5 exercises to start mindfulness

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that integrates the teachings of the Buddha in the East along with more scientific research from the West, and literally means “mindfulness” or “mindfulness”.

Part of the idea that our mind is a machine that automatically and thoughtlessly generates constant thoughts.and that we live in a reality full of stimuli that disperse us and make us forget about ourselves, living in a state of ignorance, disconnection and repression in front of our mind and our body.

What benefits does mindfulness have?

Meditation helps us become aware of our mental processes, freeing us and making the mind stop dominating us.

Besides, has numerous benefitssuch as a reduction in stress levels, structural changes in our brain, increasing gray matter, improving our cognitive capacity such as working memory, verbal reasoning and stimulating creativity.

It also protects us from mental illness, It gives us a broader vision of reality, prevents somatic physical illnesses, calms pain, helps us sleep better, and makes us happier and more compassionate people.

Cuerpomente School offers you a 100% online mindfulness training to transform your brain and your life in just 8 weeks.

Discover in the following video 7 attitudes that help to cultivate full attention:

Here you have some simple exercises to start practicing:

1. Deep breaths

One of the most widely used forms of relaxation techniques, including mindfulness, is based on bring attention to the breath.

Breathing is a cyclical act that is in a constant flux, it keeps us alive and connected at all times with the present, in an unequivocal union of our body with the air that surrounds us.

Air is also a changing element, we breathe a different air each time. In addition, it is something we count on at all times.

These qualities make breathing a very useful and simple method to connect with the here and now.

Normally we breathe automatically and unconsciously, however, breathing is the main form of nutrition for our body, so becoming aware of it and being able to modulate it will give us greater self-control over ourselves.

a breathing exercise What you can practice is:

lie on your back on a stable and rigid surface, preferably as close to the ground as possible.Place one hand on your chest at the level of your heart, and another on your belly. You can put some music to meditate or relaxing music or be quiet.Close your eyes and start to breathe in through your nose. trying to bring the air into your belly, feeling how it swells (diaphragmatic breathing). Once your belly has swelled, just filled you up by expanding capacity towards your chest also. Do it slowly, counting the seconds, hold your breath for 2 seconds,begins to expire through your mouth slowly for the same seconds that it took you to breathe in.Repeat this process for a few minutes.

2. Observe your thinking

Oriental meditation aims leave blank mind, stopping all kinds of thoughts.

However, in our current society this goal is too unattainable at first, so mindfulness tries to play with attention, focusing it on something specific and thus slow down the vaivén of thoughts and the dispersion.

For example, you can perform the previous breathing exercise and in that case the element on which you will focus to leave others aside will be your own breath.

Try to be fully aware of it, and you will observe that while you do it, intrusive thoughts will surely cross your mind that try to disconnect you from the present moment.

The present moment is nothing more than what is happening while you breathe, instead thoughts will take you to the past or the future. Don’t worry, allow yourself understanding and try to gently return your attention back to the breath.

Do it as many times as thoughts assail you.

The mind has the particularity of being able to observe itself, And the more you practice these exercises, the more understanding you will have about yourself, the more control you will acquire, and the easier it will be for you.

3. Identify your emotions

Surely not only thoughts will disperse your attentionsince in most cases these are accompanied by emotions.

in our day to day we are exposed to a large number of events that cause us emotional reactionsand most of us carry a heavy backpack of emotions that, to a large extent, we have managed to suppress and mask to make it easier for us to continue with our lives.

We look for distractions or keeping busy so we don’t have time to think about them. It is for this reason that, the moment we are left alone, in silence, and let our guard down, those accumulated emotions can resprout spontaneously and remind us that they are still there alive.

It is somewhat common that the first times we practice mindfulness we feel discomfort, sadness, and even anxiety., contrary to what we think it should be (relaxing). It’s totally natural, and it shouldn’t scare you or discourage you from continuing.

To clean, one first has to deal with dirt, and it is the first thing that we usually come across, by removing everything that we have managed to try to hide it.

One of the techniques that can To help cope with those emotions is to observe how they are, how they feel, without trying to repress or eliminate them.

And it will also be useful to name them.

When we name something, we make it more manageable and we find it less strange. In this way, we will be better able to master emotions, instead of being dominated by them.

4. Use visualization

The mental world is too abstract and, used to the world of more sensory stimuli, we can often get lost. Using visualization techniques will facilitate mind control to be able to generate a state of relaxation and to be able to better manage the thoughts and emotions that arise.

In our mind we have a very broad register of sensations linked to certain images., objects, textures, colors, etc. Just thinking about something activates the brain areas related to your act, so thinking about activities or places, for example, that arouse pleasant and calm feelings in us, will help us bring those feelings to the present.

You can also start generating new associations during meditation, so that when you enter a state of relaxation with which you feel comfortable, you can memorize it associating a shape, a color, so that the next times you practice mindfulness, you visualize that shape to immerse yourself again in the state of relaxation that you achieved .

5. Become aware of your body

Often our emotions hide behind our bodies in the form of bodily sensations.

Our body is still a kind of container that contains everything, and sometimes we don’t even know what is happening to us because our mind (that organ that seems to act independently and that we strive to control) hide certain things so they don’t upset usbut they become muscle tension, skin problems, digestive problems, etc.

Thus, When you practice mindfulness, pay close attention to your body.. Observe all of you, as a kind of machinery with extremely complex and intelligent protection strategies that, nevertheless, you try to understand to help you in the task that these automatic mechanisms try to accomplish.

Take a position of compassion towards yourself, and without judging or blaming yourself, observe yourself and try to understand yourself.

Notice how certain thoughts will generate certain physical sensations, and gently try to help your breathing so you don’t worry about it.

Forgiving you even for those unpleasant sensations, and take you to that present moment in which nothing is more important than the fortune of being alive and feeling everything you feel.