Mindfulness for Beginners- 3 Tips for Calming Your Mind
By Genevieve Ulm, MA LMHCA
Do you struggle with negative thoughts; or catch yourself in the same familiar loops of unhelpful thinking? Learning to become mindful of our thoughts and more grounded into our body can help calm the noise. Mindfulness is often one of the first things we practice/teach in therapy. Mindfulness asks the individual to become aware of the thoughts, emotions, and overall body with the intention of being fully in the present moment with no judgement of oneself. This technique is helpful in the sense that only when become aware of what is going on in the background, can we start to make adjustments that allow for a calmer and more peaceful inner narrative. In a society where we rarely take the breaks needed to recharge and process our lives; it can take being intentional to create space to do just that. The three beginner tips below are great tools to start adding mindfulness into your routine.
Tip 1: Focus on your breath.
Throw away all misconceptions that you need your brain to be completely quiet while meditating or practicing mindfulness! Our brains are the world’s best storytellers and rarely do they go quiet without a lot of intentionality. Even with intentionality, it is natural for thoughts to pop up.
When beginning mindfulness, focus on your natural breathing pattern; pay attention to your inhale, exhale, and what the air feels like in your body. You could place a hand on your chest and stomach to physically feel the rise and fall of the air moving. Your mind will start to wander because that is normal. Your only task is to gently become aware of where your thoughts went, take a deep refocusing breath, and bring attention back to your breathing. Some of those thoughts may really want to stick around! A helpful tool could be to write that thought down.
Writing will help ensure you that the thought is not lost and will come back later. Then you will attempt to refocus on the breath. It will take practice and training to build this skill!
Tip 2: Notice the language and tone of your inner voice.
It is important to be aware of how we speak to ourselves because this tone of voice is how we set the overall tone for our entire day. Many of us have an inner critic that can be loud and say hurtful things all day long. There is an exhausting emotional battle going on that we do not always pay attention to; how draining this conflict can be on our whole body!
A good rule of thumb is if you would not say it out loud to someone else that you care deeply about, do not say it to yourself.
The practice of shifting this dialogue is gently correcting it whenever you notice a negative thought directed at yourself. For example, you notice your thoughts when you wake up a few minutes late. Maybe your inner voice sounds something like “ugh, I am so lazy, why can’t I just get up” or “here I go again messing up another day”. When you notice a thought like this, the hardest part can be getting yourself to pause and shift; taking a few deep breathes can help. The most important part is rephrasing the words. It will probably feel silly the first few times, but it is important to reteach our brains!
Rephrasing those negative thoughts to something like “wow I must have been tired, it is okay and human to need sleep” or “this is just the beginning of my day, I have enough time to regroup and be okay”. Shifting this voice can result in feeling lighter, calmer, and more in control of our thinking.
Tip 3: Tune into your body
Our body holds a lot of our stress and ignored feelings throughout the day. Common places we hold stress are our jaw and shoulders; but even our fingers and toes can be storing it. Performing a body scan can help you to give attention to each part of your body and intentionally release any stored tension.
One way to do a body scan is to settle yourself with 3-5 deep breathes. Following the breaths and starting with your toes, you will squeeze your toes on the inhale, hold for a few seconds, then release your toes on the exhale. Next you move up to your calves, thighs, core, finger, arms, neck, and jaw. Repeat the process of squeeze/inhale, hold, release/exhale. When you are done with the individual body parts you then attempt to squeeze your whole body. Finally, try to release and exhale any leftover tension for a couple seconds to feel refreshed. If you notice a few body parts need the process repeated, then do that!
There are no rules, just suggestions you can alter to best match your body’s needs and preferences.
The more often you practice these three tips, the more confident you will become at using these tools when you feel overwhelmed or stressed. Attempt to practice these skills 5-10 minutes at a time and build from there. If 5 minutes feels too big then make it smaller! When it comes to adding in therapeutic tools for your life, there is always a way to make the first step smaller if it feels too big. The goal is to make it work for you and improve your quality of life. Attempting to make this type of change should never add shame or guilt that another thing feels like too much.
You can start with picking one skill to practice once a week, or you can try all three skills multiple times a week. Both end with progress toward a happier and healthier mind/body experience. Pick what works for you and build on it when and where you can! We are here to walk with you as you connect and find peace and rhythms in your life.