Mindfulness is the practice of grounding yourself in the here and now, observing your body and your environment without evaluation or judgment. The goal is to simply be aware of your sensations, your feelings, and your thoughts. Mindfulness can be used to calm yourself down from an anxiety spiral or panic attack, or to push back against dissociation. Sometimes it can help to have an anchor — referred to as a mindfulness anchor — to center yourself and stay grounded when practicing mindfulness.
Ways To Practice Mindfulness
There are multiple ways to practice mindfulness, and the practices you utilize will depend on your state of mind, urgency, as well as your preferences. Some popular ways to practice mindfulness include:
- Meditation. Not all meditation focuses on mindfulness, but meditation is a great way to get in the habit of it. Through meditation, you can run through the sensations in your body, as well as observing your thoughts. Don’t make any judgments or evaluations as you observe these sensations. Just watch them pass. You can use a guided mindfulness meditation or create a meditation of your own that works for you.
- Body Scan. A body scan involves taking a moment to listen to your body. Begin with your toes, moving them around. Observe any sensations, aches, tingles, etc. Then, slowly, move the rest of the way up your body. Again, don’t judge your body as you scan through. Just observe what you feel.
- Grounding Techniques. If you suffer from panic attacks, you might be familiar with grounding techniques such as 5-4-3-2-1. This is a way of grounding yourself with 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This is used in more urgent scenarios but follows the same sort of principle as mindfulness.
- Mindful Breathing. Mindful breathing is an easy gateway into mindfulness. It involves taking in a deep breath — in through the nose and out through the mouth. Observe the feeling of the air filling your lungs, and the feeling as you slowly exhale. You may take a few breaths until you feel calm and grounded.
- Mindfulness Walking. Taking a mindfulness walk involves going out for a walk and observing the scenery around you. Are the trees and flowers in bloom? Is the air cool and nippy? What sounds do you hear? What do you smell? Make sure to be mindful of the feeling in your body as you walk, too.
What Is a Mindfulness Anchor?
For some, mindfulness can be difficult to achieve, especially when you’re just starting out. It’s easy for your mind to wander, whether to random thoughts about your day or to your usual anxieties. Again, it’s important not to judge your mind wandering. Just notice it and come back to mindfulness. However, sometimes it can help to use a particular sensation to stabilize your thoughts and keep you in a mindful space.
A mindfulness anchor does not need to be a tangible object. It can be something you do, a sensation you tune yourself into, or anything that just helps you stay grounded.
Examples of a Mindfulness Anchor
A mindfulness anchor does not have to be tangible, but it should activate your senses in some way. The anchor you choose will also depend on your goal. Do you want to ground yourself in your environment or in your body? If you want to focus on your body, a good mindfulness anchor would be the sound and movement of your breathing, in and out. If you want to focus on your environment, consider lighting a candle or sticks of incense.
Common examples of mindfulness anchors include:
- Breathing. As we said before, focus on your breathing. Fill up your lungs and then slowly exhale the breath. Follow the rise and fall of your chest and the feeling of the breath going in and out.
- Sounds. Sounds can also be an excellent mindfulness anchor. Consider playing soft music or ambient noise to keep you focused in the midst of your mindfulness exercise.
- Tactile Senses. If you are sitting on the floor or at your desk, wiggle your toes and feel the sensation of the floor beneath them. Is it a soft rug? Cool hardwood? Consider the feeling of the material of your seat, or hold something tactile in your hands that you can move between your fingers.
- Mantra. A mantra is commonly used to ground people in meditation. This is a short phrase which you can repeat to yourself at intervals to keep yourself focused and mindful. This could be an affirmation or a word or phrase that represents the state of mind you want to adopt. Try breathing in, breathing out, and then saying the mantra.
- Guided Meditation. If you have a difficult time keeping your thoughts from straying, consider putting on a podcast or a video offering a guided mindfulness meditation. Sometimes having someone walk you through the steps can keep you focused when your mind would otherwise wander.
Benefits of Mindfulness
Mindfulness should be a part of almost any journey towards mental illness. It can be used to treat anxiety, depression, stress, PTSD or anything that requires you to come down from catastrophizing and dissociating. It can even help to reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your sleep, and lower your blood pressure.
Mindfulness is an essential way to keep you in the here and now, noticing yourself and the world around you. In doing so, you can contextualize the way you’re feeling and keep your mind from spinning out too much.
At Rivia Mind, we believe that mindfulness is a part of a holistic journey to mental wellness. Our mental health professionals can help you gain the skills you need to be more mindful and work this treatment into your overall mental wellness plan. Contact us today to learn more about our different treatment options for mental health or to schedule a 15-minute free consultation.
