Mindfulness Practices for Modern Lives

Mindfulness is the practice of being present. By focusing your efforts on staying in the
moment, you are able to fully enjoy and experience your current situation. Mindfulness
can help anxiety in a variety of ways.

How Mindfulness Can Help Relieve Stress

Practicing mindfulness, the art of directing one’s focus to the present, is a strong aid in the battle against stress. Mindfulness can take many forms. Yoga, meditation, going for a walk and deep
breathing exercises—these are all stress-relieving practices that anyone can do on any
given day of the week.

Anglo woman lying on yoga blanket with her eyes closes.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

Mindfulness helps combat stress by improving one’s ability to concentrate on, confront
and control thoughts about stressful situations in a productive and beneficial way.
Rather than attempting to ignore or suppress feelings of stress, mindful
acknowledgement and management of one’s concerns and frustrations is the key to a
healthier life.

Putting Worries Aside

Many people who are anxious tend to dwell on their worries. It’s a normal thing to do.
But when that worry overcomes your ability to enjoy other things, it becomes a concern.
One step you can take to help ease anxiety is to put your worries aside and focus on
the task or event you’re participating in. By consuming your mind with what’s right in
front of you, you won’t be able to focus on your worries.

Prioritizing Concerns

A big tip for maintaining mindfulness is to prioritize your efforts. If you have many things
to do, you should create a list and dedicate time to each task. Make sure to prioritize
your list in order of importance or deadlines. As you go through your list, remember that
the other tasks aren’t going anywhere. You can only do one thing at a time. So focus on
the task at hand and find peace in prioritization.

Set Intentions

If you frequently feel haunted by something you did or didn’t do, give yourself
permission to hit the reset button. Set your intention to achieve the goal you want to
accomplish. Intentions help you focus. Some ideas of an intention for someone with
anxiety may be to become more confident or resourceful. Remind yourself daily who or
what your intention is to be. Envision and embody it.

Open Your Mind

You may be anxious because you feel like you need to have control, or you may feel a
lack of control. Or perhaps you feel the opposite. No matter how you feel, opening your
mind can help you deal with anxiety. By accepting other perspectives you may get a
fresh look at your own struggles. Be open to what others have to offer and how they
may help you in life’s journey.

Be Kind to Yourself

Mindfulness does not always come easy. Be kind to yourself on this journey toward
peacefulness. You may struggle with staying in the moment, but practice will help you
improve.

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