Mindfulness and meditation are not the same thing despite being related. For someone who is new to mindfulness and meditation, it can be frustrating to understand the difference. On one hand, you have meditation which can consist of a variety of different activities all aimed at helping the individual achieve self-development.
On the other hand, you have mindfulness which is the quality that can be achieved from participating in certain activities such as meditation. Where meditation is the action, mindfulness and self-development is the goal.
Meditation is a great way to reduce stress, become more centered with oneself, and tap into a potential you might have never known you had. However, mediation is not the only path to self-discovery, stress reduction, and achieving mindfulness.
There are many ways to practice mindfulness, and there are certain methods people have been turning to in recent times. Not only do these methods help you reduce your stress levels, but can lead to a healthier digestive tract, more energy, and better sleep!
Let’s dive into some of these trending additional ways to achieve mindfulness in your day to day life and some of the additional benefits of these practices.
The Power of a Transforming Your Morning Walk With This Tip
Mindfulness is a quality that can be attributed to just about any action we take throughout our day. For example, are you someone who takes a walk every morning before their day starts? If so, after a while this can start to seem repetitive and you might fall into a routine lacking intentionality and mindfulness.
While a morning walk without intention can still be beneficial in getting your body moving and kickstarting the different processes throughout your body, it can be even more beneficial when done mindfully. A mindful walk means unplugging from your phone or a different form of entertainment other than the world around you. Take time throughout your walk to truly breathe in the smells and sounds surrounding you. Take the time to look up and engage with the different scenes that are happening around you. These actions can make you experience life in a whole new way, all while doing your morning walk.
Due to the fact that so many of our lives are filled with buzzing and a variety of different responsibilities, it can be easy to just hop from one responsibility to the next with little to no awareness of what you are actually doing. It is crucial that we start to feed mindfulness into the various activities throughout our day to make them more intentional.
A mindful walk in the mornings can mean that your brain is now ready to take on the day, you are more centered with yourself, and in turn your body has also been given the indicator to become centered and prepared for what’s to come.
Grounding Yourself In the Mornings Can Help Your Digestive Tract
We are all aware of how beautiful the earth is, but did you know that the earth has a natural electric charge we can connect to? Walking barefoot and sitting on the ground can help us connect to this natural electric charge in an activity referred to as grounding.
Grounding can help you to destress, make you feel more connected to your surroundings, and reorient yourself during times you might feel overwhelmed. It can be easy to forget about the power of the earth we live on, but taking some time out of your day to participate in grounding can help you feel connected to earth and its many natural benefits.
The energy from the earth can help to revitalize you in an extremely unique way. Grounding can help to reduce inflammation throughout your entire body — including your gut lining. When your gut lining is inflamed, it starts to struggle to do its job and creates complications such as indigestion, acid reflux, and bloating. While a probiotic for bloating and gut health enzymes can help to strengthen and heal your gut lining, grounding is another great hack to overcoming gut inflammation.
Grounding is a great way to achieve mindfulness in your day-to-day routine with little to no effort. Consider grounding during your work break this coming week and take note of your change in mood and energy.
5-5-5 Productivity Hack That Could Elevate Your Routine
When it comes to being more mindful, our productivity levels do not necessarily come to mind. However, how productive we are can in turn impact many aspects of life including our stress levels, our ability to be present, and our digestion. When we choose to procrastinate and put off our many responsibilities, we are more likely to stress out and only have time to think about what’s to come rather than what is.
This is where the 5-5-5 productivity hack comes in! People are buzzing about this new productivity hack because it reimagines the different mantras we have heard for so long. We are aware that we should not procrastinate, but this is the new and improved way to make sure we don’t.
Let’s break it down:
5 seconds - When you are in need of motivation to get something done, countdown from five and push yourself to start once you reach zero. This is a great tactic for those smaller tasks that you can’t seem to motivate yourself to do such as clearing out the dishwasher or folding your clean clothes.
5 minutes - Wait five minutes when you are wanting to do something that will set you off track or that might not benefit you in the long run. For example, are you prone to checking your phone when you are working? Give yourself that five minute countdown to refocus and to allow yourself the chance to see that you do not need whatever you are reaching for.
5 hours - In a similar fashion to waiting five minutes, give yourself this five hour period on those decisions that can make a drastic change in your life. Sometimes, we can become quick to decide due to the fast nature of life, but some decisions require more patience. Use this five hour method to allow yourself the chance to feel assured in your choices.