Meditations - Mindfulness Based Exercises

As promised, here are a few of the techniques I use on a daily basis to work on being mindful of the present moment. This list is to give you an idea of what works for me, however, feel free to come up with your own practices and techniques, everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you.

Mindful movement -

Mindfulness during exercise/movement is what I started out doing and remains one of my favorite way to practice awareness. I found it to be the most intuitive type of mindfulness practice as a beginner. Basically you teaching yourself how to connect body and mind. Generally I do it with individual exercise such as running, stretching, foam rolling, or simply walking.

With lighter exercises like stretching, yoga, foam rolling, the focus should be on reclaiming/reactivating the muscles that are unhealthy or “stuck." These deficiencies pull your body out of alignment, causing unnatural gait and posture. This is where I recommend starting.

Once you feel freed up, take it to the next level with more technical movement.

As you begin more strenuous exercise, it is important to notice the signs your body is sending. Some signs of “hidden” issues are low energy levels, feeling weak, clumsiness, and slow reflexes. Sometimes these issues can be fixed during exercise by greasing the groove or working out the kinks with some dynamic stretching. Otherwise note them as something to work on with stretching or myofascial release.

“No pain no gain” is terrible advice when some part of your body is truly hurting and gets ignored for the sake of getting a good workout in. Once the body is healthy, exercise becomes fun and satisfying.

Resting in awareness(Pure meditation) -

I picked this up from my main man Adyashanti, it’s a straight shot to the “Now”. Basically, relax and Just Be. Rather than thinking, pondering, wondering, daydreaming, imagining, worrying, planning, any of that “doing”. Rather than that we are noticing. We are letting the world speak to us, instead of talking over life, we are listening to it.

Let things be, release any grasping of things, thoughts, and most of all our ideas of how it all is. Release it all, this is the surrender some teachers talk about. Don’t allow your thoughts to drag you into daydreams, imagination, reminiscing, anxiety, or planning. You can do these another time.Don’t allow your mind to label things, let things reveal themselves to you. Relax, things will still function without the mind’s interference. Just notice, observe life.

Aside from ceasing to grasp, we stop avoiding things as well. Pain is uncomfortable, so we try to ignore or avoid it. Pain in our bodies, emotional pain, or things we have been avoiding such as responsibility. If these things arise, they must be acknowledged and owned. Every part of your individual life must be owned instead of argued with. Embrace life, even the ugly parts, the bad comes with the good sometimes.

For more info on this, check out My Ongoing Book List

Mindful demeanor -

I found making this a habit to be easier when I practiced looking at how I acted in the past, whether it be reflecting on daily events at the end of each night, or recalling memories of times where I clearly didn’t act with the type of character I consider myself to be.

Start to notice how others around you react to the way you act around them. What you say and do have a different effect on each person.

There have been moments in all our lives that we regret or wish had gone differently. Not only that, there are small moments where we are acting and treating others in a way that is against what we are trying to be or different from they way we think of ourselves. These are moments we either try to justify, or turn a blind eye to.

Reflect on the days events or on ways you’ve acted in the past. Watch yourself, start viewing yourself as you view others. Typically we think we are doing the right thing and other people are doing the wrong thing. Most of us don’t see our own actions in a clear light.

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These three practices are a few that have helped me progress towards health, peace, love, and awareness. How do you practice mindfulness? Let me know in the comments below!

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