Vidyamala’s online course, Mindfulness for Women: Declutter Your Mind, Simplify Your Life, Find Time to ‘Be’, begins on January 1. Enroll now!
First, find a comfortable posture, whether sitting or lying down. Take a moment to relax and let yourself settle. Pay attention to how your body feels. What physical sensations are you experiencing right now? Perhaps you notice the pressure where your body meets the chair or the floor. Take a few moments to observe these sensations with gentle curiosity.
Next, focus on the sounds around you. Note their quality, volume, and how you naturally respond to them. Try not to identify the sources of the sounds; simply notice them as they are. If you’re in a quiet place, pay attention to the silence.
Now, bring your awareness to your breath. Notice what it feels like and which parts of your body move as you breathe. Try to experience the sensations of breathing from within, not as an outsider observing. Is this experience pleasant or unpleasant?
Turn your focus to your emotions. How do you feel overall? Are you happy, content, sad, irritated, or calm? Maybe it’s hard to pinpoint your exact feelings. Observe any thoughts passing through your mind. Ask yourself what you’re thinking and try to view your thoughts as they come and go rather than getting caught up in them.
Spend a few moments resting quietly, allowing your awareness to settle on the sensations and movements of your breath, as well as any passing thoughts, sounds, and feelings. There’s no need to seek out a special experience. Just notice what’s happening in each moment.
While this might not have felt like an extraordinary experience, if you’ve engaged with this exercise to any extent, congratulations – you’ve just experienced mindfulness and taken the first step in becoming more aware of life. This means you can transition from living on ‘autopilot,’ driven by habits, to experiencing life as a series of creative possibilities and choices.
Vidyamala’s online course, Mindfulness for Women: Declutter Your Mind, Simplify Your Life, Find Time to ‘Be’, starts January 1. Enroll now!