Learn mindfulness: 4 training tips & 4 mindfulness exercises

Mindfulness is a real superpower to manage stress and not let negative thoughts pull you down. We show you how to achieve more mindfulness with mindfulness training and special exercises and how to manage your everyday life more easily.

         

What is mindfulness

Originating in Southeast Asian Buddhism, the concept of mindfulness, also known as mindfulness, has long since arrived in the western world. Here it is detached from its religious objective as a way to more balance and contentment. Mindfulness training is often a part of personality development in order to understand yourself better. It is about developing greater awareness and an attentive attitude towards yourself and the environment. With just a few tips and exercises, you can integrate mindfulness into your everyday life.

In the hectic pace of everyday life, many people long for relaxation and self-discovery . To this end, far-eastern concepts are increasingly being used and coupled with exercises that can also be reconciled with a modern daily routine. In the concept of mindfulness, dealing with teaching is a major first step in positively influencing your own consciousness. It often leads to more satisfaction in everyday life, because you become aware of your own thoughts and thus promote positive thinking .

Mindfulness Training: The Basics

The basics of mindfulness are looking at the body, sensation, mind and mental objects. Becoming aware of this distinction alone can lead to a more careful perception.

The contemplation of the body draws attention to this and how it feels from moment to moment. The four elements water, earth, air and fire, from which the body is composed according to Buddhism, serve as orientation. As a perception exercise, you can trace the elements, for example by making yourself aware of the fire element based on temperature sensations , heat or cold on the hands. The contact with the air through the breath also helps to consciously perceive the moment and reduce stress . In this way you develop (again) a feeling for your own body that is often forgotten in everyday life.

Mindful observation of sensation

The aim of looking at feeling is to consciously perceive the classification of perceived things as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, which we undertake in everything we come into contact with. If you become aware of this often automatic evaluation , you can better classify the reactions to it. Because when you interpret something as pleasant, you usually try to hold on to it, or you're afraid of losing it. If something is perceived as unpleasant, the sudden reaction can lead to anger and argument. By dividing feelings into pleasant or unpleasant, you prevent that you accept them ( learn to accept them)). And ultimately, that is the only key to greater satisfaction. If you observe how you evaluate and divide it into categories, you will understand that the sensations are fleeting and never last forever. This allows you to deal with situations and feelings with more composure .

Mindful contemplation of the mind

When looking at the mind, you strive to observe the current of your own consciousness. Mental states are alertness , concentration , but also mindfulness itself - everything that influences our experience. Even feelings like fear or anger are also included. Observing them and not immediately following them up can provide insight into how they came about and how they disappeared or died down. This can help retracted behaviors to break through. To be aware of the trigger for a feeling can help to understand your own associated ideas more objectively and not to be overwhelmed by the feeling.

The consideration of the mental objects lets you understand how our perception is composed. Above all, you should be able to see from this view what inhibits your clear perception and knowledge. Only when you face your inner conflicts and accept them will you be able to give yourself more self-love .

Mindfulness in Buddhism

In order to achieve mindfulness in life, it can help to follow the Buddha's so-called " Four Noble Wisdoms ". It is about recognizing your own suffering and becoming aware that there is a trigger for it. Furthermore, the wisdom includes the knowledge that you can remove the reason and the insight that you can end the suffering yourself . With a more conscious look, you can identify problems and therefore actively address them. So you no longer feel exposed to them. As a special direction of Buddhism, Zen Buddhism in particular focuses on the practice of meditation. The goal is always to distance yourself from your own feelings and thoughts and to detach yourself from them. The principle of minimalism is also based, for example, on separating yourself from material things in your life, and thus separating yourself from unnecessary ballast ( learning to let go ).

4 Mindfulness Exercises for Mindfulness

In order to create and maintain awareness in everyday life, you should practically deal with your own perception of the moment. This helps you to keep your distance and then go about your tasks with more energy and inspiration. Small moments of pause that do not take up a lot of time can help here.

Mindfulness meditations

With mindfulness meditations, you gradually learn to calm yourself down. The goal of mindfulness meditation is mindfulness - a state of mind in which you pay the greatest possible attention to the moment and thereby find inner happiness . The meditation does not necessarily have to be done while sitting. You can also combine it with activities that you would do anyway.

Mindful with walking meditation

For walking meditation, clasp your hands on your back or stomach so that they don't distract you. You keep your eyes on the ground, but you don't focus on anything. Then you raise one foot and inhale. Exhale when you put your foot on. The gait should not be unnatural, but should be in accordance with this breathing sequence. You observe your body: You make yourself aware of which muscles and parts of the body you use. Also watch your mind: register which feelings arise and which evaluations form.

You should also allow negative feelings.

Let your thoughts wander, try to get back to breathing and self-awareness. After a deep breath, end the exercise after briefly feeling what is "there" while breathing out. Walking meditation outdoors can be particularly helpful in winter, as you will then be able to take in some of the rare sunlight at this time of year and thus prevent winter depression.

Mindfulness for Beginners: Five-Minute Meditation

The five-minute meditation takes just five minutes, as the name suggests. In this very everyday and beginner-friendly meditation, you sit up straight and observe where you feel your breath. You observe this point as you inhale and exhale and stay there with your attention, be it with your eyes closed or open. If you wander off your thoughts, for example about the things you have to do next, you bring the attention back to the breathing point that you chose before.

You do this every time your thoughts wander again. This not only helps you to become more mindful, it also trains your self-discipline and your ability to spend more time dealing with the same thing.

Mindfulness with tea meditation

In the tea meditation and other hot beverages can be used. It is only important that you remain mentally present both when preparing and drinking the drink and observe which sensory impressions and experiences go hand in hand. If you digress, you bring yourself back to the drink, the feelings and thoughts that you have while drinking. Concentrate on the feeling of gratitude for this moment of calm and simple being ( tips against inner restlessness ). When the cup is empty, you should pause for a moment and be aware of how you are feeling and what is going on in your own mind before you finish meditation.

Learn mindfulness with yoga

It is also possible to practice mindfulness with yoga . Strictly speaking, yoga is even meant to deal exclusively with yourself. The flowing breath is a central part of yoga. Concentrate only on deep inhaling and exhaling during the exercises . That alone increases your mindfulness immensely. When practicing the various yoga exercises, you can also observe how you react when your own limits get in the way. Also check whether you are putting pressure on yourself and how you are talking to yourself. This helps to become more self-aware and understand your own character.

Mindfulness: 4 tips for everyday life

The best mindfulness exercise doesn't do you much good if you immediately fall back into old habits. So that you also achieve a lasting effect and go through everyday life carefully, we have a few tips for you that will help you to stay in the here and now more often .

Use mindfulness apps

The cell phone is our daily companion. That is why it can become a valuable supporter of your mindfulness training. Instead of checking messages or emails, you should therefore also use your cell phone for short moments of pausing in your daily routine . With the following mindfulness apps for your smartphone, you can practice more mindfulness in everyday life.

7Mind : Guided mindfulness meditations are the focus of this app. In addition, there are special meditations for happiness, concentration or angs.

Headspace : Meditate only for a few minutes daily. That is the goal of Headspace. Simple explanations and animations also illustrate how our brain works.

Stop, Breath & Think : Here the name says it all. The app asks you once a day to come back and take a break from everyday life.

Calm : With this app you can choose suitable pictures and sounds that you can use to switch off briefly during your everyday life.

Digital detox

While we were just promoting smartphone apps for mindfulness training, this strategy means that you completely do without any kind of digital media for a certain time. Many people go offline regularly as part of a digital detox .

This will certainly not be easy for you at first. After all, our cell phone now demands our attention every minute . Therefore, plan to do without a television, cell phone or laptop for a few hours in the evening. Later you can extend it to a whole day. The best way to use the time is to spend it with friends, partner or family.

Concentrate on three activities

Choose three activities in your everyday life that you want to do consciously in the future. This can be, for example, cooking , brushing your teeth or the daily commute to work. During these activities, you should concentrate fully on what you are doing. Pay your full attention to the moment. Very often we want to distract ourselves from boring tasks. We then digress into a mostly very subconscious mind. These situations are ideal for training mindfulness.

Keep a mindfulness diary

Can't get your worries, fears and stress out of your head? Then it may help you to write them down in a mindfulness diary . Write down everything that concerns you. Imagine that when you write, your thoughts leave your head and go into the diary. That calms you down because you no longer have to be afraid of forgetting something. In addition, writing down promotes the sober observation of your own thoughts. At the same time, you can also document how easy or difficult it was for you to exercise mindfulness training on this day ( tips and reasons for writing the diary ).

Are you looking for other techniques that bring you closer to yourself? Here you will find tips on autogenic training and other relaxation techniques .