The words mindfulness and meditation can get thrown around a lot as buzzwords. But what do they actually mean, and what do they look like in practice? We’ve compiled a few of our favorite mindfulness and meditation exercises that can help you re-center yourself, leading to a heightened state of calm. This can help you out both when you’re awake and just before falling asleep on your Milton mattress.
Mindfulness Basics
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment. You can do so by calmly acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. This exercise can be therapeutic and allows you to focus more on the current situation. One common technique is mindful observation. Choose a natural object from within your immediate environment and focus on watching it for a minute or two. This could be a flower, insect, the moon, etc. Focusing solely on what’s in front of you can be useful for people who find themselves caught up in worrying about the past or what might happen in the future. This can lead to better rest because it allows you to calm your mind and drift off.
Meditation Basics
Meditation is a therapeutic exercise you can do to better align your mind and your body. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil headspace. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Try focusing solely on your breathing as you gently inhale through your nose and out through your mouth. Meditation and mindfulness often go hand in hand, as they allow you to react to the external world in a more thoughtful way by first gaining control of your internal thoughts.