5 Mindfulness Tips for Your Everyday Life

Yoga exercises for moments of balance

The earth continuously revolves around the sun and itself, and we revolve with it. On and on. Movement, constantly we are in motion and by now it is no secret that our society is very fast paced. Always more, always further, what happens next? Mentally already 5 years ahead - but: When do we stand still? When will we be quiet? When will you be quiet? Completely with you and in the now? 

Yoga can be a tool to integrate more mindfulness, more moments of stillness into your life, and yoga does not only consist of physical practice and "fancy" poses (yoga asana). Yoga may be athletic, but yoga is also so much more than that and there are so many different ways to practice yoga. If perhaps one way isn't for you, another is. Yoga ultimately means unity of mind, body and spirit. Being one. This being one can be integrated into moments of everyday life through different rituals or activities. Thus, a conscious breath or meditation are equally yoga as the time on the mat. This is why it is often said that true yoga begins off the mat. 

In this article, we would like to give you a few suggestions on how you can integrate more mindfulness into your everyday life.

Coffee ritual

For many people, coffee in the morning is indispensable, but how often do we drink our coffee "to go" or alongside other activities? As a small mindfulness exercise, how about putting your cell phone, laptop or anything else aside and doing nothing but drinking your coffee. Might sound weird at first because we're used to always doing 100 things at once, but think of it as a little time out for yourself. The best thing is to combine it with a round of vitamin D and let the sun shine on your face.

Yoga Asana

Daily physical activity can have a positive impact on our overall well-being and you don't even have to do a 30 minute workout for that, sometimes just five minutes a day is enough to reconnect with yourself. One form of exercise can be yoga asana. To get into a routine, it's best to set a fixed time when you want to move your body. For example, activating asanas after getting out of bed or a few relaxing asanas before bed to wind the body back down and prepare for sleep. By combining movement and breathing, we enter a "flow state" that can still our minds and allow us to feel deep satisfaction and connection to our bodies.

Meditation walk 

A walk in a different way. Again, feel free to leave your phone and headphones at home and just go for a walk. Without company, without distraction, without music or podcast on your ears, completely in silence. See where your thoughts wander, what might come up in you that otherwise wouldn't get attention? How do your steps feel, heavy or light, how do you move on this earth and what do you perceive around you? Do you listen to the conversations of the people around you, the sounds of nature, do you perhaps even miss the distraction of music? No matter what arises for you in these moments of silence, try to accept it without judgment. Maybe you come to the conclusion that you don't yet feel comfortable in the silence with yourself, or maybe you were able to gain moments of clarity and want to go on a little walk with yourself again.

Conscious cooking

Good food makes you happy and even more so when you give yourself the time and love to cook something nutritious and delicious. We all have our standard dishes that always work and take little time, but when was the last time you tried a new recipe? Cooking can be so meditative, as can the entire process before the finished dish lands on our plates. 

Little mindfulness input: 

Pick a new recipe from your favorite cookbook or the internet, write yourself a shopping list, and maybe combine the shopping with a nice market visit to your favorite weekly market. This way you not only have a nice experience, but also buy your ingredients regionally and seasonally at the same time. Celebrate the preparation of your meal properly, perhaps with a good playlist and a glass of wine and when you have everything ready conjured on your plate, enjoy the food consciously, without cell phone or TV, so you can perceive even better the different tastes in front of you.

All the ideas and possibilities can of course also be reduced to a natural, even smaller scale. Sometimes it is enough to allow joy in the small and big moments of everyday life. And that is then perhaps simply called joie de vivre. Namasté!