Keep Your Mind Strong: Mindfulness and Meditation Practices

This blog is the first in a series about staying strong and healthy so that you can pursue your next big adventure.

When people think about keeping their mind strong, they invariably mention mindfulness. There are many mind-strengthening practices. Here are some basic ones that I have tried.

Mindfulness is one approach that can help you stay present and engaged. As with all our blogs, we look forward to you sharing your own mind-strengthening exercises below.

Meditation Basics

One of the best-known mindfulness practices is meditation. While the idea of meditation can seem daunting for some, anyone can explore it in a way that feels comfortable. There is research exploring meditation and its effects on attention, stress, and well-being, although experiences can vary from person to person.

Just so you know, I am a meditation and mindfulness amateur. Consider my advice a primer from a learner. If I can do it, anyone can! Having said that, I do feel that it has helped me through some very dark days in my life. I also confess to sometimes having “monkey brain” during meditation, which can feel impossible to control.

Some meditation is better than no meditation, so do not feel that you have to master a two-hour meditation session in order to say that you have actually meditated. Start with a very short duration. I started with three minutes and gradually increased that to 20 minutes. Morning is the best time for me, before my brain starts processing all the multiple things that I need to do.

Three Kinds of Meditation

There are three kinds of meditation that I have read about and tried. I don’t think there is any “best” kind. If it works for you, use it. All three can begin with taking a few deep breaths to help you focus on yourself and relax.

Guided Meditation

Guided meditation is a practice where someone talks you through a scenario while you focus on relaxing and visualizing what they are saying. Often, there is music that accompanies this. Many meditation apps use this technique.

I have not personally used a meditation app, so if you have, leave a comment below about your favourite app. I have experienced guided meditation with a group run by Kristi Stangeland called My ParaVita (https://myparavita.com/). She has a free five-minute introduction if you have never meditated before.

Concentrated Single-Focus Meditation

Concentrated single-focus meditation is the kind of meditation that I do most often. Practitioners such as Pema Chödrön engage in this kind of practice. Their methods include approaches that emphasize staying present and observing the mind.

This can be a more challenging approach because you practice being in the moment rather than following every thought that floats through your mind.

Multi-Focus Meditation

Multi-focus meditation is a practice that I became aware of through the book The Art of the Impossible by Steven Kotler. He advocates single-focus meditation as well but also describes approaches that can be used to encourage creativity.

The idea is to do the same kind of relaxation that you would use in single-focus meditation and then allow your mind to move through the thoughts that come up.

The trick is not to engage with any of the thoughts, but simply to observe them as a stream or a film flashing through your mind. If you think of something you must do during your day, that is fine, but you don’t need to turn the thought into a to-do list. Just let the thoughts keep flowing.

Kotler suggests that stepping away from deliberate problem-solving during meditation may allow the mind to make connections in a different way.

These are three meditation practices that I have explored. If meditation seems a bit challenging for you, it is still possible to incorporate simple mindfulness practices into your everyday life.

Other Mindfulness Practices

The goal of mindfulness is to become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings rather than automatically reacting to them. This can create space to notice negative thought patterns and intentionally redirect your attention. You can practice this simply by relaxing and focusing on the present moment.

I believe that one of the best ways to practice mindfulness is to be in nature. When you focus on being in the moment rather than on the past or the future, it can open you up to many wonderful experiences.

Here are some easy practices that you can incorporate into your day without having to set aside specific times:

• Go for a walk. A walk is a perfect time to practice mindfulness. Start with a few deep breaths and then become distinctly aware of your body and the sensations you are experiencing in that moment. Feel the sun on your face, the crunch of pavement or gravel underfoot, and the smells and sounds around you without trying to interpret them. Just experience them.
• Take a couple of deep breaths. Go into yourself when you are sitting or standing alone. Oprah has talked about focusing on trees, which can be calming. They are not doing anything; they just are. Take a moment to notice that.
• Fully experience an everyday activity. Choose something you do repeatedly and really allow yourself to experience it. For example, if you are in an elevator, notice the light and interior of the elevator, the sensation of movement, and the sounds of the mechanisms. Do all of this rather than thinking about everything you will do when you reach your floor.

None of these mindfulness practices needs to last very long—maybe 30 seconds to five minutes—but you may be surprised by how calming they can feel.

So those are some thoughts on mindfulness and meditation. The trick is to incorporate them into your life in ways that are easy and simple enough to become habitual. You may find that these small moments of awareness influence how you approach your day and give you a chance to pause when you are feeling stressed or anxious.

Please share your mindfulness practices and any other techniques that you find helpful. Let’s start a conversation as we share our LifeShiift!