Not Loving Meditation? Try These Mindful Techniques
Find your inner peace with these daily mindful activities.
Meditation is a mindfulness technique that originated thousands of years ago in India, before being embraced by the rest of the world. With many different ways to practise meditation, its core principles are centred around practising awareness and gaining a healthy perspective. A general meditation practice involves sitting or lying still for a period of time while using your breath as a guide and focusing on the here and now.
Meditation has many benefits, including: reducing stress, easing anxiety, improving emotional health and sleep, enhancing self-awareness, increasing attention span and creativity, decreasing blood pressure and more. These following activities which focus on the process of the moment can also have meditative benefits – try them and notice how you feel before you start, compared to when you finish.
- Mindful colouring or painting
Whether it’s on a blank piece of paper, a canvas or a book, mindful colouring or painting is a great alternative to meditation that also improves your fine motor skills. Start with a blank canvas or check out these adult colouring books here.
2. Gratitude journal
Helping you to stay grounded and gain perspective, keeping a daily gratitude journal where you list five things you are grateful for improves self-esteem and makes you happier. Check out this gratitude journal from Willa and Me here.
3. Mindful eating
Practising mindful eating is great technique that aids digestion and promotes a healthy relationship with food. If you’re not sure where to start, the Smiling Mind meditation app offers some guided mindful eating practices that are free.
4. Yoga
Practising yoga is a great way to connect with your body while increasing blood flow, and improving your flexibility, balance and strength. With its focus on breathing and mindful movement, it’s really another form of meditation and can leave you feeling grounded, balanced and invigorated all at once. The Down Dog app has some great yoga practices that can help you get started on your mindfulness journey.
5. Mindful walking
If you’re wanting to get outside, then mindful walking can be a great alternative to practising meditation. Listening to a guided program is helpful to get started and can also be found on the Smiling Mind app.
6. Complete a jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw puzzles can help a busy mind focus and might just be the thing for you. While improving your short-term memory and working both sides of your brain, jigsaw puzzles help to relieve stress and provide a digital detox that other activities can’t provide. Kakadu Plum co sell jigsaw puzzles with Indigenous art which helps to support and highlight Indigenous artists, check them out here.
With a new day just around the corner, what mindful activity can you incorporate? Who knows…they might be just the right introduction to mediation.
By Zoe Moffatt
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