Mind
Top mindfulness tips for daily practice
Kate Kendall is the co-founder and yoga director of Flow Athletic and Blackmores Yoga and Wellbeing Coach.
In an everyday rush that we live in, it’s important to take a few moments for ourselves and to focus on reducing stress levels. Here I share my favourite tips for staying on top of your day.
Morning
- Spend some alone time – getting away and going for a quiet walk is a fantastic trick to help your mind relax and wind down from a busy week. Attempt to steal about 30 minutes and enjoy a silent stroll to reconnect with yourself.
- Breathing deeply – helping your body relax is closely related to your breathing so doing breathing exercises is the perfect way to keep calm. Get in a really comfortable position and close your eyes taking in really deep breaths through your nose. At the top of that inhalation pause for two to three seconds and exhale through your mouth and repeat another few times.
Day
- Make a date with Mother Nature - ‘Biophilia’ is the healing power of nature and refers to the big, healthy scoop of serotonin that you get when you’re out amongst the trees, ocean and plants of any kind. Research has shown that it reduces stress plus improves sleep and mood.
- Mindful eating – if you’re looking for energy food to give you a boost for the day, stay away from things that give you a quick high and then crash like caffeine. Try natural protein and energy full food like the Blackmores Matcha Green Tea to help replenish your body but to also give it a sustained release of important vitamins and minerals.
- Belly laugh - Not only does a good old fashioned belly laugh release serotonin, a feel-good hormone in the body, but when we share one with a good mate, it releases another called oxytocin which is a bonding hormone. Feel happy and connected – winning! Make time to hang out with people who make you laugh…til it hurts.
- Pause - Pepper a few pauses into your day. Three or four is perfect. A pause is stepping back from whatever it is you’re doing at any one time to do nothing but focus on your breath. Make them conscious, full, generous breaths. When we slow down and pause, we let ourselves 'catch up’. When you slow down the breath, you slow down the beat of the heart, you slow down the brain waves and you become more present.
Night
- Reflect on your day – after a long day it’s important to just sit back and acknowledge what has happened that day and unload all of the stress. Processing the day will allow you easier sleep with a clear mind.
- Legs up the wall - A perfect posture to stay cool, calm and connected as well as wind down for the day. Not only does it release fluid out of the ankles and the feet but it also allows you some space to decompress and digest the hot spots in your life. Just like our internal digestive system, when we allow space to digest thoughts and emotions, it keeps up light and less reactive.
- Evening elixir - Before bed every night I add a teaspoon of Blackmores muscle magnesium powder into a glass of water and sip on that before bed. Magnesium is a muscle relaxant that helps to relieve tension naturally, and after all, the brain is a muscle too so it’s great for the whole body.
Do you practice mindfulness? Share your experience in the comments below.