10 Mindfulness Meditation Exercises For Bad Mood
Having a bad mood is a reality for each one of us. Regardless of how easy going and happy personality you think you are, you still are going to end up having a bad mood on some days. What needs to be understood is that a bad mood is mostly associated with the external events, however, the internal imbalance in terms of hormones or the neurology of an individual may cause the same on a few occasions. The frustration is understandable when you can’t seem to control your mood and are unable to figure out why you are being so down lately. Under such circumstances, mindfulness exercises can be an easy cure as they are known to be effective for enhancing your mood. Let us walk you through the top 13 mindfulness practices that you can do anytime, anywhere, any place in order to give a little boost to your mood.
Mindful Breathing
Mindful breathing goes by different names including square breathing, slow breathing, deep breathing etc. It is commonly used for patients of stress and anxiety and is one of the most traditional components of meditation for relieving stress and enhancing mood. In order to practice mindful breathing, find a calm and peaceful corner, sit in a comfortable position, and start taking deep and slow breathes through the nostrils while exhaling slowly through the mouth. It is recommended to make it rhythmic by counting to four while inhaling, keeping the air in your lungs for two seconds, and then exhaling through the mouth for the count of four.
Mindful Listening
Another similar technique that can be used for mood enhancement is mindful listening. For this purpose, you will need a guided meditation track that you can easily find on the internet. The guided meditation track usually combines breathing exercise mentioned above with a soothing voice of the instructor and a personal mantra. Focusing on the voice is known to have a calming effect on your mind.
Mindful Visualization
As the name suggests, it is a practice that belongs to the same family of exercises as mentioned above. While the first two required you to focus on rhythmic breathing or listening to a peaceful sound, this one summons your sense of sight into action instead. In the mindful visualization technique, you are required to find an event happening in the present and bring your entire attention to it. For instance, focusing on the movement of the needle of a clock, much like what you see for hypnosis in the movies. Not to worry though, you are not hypnotizing yourself in any way. It is just a meditation practice aimed at making your mind peaceful and consequently enhancing your mood.
Mindful Observation
Next in our list of mindful practices is mindful observation. It is another of a simple, time efficient, and effective exercise that aims to bring your attention to the present. All you need for this exercise is a plant leaf. Hold it in your hand. Try to get a sense of what it feels like in your hand. Then slowly start to bring your entire focus to the leaf. Observe its size, its pattern, its shape, its texture, observe everything. Feel the troubling thoughts departing out of your mind and focus on here and now.
Mindful Eating
For someone who loves food, [restrict] the name of this meditation exercise would sure be compelling. And there’s no trickery here either. It is what it sounds like. You have to find something that you love eating. Hold it in your hand. Try to get something that doesn’t create a lot of mess. For instance, a hamburger wouldn’t be a good option for this exercise since it drips a lot of sauces and makes it hard to concentrate. Once you have the food in your hand, much like the mindful observation, get a sense of what it feels like in your hand. Now take a bit and chew slowly. Focus on the taste, its texture inside your mouth, its smell, etc. By bringing your attention to the food, your mind starts to let go of the troubling thoughts which may have been lingering in your subconscious consequently making your peaceful and enhancing your mood.
Personal Mantra
By now, you must have judged already that meditation or mindful exercises have everything to do with taking your focus off the unnecessary thoughts and bringing your attention to the present. The next thing that you can focus on, for making your mind peaceful and giving a boost to your mood is your personal mantra. A personal mantra can be any statement or phrase that has a positive and calming effect on your mind. For instance, you can repeat “I am thankful for…” and end this sentence that you love about your life. The best part is that you don’t have to say it out loud. Just find a peaceful corner, sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and repeat the personal mantra in your head.
Body Scan
Body Scan is a common meditation practice that is used by professional psychologists, yoga instructors, and other professionals. In this exercise, the point of focus for the individual is his own body. It is recommended to lie down on the floor in a quiet place in your home or perhaps even at your workplace. Now, with rhythmic breathing, start to focus on an individual part of your body. For instance, focus on your foot. Bring your attention to one of your foot only. Try to feel it. Try to imagine the air that you are inhaling going all the way down to your foot. Start at the foot, you are required to repeat the process with each individual part of your body.
Focus On A Rhythm
Another simple yet effective technique that you can use to take your focus off the disturbing thoughts and enhance your mood is focusing on rhythm. While there are a few recommendations regarding the rhythms that you should use, it is primarily up to you to decide which one you want to choose. For instance, you can start to walk in a rhythmic fashion and bring your entire focus to your feet while walking. Or you can focus on the rhythmic sounds of the falling rain, or perhaps the birds chirping outside your window.
Focus On The Sound Of A Bell
Next in our list of mindful practices which can help enhance your mood is focusing on the sound of a conventional bell. In order to proceed with this exercise, lie down on the floor in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and summon your sense of hearing. Wait for the sound of the bell. Once it goes off, bring your attention to its sound and try to sustain your entire focus to it until the sound slowly starts to fade away. Repeat the process for as many times as required to remove the unnecessary thoughts from your mind and make it calm and peaceful to restore the mood.
Stare At The Center
Last but not the least in our list of meditation exercises for bad mood aims at drawing your attention to a single point drawn on a piece of paper. You can simply get a common A4 sized paper sheet. Draw a dot at the center of the page that is big enough to be seen and focused on with the naked eye. Sit in a comfortable chair. Put the piece of paper in front of your eyes. Start to focus on the dot at the center of the page. Keep your focus until the rest of your vision starts to fade away from the corner of your eyes. Sustain your focus and let the thoughts fade away as well. Keep at it until you start to experience a soothing impact on your mind. If done properly, this exercise will help a great deal in boosting your mood.
Conclusion
No matter how hard you try, a bad mood is inevitable that you can’t always run away from. More often than not, the reason behind a bad mood is are the wandering thoughts which may be about the past, the future, or even something that is happening in your life in the present. What’s more complicated is that you are not always familiar with the thoughts either. There may be times when the thoughts are concealed by the subconscious mind and you find yourself in a bad mood for no apparent reason. This is exactly why the meditation exercises and mindful practices are known to be effective in enhancing the mood. Because it brings your entire attention and focus, including your subconscious away from the troubling thoughts and to something that is harmless and positive in nature. Once your focus is taken away from the disturbance, the natural relaxation response of the mind is activated, making it more calm and peaceful that consequently translates into mood enhancement. Remember, while it all may sound too good to be true, these simple techniques are effective and have been in practice for years. Like all other things, you have to try it to believe it.
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