.
Here are 5 quick mindfulness activities for people who find it difficult to figure out where to begin their mindfulness journey. Please don’t think that since these activities are “quick,” their results will not be as effective. In fact, remember that small activities bring big changes in life.
Deep Breathing
Our breath is our life, and how we breathe indicates the state in which we choose to live our life. For some, this will come as a surprise, and they will ask, “What do you mean by the way we breathe? Is there a way to breathe?”
The answer to this is yes, there is a way to breathe, and unconsciously, we’ve been following a breathing pattern that is not only affecting our state of mind but also our quality of life. It gives an insight into our physical, mental and emotional state.
Take a moment to notice your breathing for a minute. Is it shallow or deep? How many breaths are you taking in a minute?
♦ If your number of breaths per minute is between 12-14, it shows that your mind is calm, relaxed and balanced. This state is ideal for meditating.
♦ If it is between 14-20, then this comes under a healthy state.
♦ 20-30 indicates an elevated breathing rate, which means you are currently anxious, nervous, or overwhelmed.
♦ If it is more than 30, then this is rapid breathing, which means you are in a severe state of anxiety and panic. This is an extreme case of distress and should be tackled right then and there.
What needs to be addressed here is that there is no space for panic, no matter how bad your current circumstances are. You must always remember that anything can be handled with a clear and balanced mind.
To bring the mind into balance, you need to ground yourself, and this can easily be done once you take control of your breath and start working on being mindful about it.
If you notice that your breathing rate is high, simply take a moment, sit with eyes closed or open (whatever suits you), and bring your focus to the present moment. Notice the inhale and exhale of your breath. Once you bring your focus here and continue to keep your attention there, you will realize that in a minute or two, you will naturally start to feel better.
Now think about what will happen if you react in the opposite way and shift your focus to negative thoughts- you will create panic, and that will increase your breath rate even more, creating a loop of anxiousness.
When you focus on your breath, you automatically reconnect with your body and calm your mind. When you bring this into your routine and check on your breath consciously for at least 3-5 times a day, what you’re actually doing is you’re training the mind for what you want, which is to adopt the practice of deep breathing instead of shallow breathing.
Over time, with practice, this will naturally become a part of your lifestyle, and you will notice that your breathing pattern will change, and your mood will also feel better.
This mindfulness activity and practice hardly take a minute and can be done anytime and anywhere. You can do it while sitting at your desk, watching TV or even while completing household chores. It’s like a rescue to tackle any unfavorable situation, which is most likely to arise on a regular basis, as we have so much to deal with in our daily lives.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
The 5-4-3-2-1 is an amazing mindfulness activity. It’s something that I absolutely enjoy doing. What you need to do in this technique is to involve all your 5 senses and start with identifying 5 things that you can see around you (visual), 4 things that you can touch in the moment (kinesthetic), 3 types of sounds that you can hear around you (auditory), 2 things that you can smell (olfactory), and 1 thing that you can taste (gustatory).
For instance, let’s say you’re feeling anxious and want to overcome it by experimenting with this technique. The 5 things that you can see around you might be a pen, your mobile, a notebook, a water bottle and a decor item.
The 4 things that you can touch and feel could be your clothes, your skin, your hair and the table.
The 3 sounds that you can hear might be the sound of birds from afar, the sound of the fan and the sound of your breath.
The 2 things that you can smell could be the scent of any perfume you’ve applied and the natural smell of something in the air at that moment.
Finally, the 1 thing that you can taste could be something that is easily available around you, like a candy or a chocolate.
This easy yet effective technique brings you back into the moment while keeping the senses active and engaged.
Body Scan
Body scan, also known as Yog Nidra, is a super powerful mindful technique that works beautifully in healing the body. This exercise was passed on to me by my yoga teacher, who very clearly stated to me the health benefits of Yog Nidra when done regularly.
I’ve mentioned about the power of this technique in my earlier posts too- of how practicing this exercise has worked tremendously in uplifting my energy levels and improving my sleep quality. It’s undoubtedly my absolute favourite!
All you need to do is mentally scan your body, starting from your toes to your head, and check in with each body part to release any tension that it might have carried. You simply take your attention to the part you feel is tense, and you can either breathe into it and observe the tension dissolving or tighten that body part and then release it, letting go of all the stress that you’d been holding on to.
If you’re busy or at work, you can still do this while sitting in your chair- it hardly takes a minute to scan your body. But in my opinion, and through my own experience, I know that the best way to do it is while you’re lying down, just before going to sleep.
When I started practicing this technique, I used to sleep within minutes of doing it. That sleep used to be so deep and relaxing that the next day, when I woke up, I could sense a different energy altogether.
Gratitude Moment
Whenever you feel a rush of negative emotions filling you from the inside, just take a deep breath and shift your focus to something that you’re truly grateful for. It can be something that happened particularly on that day, like waking up on time, catching the bus on time or greeting your colleague with a smile, or it can be a general blessing like having a healthy and supportive family and partner, having a beautiful, comfortable home, your pet or the ability to work and earn- the blessings are always endless.
The aim is to shift the focus from negative to positive. Even better, find the positive in your negative emotion. You might wonder, “How is that even possible?” Well, let’s say you’re upset because your boss shouted at you for presenting a bad report. Instead of feeling bad, switch to realizing the fact that it’s an opportunity to grow and polish your skills.
Similarly, when you have an argument with your partner, take it as an opportunity to grow a stronger connection with them. It’s a chance to have a beautiful and clear conversation, understanding what they want while putting your side forward.
Let’s take another example of feeling frustrated because the Wi-Fi or internet connection is breaking, instead of getting angry, use that little break to meditate, practice affirmations, smile and observe the blessings around you.
This practice helps shift your mindset from stress to appreciation in just a minute or two. Adopting this technique as a lifestyle helps in building a strong personality.
Visualization
Whenever you get time from work, just close your eyes for a minute and visualize yourself in a calming environment. This could be a garden, a forest, a lake, a beach- any place of your choice. Add sensory details to it to help your mind and body relax while imagining the scenario.
When you do this, you trick the mind into believing that whatever you’re saying is actually happening in the moment. The more details you add, the better the visualization and the happier the experience.
This mindfulness technique is quick and should be done as a daily practice instead of a one-time thing. You can either keep repeating the same scene or change and see different scenes each day- you have all the liberty to add and change the details. It’s your choice and will! Just don’t forget to practice it daily.
To make the visualization even more effective, see the people you love and do things that you always wanted to do. When you do this on a regular basis, you actually manifest that in your reality.
These five mindfulness activities hardly require much time; they take just 2 to 3 minutes but can significantly improve your mood, mental clarity and peace throughout the day.
So tell me, which one did you like the most? I shared my personal favorite in this article.
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