Mindfulness Practices that do not Include Breath-work
While certain breathing techniques can be useful for some, they may not always click with everyone. There is an entire world of mindfulness techniques that open the door to something you never would have thought can help ground you.
When Can You Engage In Mindfulness Techniques?
Mindfulness techniques can be used in many different scenarios. One of the most common ways to use mindfulness is when you are in a state of anxiety. When we feel anxious, our brains tend to go down a rabbit hole of what could happen in the future and it takes us away from the here and now. Mindfulness is a great tool to have in your wheelhouse to help bring you back down to Earth.
Mindfulness can also be used when in a fairly baseline state of mind. Being in touch with your body is something that we often forget to do, and the following techniques can help remind you to stay in the present moment.
The 5-4-3-2-1 Technique
Getting in touch with your senses can help ground you in the environment you are in. Anxiety can so often come with staying in your head and forgetting about what is going on around you. The 5-4-3-2-1 technique can help pull you out of that spiral. It works as follows;
5: Acknowledge five things that you see around you. It can be anything in your line of sight, whether it is your smartphone laying next to you or a salad bowl on your counter.
4: Acknowledge four things that you can touch. Maybe it is the feeling of your feet against the carpet, or the feeling of your fingers pressing against a keyboard.
3: Acknowledge three things you can hear. These can be any sort of external sounds, like the sound of a siren passing by your apartment or the background noise of the television.
2: Acknowledge two things you can smell. This might involve taking a little stroll outside to get different smells than the ones in your home that you may be used to.
1: Acknowledge one thing you can taste. Maybe it’s the coffee you just drank, the gum you’re chewing, or the remaining taste of what you just ate for lunch.
After going through all of the five senses, you may not only have a better understanding of what is going on around you, but you may also have a better sense of internal peace.
Dance Movement Therapy
While dancing is often a carefree and mindless activity, dance movement therapy can be an incredibly mindful and healing experience. This type of mindfulness involves meeting where your body is at and following it along in the narrative it chooses to present. Something so special about dance movement therapy is that you do not know where it is going to take you. The body can surprise us in many ways and show us things that we may have never thought about in our immediate consciousness.
This process can lend itself to a newfound appreciation for the body and what it can do for you. You do not have to have any prior dance experience to participate in this form of mindfulness. There are no right or wrong movements. What matters most is that feeling of attuned awareness with how your body and mind are connecting through movement.
Applied Tension
When we’re in an anxious state, our bodies can tense up without us realizing. This can lead to things like a clenched jaw, a nervous stomach, or a tense back. The process of applied tension involves putting all of your energy into one spot and then letting that body part completely relax. You can start with your feet flat on the floor and focus on your toes, curling them up as much as you can and putting all of your mental energy into that spot. After holding that tension for a few seconds, completely release the tension. Continue to scan your body and apply that tension to all parts. This journey then ends with a state of physical and mental relaxation.
When one hears the word “mindfulness,” it may come with a stereotypical assumption of breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth until you feel relaxed. It is important to remember that just because something like that may work for others, it does not need to work for you. The feeling of being in check with your body speaks volumes, and it can aid in your everyday life.
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