No Excuses! 

Do you ever feel you do not have time to practice mindfulness meditation? Is your day too busy? No problem! There are countless opportunities throughout everyone’s day to practice “mini-mindfulness” and reap the benefits:

• Standing in a checkout line
• Taking a break from work
• Sitting in a waiting room
• Waiting for something to start: a concert, a movie, being served in a restaurant

You Can “Find the Time”

Basically, any situation we might formerly have considered “wasted time” is a perfect opportunity for a mini-meditation. You might be surprised at how far less frustrated you feel about the wait. When we are on the go throughout the day, our mind, body, and spirit can easily be stressed to the max. Our energy wanes, our temper snaps, and our ability to observe situations with fresh eyes is lacking.

Calling Time Out

Enter mindfulness. In just a few minutes, we can renew our spirits by taking a time-out from worries, obsessing about what we might be doing next, or fretting over something that just happened. Mindfulness takes us “out of time” briefly and allows our brain and body to recoup much-needed energy. Mindfulness also gives us the opportunity to gain perspective on whatever we have been caught up in. We gain helpful insights into our patterns of conditioned thinking and reactivity. Mindfulness entails a shift from our busy mental chatter into a focused non-judgmental awareness of the current moment. You may be surprised at how easily you can pull this off.

Steps for a Mini-Mindfulness Break:

1. Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
2. Straighten your posture so it is “regal but not rigid.”
3. Notice the physical sensations where your body is touching a surface: Your feet on the ground, your body touching a chair, your hands in your lap, against your sides or on a desk, your eyelids pressed together or loosely apart, your lips touching each other, etc.
4. Take three or four breaths to let the mind and body settle.
5. Come into the present moment. Right here. Right now.
6. While following the natural rhythm of your breath, gently observe your thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
7. Check in with how you are relating to your current experience without judgment. It is what it is.
8. If your mind wanders away from the present moment, just gently bring it back to sensations.

When you have to return to your daily activities, try to focus on only what you’re doing in each moment. Let future moments take care of themselves.

Pick a Time, Any Time

Here are other times you can step away from thoughts about the past and future and into the present moment:

• Driving
• Preparing meals
• Showering or washing your hands
• Getting dressed
• Walking or running
• Basically any time you can let your focus rest upon your bodily sensations and your breath

Try to take every opportunity you can for a mini-mindfulness break. Over time, you will make the shift from stressed-out to calm and serene with hardly any effort. Your mind and body will thank you.