Mindfulness: 5 exercises you can do at home

The term mindfulness can be understood as a state in which you pay total attention to what is happening around you. Its purpose is to reclaim vitality and to connect with natural wisdom.

Mindfulness meditation focuses on the perception and on the observation, on concentrating on the stimuli that come through each sense. To achieve this, you need lots of practice, which enables us to get accustomed to performing some actions repeatedly.

For this we can do some easy exercises at home, without having to invest excessive time or effort into it; very little dedication and concentration will get you a noticeable increase in your quality of life.

Meditation and mindfulness exercises for at home

The practice of these exercises requires some persistence. They can be done once or twice per day and always trying to do them in isolation to avoid unwanted interruptions or noise. They are the base to achieve a deep mindfulness meditation.

Body scan

Lie facing upwards on a rug. Separate your feet and move your arms from your body and be sure to have the palms of your hands facing upwards. Concentrate in your breathing, on the expansion of your ribcage and in the elevation and descent of your abdomen while you breathe. After some time, slowly expand your attention toward other areas. Feel whatever pressure available on your glutes, calves, heels, head and back. Stop for a moment and observe the sensation of the touch of the rug of the floor against your body. Finally, imagine that, with every breath you take, you fill and empty your whole body with air

Anchoring the light

Light a small candle and put it on a table in a dark room without breeze. Sit in front of it and contemplate the flame for some minutes, breathe softly and rhythmically. Avoid your mind from wandering. Concentrate on the flame.

Waking up

When you wake up, don’t precipitate into your daily tasks. Greet yourself, ask yourself how you slept, stretch slowly to shake sleep off, think about the dreams you had and about their meaning; close your eyes again for a few seconds.

Listen attentively

When you are having a conversation with another person, pay careful attention to what and how they are saying. Notice their tone of voice, their mood, their posture and facial expression. Don’t interrupt or think about anything else but what they are saying.

Tenacity with this practice of mindfulness exercises will help you to develop your acceptance of reality, things are what they are and that won’t change, and you’ll soon begin to enjoy your here and now.