15 Quick & Simple Mindfulness Meditations for Busy People
Almost a decade ago, it was the time when certain jobs were considered as hectic like being a doctor, an air traffic controller, a surgeon, a corporate manager, etc. Over the years, however, our lives have turned into a race. It has become a competition for us that we must win or else it feels like getting wiped off the face of the earth. In this run for victory, we often fail to realize how our lives are getting more complicated. It is highly likely that you have a hands-on experience of how busy you have started to find yourself lately. While the impact of a hectic schedule and a busy life is quite wide, your mental health is the very first victim to take the toll.
As per the “World Health Organization (WHO)”, mental health is an indispensable component of health that has even been incorporated into the very definition of “HEALTH”. However, being a silent killer, the anomalies of mental health don’t present as evidently as that of physical health. This is why the majority of us manage to find time for our physical health out of our busy schedule but struggle to lend the same favor to mental health.
Meditation and mindfulness exercises have the same importance and effect on mental health as working out has on your physical health. Failing to realize the significance of mental health, most of us have not experienced the tremendous benefits of meditation in helping you cope with excessive stress and anxiety, and in making you calm and peaceful. If you are someone with a jam-packed schedule and you think that mindfulness exercises will take a lot of your time, we are here to inform you that 15 minutes of your time every day is all that you need to meditate and restore your mood for the better. What’s even better is that you don’t have to get any kind of equipment and can practice meditation literally anywhere, even at your office.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at our list of easy to adapt and time efficient mindfulness practices for busy people for a better and stronger mind.
It’s Okay, Just Breathe
You may be wondering what good can breathing do to you, after all, it’s something that you already do every day. But there is a difference between regular breathing and deep breathing as part of meditation. It is one of the simplest, efficient, and effective mindfulness exercise that you can practice to activate the natural relaxation response of your body. All you have to do is ask everyone to leave your office, close the door, sit on a comfortable chair or on the floor in a relaxed position, and start taking deep breaths. Bring your entire focus to your breathing. Take three to four seconds to inhale, hold your breath for a couple of seconds, then exhale slowly in three to four seconds. Practicing this exercise for only 2 minutes can have a remarkable effect in soothing your mind. Have a presentation to make today that you are anxious about? Try the breathing exercise before presenting and see the outcome for yourself.
Appreciate, Appreciate, Appreciate
The human mind is one of the most complicated yet the simplest thing on the planet. You would experience the simplicity of the human mind when you observe the effect that appreciation can have on it. The second mindfulness exercise on our list for busy people requires a simple appreciation for things, people, and surrounding. For this purpose, take a comfortable position to sit. Make sure that you are away from the noise. Scramble through your mind to find something or someone that you appreciate about your life. Now slowly let go of the other thoughts and focus on that one thing only. Repeat your appreciation for the thing or person calmly in your mind. Practice this exercise for a few minutes to remove excessive stress and anxiety out of your mind. Remember, it could be anything that you appreciate. Perhaps just the view from your office window.
Get Closer To Nature
There’s a reason why we call nature as the “Mother Nature”. It is perhaps the greatest gift that the universe has given us. If you have a busy schedule that is affecting your mental health and making you more cranky, whiny, anxious or stressed, then it is time to get back to the mother nature. If you can find just 15 minutes every day and go to a park, especially the one that has properly cut and groomed grass, you can restore your mood and keep your mind optimally functioning. Just remove your shoes and walk slowly and with a light foot over the grass for 5 minutes. Keep your attention to walking and how the grass feels against the sole. Have a small garden or a lawn in your office? Even better. You can practice it there too.
Cold Shower Is The Way To Go
Again, it is likely that taking a cold shower is something that you already do every morning before leaving for work. But what you are doing wrong is [restrict] using this time to think of your daily tasks and let your thought wander without control. You can easily turn this daily activity into meditation by being mindful of what the water feels like against your skin. Focus on the water falling on your skin and on the floor and try to sustain the focus there. It will help you let go of the wandering or troubling thoughts and bring your focus to the present. Rest assured, this simple exercise in the morning will refresh and prepare your mind for optimum functioning throughout the day.
Mindful Listening
“You are falling asleep, you are falling asleep”, repeating the phrase in a soothing voice is what a psychologist does in a movie in order to make his patient fall asleep and access the subconscious mind. While it’s not how hypnosis work in real life per say, however, it certainly what works for making the mind calm and peaceful. When things get disturbing at work, find yourself just five minutes out of the routine. Empty your mind and gently remove all the thoughts. Now focus on what you hear. Anything positive and harmless happening in the present would work. It could be the chirping of the birds, the rain falling, a soothing symphony, or the more traditional, a guided meditation track.
Stop Going To War With Your Thoughts
Another of a tried and test mindfulness trick that works for busy people and makes the mind calm and peaceful is acceptance. More often than not, our thoughts have a way of inflicting more damage because there’s a war going on inside our minds. Instead of fighting and trying to push these troubling thoughts away, it is recommended to sit in a silent corner, take a deep breath, and accept what haunts you in your head. Don’t refuse the existence of these thoughts. Stop running away and face them. You are anxious about a work thing, accept that you are. You are stressed about a meeting, accept it. Once you accept what is disturbing you, you can then create a personal mantra such as repeating “I’ve got this”, or “I can do this” in your mind. This will help you gently remove the troubling thoughts out of your mind and restore your confidence.
Scan Your Body And Muscle Movement
Last on our list of time-efficient meditation practices for busy people are scanning the body and muscle movements. This mindfulness exercise can be performed while seated in a comfortable chair, but it is recommended to do it while lying comfortably on the floor. Start with deep breathing. And then slowly shift your focus to your feet. Try to feel them. Not slowly contract the sole of your feet and get a sense of what it feels like. Then slowly remove the pressure, relax the muscles and bring them to their natural position. Repeat the exercise for a few minutes for both of your foot and then move on to the hands. Slowly contract and relax the hands while sustaining your attention to the muscle movement. This is one of the highly effective strategies that bring your mind to the present and helps in coping with excessive stress and anxiety.
Conclusion
Meditation or mindfulness exercises are a must for everyone to cope with the stress and anxiety associated with our daily lives. It is even more practical for busy people who have a hectic schedule on a regular basis that makes the situation even worse. Considering the importance of mental health and how deep and lasting its effects can be, it is only a pragmatic option to choose meditation as a habit especially since it doesn’t take more than 15 minutes of your time every day. We have listed the top 7 mindfulness exercises for you which are time efficient, effective, and easy to start with. We have played our role, are you ready to play yours now? [/restrict]
