31 Day Mindfulness

I was given a pack of cards that was entitled '31 Day Minfulness Challenge'. Evidentally, someone was trying to hint at something for me! In any case, I refused to dismiss it and thought it might be beneficial. Clearly the person whom gave it to me thought the same. So I've went ahead and digitised them in the list below. Some of them seem fairly straightforward, whilst others require a bit of preparation.

In any case, I'll cross each one off as I do them. The important thing to note is that they have to be done within 31 days. I'm taking them on from top to bottom, but can be done in any order. I'll be writing in my feedback on each task as I complete it (or if I complete it). Wish me luck!

Full Sensory Awareness Exercise

This one you do now; right now.

Wherever you are, just stop and look around (when safe to do so). Become aware of everything that your senses pick up.

How do you feel?

Do you feel happy?

Do you feel excited?

Do you feel over-stimulated?

Do you feel anxious?

Take a moment and appreciate where you are and what is happening, along with how you are actually feeling in this very moment.

The M&M Game

Today buy a pack of m&m’s or similarly coloured sweets.

Then tonight when you have a chance for a little alone time, start to enjoy them whilst doing the following:

For every red one say one thing that makes you happy.

For every blue one say one thing that makes you sad.

For every green one say one thing that makes you angry.

For every yellow one say one thing that makes you excited.

For every brown one say one poor choice you have made today and what you could have done differently.

For every orange one say one good choice you made today.

Mindful Brushing

Some things we do so often that we almost don’t notice them any more.

Brushing your teeth for example is usually performed automatically, while the mind skips off to other plans, worries or regrets.

Instead, try to focus and really experience it. Notice how the brush moves over your teeth and the taste of your toothpaste. Slow the process down and really try and notice every sensation that occurs.

Today, brush your teeth mindfully.

Notice “I” Exercise

Today, the whole day.

Become aware of every time you use the word “I” in a sentence. This forces us to focus on how self-centred we all are.

It could be quite a shock to realise just how many times you use “I”. You can also keep count.

It may be surprising.

Mindful Melting Exercise

This is a simple one that you can do anywhere with a little privacy.

Sit, relax and imagine yourself melting into everything around you. With some practice, you might begin to feel at one with your surroundings.

Try this a few times today as it may take a while to master. Make sure you clear your mind while attempting this exercise and just purely relax and melt away.

Mindful Awareness

This exercise is designed to cultivate a heightened sense of awareness and appreciation for simple daily tasks and the results they achieve.

First think of something you do every day more than once that you take for granted. For example: unlocking a door. Stop for a moment as you put the key into the lock, feel the mechanism at work and how your body and the lock work together.

Notice how you feel in that moment when you first prise open the door and how you feel about where the door will lead you.

Pick a task and follow this process for it the whole day.

Mindful Appreciation

Choose 5 things in your day that usually go unappreciated. These things can be objects or even people.

The point of this exercise is to give thanks and appreciate the seemingly insignificant things in life. The things that support our life but rarely get a second thought.

For example, the electricity that powers your kettle, the postman who delivers your post. Ask yourself:

How do these things work?

How do they benefit your life?

Have you ever noticed the finer details of these items?

Have you ever thought about the relationship of these things and how they play an interconnected role in the functioning of the earth?

Use a notepad to check off all 5 things by the end of the day.

Mindful Gratitude

Today, get in contact with someone who has made a positive impact on your life and thank them.

This message of appreciation can be sent in any form: email, text message, phone call, or in person. It can be sent to an old friend, teacher, family member, or anyone you think deserves a little bit of gratitude!

It doesn’t have to be a long or emotional message. Just a simple thank you and the reasons behind your gratitude. You’d be surprised by how much this small message can mean to the person receiving it.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

William Arthur Ward

Mindful Natural Observation

This exercise is as simple as it is powerful. It is designed to connect us with the beauty of the natural environment.

Choose a natural object, a flower, insect, tree - anything.

Now relax and explore the object like you have never seen it before. Visually explore every aspect of it and connect with the object and its role in the natural world for as long as your concentration allows.

Do this exercise twice today.

Mindful Olfactory Exercise

Smell something strong like coffee beans or perfume and pay close attention to what happens in your nose, and then what feelings these scents evoke.

Does the smell of coffee in the morning lift your mood? Make you feel more awake? Does the smell of that special someone’s perfume/ aftershave/ deodorant make you feel safe? Loved? Excited?

Really try and appreciate how the object smells and how that object makes you feel. Breathe it in deep, without thinking of anything else but that object and the feelings it creates.

Try this a couple of times until you have fully understood and appreciated every aspect and emotion of that smell.

Mindful Listening

This exercise is designed to open your ears to sounds in a non-judgemental way. Most of what we hear is influenced by our past experiences but with mindful listening we can achieve a neutral, present awareness.

Choose a piece of music you have never heard before. Close your eyes and put your headphones on. Do not judge the music by its genre, artist or title. Let yourself go and let the music take you on a journey.

The idea is simply to listen without preconception of the lyrics or instrumentation.

Find a quiet space and listen to a new song today.

Mindful Breathing

This exercise can be done almost anywhere and at any time. All you have to do is focus on your breathing for just one minute.

Start by breathing in slowly through your nose and out slowly through your mouth. One cycle should take around six seconds.

Let go of your worries, to-do-list and all your other thoughts for a minute. Simply be still.

Watch your breathing purposefully, focus your senses on its pathway and how it flows through your body.

Repeat this exercise at least 5 times today (not all at once).

The Mindful Movie Exercise

Next time you watch a film or documentary try and observe how you become engrossed in the story. Take mental notes of emotions throughout the film and how they change.

Observe how your posture changes throughout the film. Do you tense up at exciting moments?

Try not to eat or drink throughout the film; give it your full attention.

Silent Walking Exercise

At some point today, take ten minutes or longer to walk silently. You can do this indoors or outdoors.

Remain silent throughout the entire walk so you can hear what your mind is producing.

As your attention is drawn to particular objects or sounds in your environment, to your thoughts and feelings, to sensations in your body, call them out by saying them three times.

For example, when a car passes by, say to yourself: “car, car, car.” If you start to feel stress in your body, say “stress” three times.

Notice what happens when you do this.

Continue to label everything and repeat as you notice.

Challenge Your Beliefs

Take a belief you’ve held for a long time and pretend you believe in the exact opposite for a few minutes. Notice how you feel when you do this. The belief you choose can be related to religion, politics, education, gender, medicine, or just life in general. The stronger your belief, the more effective this exercise will be.

For example, you believe in God, pretend you are an Atheist.

Or, you are pro-Brexit — now pretend you are anti-Brexit.

How does it make you feel to fight the other corner? There are no right or wrong answers here, we simply want to try and understand where the people on the other side of these beliefs are coming from. You can learn a lot about yourself and people around you from this simple exercise.

Mindful Immersion

The purpose of this exercise is to cultivate contentment in the moment and escape the persistent striving we find ourselves caught up in on a daily basis.

Pick a chore. Something you usually just want to get done before moving onto your next task. Rather than treating this as a regular chore, try treating it as a completely new activity.

For example: washing up. Notice how the water flows into the sink, how the washing up liquid coalesces with the water. How moving your hands through the water creates bubbles and how they feel on your skin.

The idea is to get creative and discover new experiences with a familiar task.

Watch a Sunset or Sunrise

Either today or tomorrow, take the time to watch a sunset or sunrise.

There are few things more present than the feeling of watching a day start or end. Aside from its natural beauty, the sunset is also a great reminder that each and every day offers us a new end and a new beginning.

Peacefully enjoy the vibrant colours and spirit of the sun and leave your to-do-lists and worries out of the moment.

Mindful Love Note

The next time you are alone, take out your phone and record a spoken love letter to yourself. Say out-loud everything that you love about yourself: your ambitions, your purpose, your strengths, ways you are kind, ways you inspire others, etc.

Then listen to it! Listen to it several times over the next week.

After a while you will notice something incredible. We mainly seek praise, acceptance and confirmation from external sources. What if we could hear from ourselves how awesome we are.

It may just help change the way you think.

Mindful Tasting Exercise

Taste something with a strong flavour, like coffee or a tangerine for example, and pay close attention to what happens in your mouth then what feelings these tastes evoke.

Really try and appreciate how the object tastes and how that object makes you feel. Breathe it in deep without thinking of anything else but that object and the feelings it provokes.

Try this a couple of times until you have fully understood and appreciated every aspect and emotion of the taste.

Mindful Waiting

Any time you find yourself waiting today - be it when you’re in line at the shops, waiting for someone who’s late, or waiting for something to load on your computer or phone - take this opportunity to practice mindfulness, meditation, gratitude, or prayer.

“What if you were to practice being on the lookout for moments of waiting in the day? In those moments, instead of grabbing something to fill the space, you recognised it as an opportunity to be okay with just waiting.”

Elisha Goldstein of mindfulness.org

Today, be happy to wait.

Just One Breath

At any time during the day, take a moment to focus on one breath.

Breathe in, then breathe out.

Focus your attention on how this feels, where you notice the air moving, how your chest and abdomen move.

Try it now.

You’re not looking for a revelation from this experience; think of it more like a little mental push-up for your mind.

That’s it; but if you want to, do it a few times during the day.

Secret Virtue

Today, do something nice for someone else, but do it anonymously. This act can be very simple, like washing someone else’s dishes that were left in the sink, leaving a chocolate bar on a co-worker’s desk or paying for a future customer’s coffee before walking out of a coffee shop.

Although this exercise is designed to bring joy to others’ days, you might notice that your day becomes much more peaceful and at the same time, invigorating.

Pay close attention to the little voice in your head that pushes you to tell others about your good deed. These thoughts are normal and natural, but make a conscious effort to let it go.

Create a Touch Point

Brainstorm a touch point, something you touch pretty frequently. For example, your watch, glasses, shoes, etc.

Each and every time you touch that object, stop what you were doing and notice your surroundings.

We are using this object to force ourselves to pause and live in that particular moment, even if it is only for a few seconds each time.

Choose your object and do it throughout the whole day.

Mindful Shadowboxing

For hundreds of years martial artists and boxers have used shadowboxing to hone their technique and prepare for combat. However, you don’t have to be a fighter to box with your shadow.

Take ten minutes out of your day to fight your shadow. Make sure to keep your breathing steady and focus purely on fighting your shadow. Feel the movement in your arms and legs when you punch or kick. Feel the power and pressure within your body.

Paired with simple footwork and steady breathing, shadowboxing becomes an excellent vehicle for mindful exercise.

Mindful Hand Awareness Exercise

Grasp your hands really tight and hold for 5 to 10 seconds, then release and pay attention to how your hands feel. Keep your attention focused on the feeling for as long as you can.

Do this exercise several times throughout the day until you feel you appreciate and understand how it feels and how your body and mind deal with it.

Cause and Effect Exercise

Choose an appropriate amount of time; an hour is good, but something longer or shorter, depending on your day, is also fine.

For that time contemplate cause and effect for everything that you do. It sounds simple, but you will be surprised how many actions you do in an hour.

For example, you want to write something. Picking up a pen will cause the ink to flow to the bottom and then in turn scratching it on paper will leave a coloured ink trail along the page.

Try and do this for every single action you take.

The Good Posture Challenge

For the whole day try to bring your awareness to your posture. Whether you are sitting, lying down or standing, just bring all your attention to your body.

This technique has an immediate grounding effect and restores our mindfulness. The goal is to be aware of the sensations that the body is feeling right at that moment.

Whether your body feels the pressure of the chair you are sitting on, the ground under your feet, or a slight breeze on your arms. Simply scan your body up and down and notice whatever sensations are present.

You only have to do this for a minute or two, then return your attention to whatever task you were doing. The aim is to try and remember to observe your posture and its sensations as often as you can throughout the day.

Mindful Tactile Exercise

Pinch your arm and pay close attention to how it feels and what your emotions start to do. Pay attention to the pain it causes, and how it radiates out from the point where you pinched and then how it flows through your body.

This exercise can really tune you in to how your body deals with discomfort and what emotions arise. Do you get angry, annoyed or frustrated when you feel pain?

Do this exercise several times until you feel you appreciate and understand the sensation and how your body and mind deal with it.

Experience Nature

Find a park or green space of some kind. As you stand, sit or walk, try to become more aware of the nature around you.

See the different types of leaves, hear the bird calls, the wind and the distant rumble of traffic; sense the air moving over your skin and the sun heating your face.

After a few moments, your mind may try to wander where it will. Gently nudge your attention back to nature and your surroundings.

Make sure your mind stays focused on the present moment.

Change Your Language

Today and ideally from this moment on: Take notice of your language. Think of the words you use as though they are food - you want to feed your subconscious healthy words.

For example, if you tell a child “Don’t miss the bus”, he/she thinks about missing the bus and how that is bad, and his/her subconscious registers that message as negative. But if you say “Hey, let’s be early for the bus today”, the subconscious registers it as a positive thought.

Try to swap out all the negative words (can’t, don’t, shouldn’t, etc.) with positive alternatives.

Start feeding your mind with positive words and your emotions, actions and outcomes will follow suit.

Candle Staring Exercise

Find or buy a nice candle. Wait until it is dark and you have a little time to yourself.

Switch the light off and just stare at the candle flame for ten minutes straight while studying everything you can about it. When your mind wanders, become aware of where it’s going, then bring it back to the candle flame.

A simple and easy exercise.

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