“Being Mindful” is a blog series for anyone curious about mindfulness and meditation. Feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed with life? Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools for improving your mental health. In this series, we'll explore the basics of mindfulness, how it can help you, and how to implement it into your life.

You’re overwhelmed. Of course you are, look at the world around us. You wouldn’t be seeking out advice on mindfulness if you weren’t overwhelmed. You might be hesitant to add more things to your daily routine. After all, there doesn’t seem to be any time left between work, school, kids, friends, family, household responsibilities, and everything else you’re juggling.

What if I told you that you could incorporate mindfulness into your day, and it won’t add any extra time to your already busy schedule? The goal here is to infuse aspects of mindfulness into activities you’re already doing. Let’s get into it.

Mindful Eating

Let me guess. On your busiest days, you scarf down your lunch in 10 minutes while scrolling on your phone. By the end of it, you hardly even remember how the food tasted and your head is full of all the things you saw on Instagram. If you want to be more present during your meals, try these tips.

Remove distractions

Keep your phone locked and in another area and turn off the TV. If you need to check your notifications while you have the break, be intentional about it and resist falling into the phone rabbit hole (you know, when you were checking an important email and suddenly you’re on your TikTok FYP). 

Notice the food

How does it look? What colors is it? How does it smell? What are the textures? Have you had this meal before or is it new to you? What does it taste like? How does it feel to bite into it? There are endless things you can discover about just one meal. 

Feel the sensations

Scan your body before, during, and after eating. Were you hungry? How did you know? What did it feel like to fill your stomach? How does your stomach feel now? Mindful eating is a perfect opportunity to tune into what your body is telling you.

Express gratitude

In Japan, they begin each meal by pressing their hands together, bowing slightly, and saying “いただきます” (pronounced “ee-tah-dah-kee-mas”). It literally translates to “I humbly receive” but can also mean “thank you for the meal.” It’s more than just thanking the chef, however. It’s an appreciation of everything that went into the process to get the food in front of you, including growing the vegetables, raising the meat, and stocking the grocery shelves. You don’t have to learn Japanese or even remember this phrase, but considering everything that went into the meal can infuse mindfulness into your meals. 

Mindful Walking

Whether you walk to get around or just for fun and exercise, it can easily become a mindfulness practice. Even if all you do is walk from your car to your office, you can incorporate some of these tips.

See the rainbow

A fun way to stay present during a walk is to notice the rainbow around you. Go in order of the colors of the rainbow and point out things you see in that color. For example, you’re walking through a park and search for something red. A kid rides by on a red bike, so you make a mental note. Next, you search for something orange and see an orange traffic cone on the road next to you. Now, you search for something yellow and see a tiny yellow flower you never would have noticed before. Continue this process until you reach purple, then start back at red again. 

Use all your senses

If you do the rainbow walk described above, you’ve got sight covered. Now, focus on your other senses. What do you hear? Birds chirping, cars driving, people talking on their phone. What do you feel? The pavement underneath your feet, the leaves between your fingers, your clothes against your body. What do you smell? Fragrant trees surrounding you, flowers you stop and sniff, the sweaty odor of a marathon trainer running past you (hey I didn’t say they’d all be nice smells). And what do you taste? I don’t recommend going around and putting leaves in your mouth but how does your mouth feel? Are you getting thirsty from walking? If you brought water, how does it taste?

More mindful practices that don’t take any time

• Mindful showering. Take as much time as you normally would in the shower, but instead of focusing on your long to-do list or reenacting a cringy conversation you had, pay attention to the sensations of the shower. Is the water hot? How does it feel hitting your skin? What does the shampoo feel like as it lathers through your hair? Is your loofah or washcloth rough or soft? What does the shower floor feel like under your bare feet?

• Mindful breathing. There are all types of breathing techniques to regulate your nervous system that I highly recommend, but that’s not necessary for mindfulness. It sounds obvious, but just…be mindful of your breath. How does the air feel entering your nostrils or mouth? Is it cold or warm? Can you imagine the air filling your lungs like a balloon? What do you notice in your body as you exhale?

• Mindful stretching. For those who exercise regularly, stretching is nothing new, but what are you putting your attention on as you stretch? You might be thinking about your work out or what you’re going to do after you’re done stretching. What if you zeroed in on what each stretch movement does to your muscles? Notice how your body feels overall before and after a deep stretch.