In our modern world, our lives are hectic, busy, and stressful. Meditation is the perfect practice to help balance your life and ensure that you are able to face each day at your best.
There are a number of benefits of practicing meditation. Studies have found that the practice can help reduce stress, lengthen your attention span, control anxiety, enhance self-awareness, and promote emotional health, along with many other health benefits.
It isn’t always easy, though, to find the time and space to practice meditation every day. If your life feels like a never-ending whirlwind, you might wonder how you could ever incorporate meditation and mindfulness into your life.
Luckily, there are a number of different times of the day when you can incorporate meditation into your daily tasks.
Incorporate Meditation Into Chores
Many of the chores that we have to regularly do are quite repetitive. By adding a focusing element to any of these repetitive chores, you can turn this activity into meditation. For example, you could choose to count your breath while you are folding laundry, washing windows, or cleaning counters.
When a chore does not require decision-making and is basically automatic, you can incorporate this technique to help integrate meditation into your daily life.
Practice Walking Meditation
Another great way to integrate meditation into your daily activities is the practice walking meditation. You can do this by linking your steps with your breathing when you are taking your morning or afternoon walk.
If you have the time to practice a slow walking meditation where you take one step with each breath, this can be a powerful practice. If you aren’t able to take your walk so slowly, you can instead focus on your breath and take one breath for every two or three steps.
Try Out Exercise Meditation
When you are exercising, you can place the focus of your mental energy onto your body. You can either do this while doing traditional exercises or you might try out an exercise that combines physical activity with mindfulness and breath. This might mean taking up a yoga practice, trying out tai chi, or practicing qi gong.
Wash Away Stress With Showering Meditation
Even if you don’t have time to take a daily walk, you can incorporate meditation into your daily shower. In order to shower mindfully, you’ll want to place your awareness on the different physical action you’re making. You can also place your focus on the sensation of water on your skin.
It is perfectly normal for your mind to wander and think about the day to come while you’re showering. During this time, you can practice noticing when your mind starts chattering and learn how to bring your awareness back to the present moment and your current physical experience.
Clean Your Teeth With Mindfulness
Another great daily task where meditation can be incorporated is while you’re brushing your teeth in the morning and in the evening. Take the time to slow down and feel the sensation of your toothbrush touching your teeth and your gums. Instead of thinking about the day ahead or the day that just finished, you can simply focus on the moment and the physical sensations of brushing your teeth.
Practice Mindful Eating
It is incredibly common for people to eat their meals while watching TV, surfing the Internet, looking at their phone, or listening to loud music, a podcast, or an audiobook. Instead of dissolving yourself and distractions while you’re eating your daily meals, take this opportunity to practice mindfulness.
While you’re eating, take small bites and to them slowly. With each bite, you can notice the texture, smell, and taste of what you’re eating. This can be a wonderful practice in a great way to slow down after a hectic day.
Practice Mindfulness on Your Commute
If you ride public transportation to work, you could take this opportunity to read a book or listen to a nourishing podcast rather than consuming news.
If your daily commute consists of driving, and you typically listen to the news on the radio, consider switching to some feel-good music. You also might find listening to an audiobook or podcast on a topic that interests you know you like to learn more about can be a great way to spend this time. Lastly, you might even consider driving in silence, which can be an interesting exercise in mindfulness in its own right.
This can help you to prepare for the day or unwind after a long day of work rather than continuing to engage in activities that are stressful.
Being Mindful at Work
One of the places where it might be most difficult to remain mindful or practice meditation is while you are at work. It is important to find some space and some time during the day to practice breathing exercises or a meditative walking practice.
It’s also necessary to schedule brief breaks every hour or so. This is a good opportunity to engage in brief meditative practice.
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