Mindfulness Meditation in daily life

Mindfulness meditation is most beneficial when it is applied to routine activities in daily life. Whether you are washing the dishes, driving, grocery shopping or eating, mindful awareness of each moment can lead to greater self-awareness and improves your ability to make adaptive decisions when problematic situations arise. It also enhances your level of enjoyment of pleasant moments that occur.

When people are experiencing stress in their lives, mindfulness meditation can be incorporated into their daily life and is very helpful to people with low impulse control and unregulated emotions.

Everyday mindfulness meditation techniques involve focusing awareness on an aspect of a routine habit that is usually unconscious. For instance, being aware of what happens to your breathing and the physical sensations in your body that occur during an argument. This may include shallower breathing, increased heart rate and sweating. If a meditator is able to associate these physiological changes with an emotion such as anxiety or anger, then they can have a better understanding of habitual reactions to unpleasantness (or pleasantness) including the associated thoughts, emotions sensations and the relationship between these and the behavior. They will also be more likely able to recognize these signs earlier rather than at a point of escalation – this is one of the valuable aspects of Mindfulness Meditation.

Ways to incorporate mindfulness meditation into daily life:

1. Mindful breathing- Meditators are encouraged to turn their attention to their breathing at any moment during the day to increase self-awareness and insight and reduce automatic and maladaptive behaviors.

2. Mindfulness Meditation walking- mindful walking can be incorporated into daily life, whether it is walking to your car or walking around a supermarket. It is a way of engaging in mindful meditation whilst in action.

3. Environmental cues- Meditators are encouraged to use environmental cues such as waiting at a red light or receiving the wrong meal at a restaurant as an opportunity to utilize mindful practice. Recognizing physical sensations as well as thoughts and emotions associated with the situation.

4. De-stressing- Throughout the day,  meditators can deliberately focus their attention inward. They can begin by asking themselves what is happening for them at the moment. Observe thoughts, sensations and emotions they experience. When intense emotions arise, they can label the feeling e.g. sadness or anger and then not become caught up in the emotion, rather let it drift away through meditative breathing.