Building Better Habits: Practicing Mindfulness & Awareness

Mar 27

“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Do you practice mindful awareness? When you are running on autopilot, are you aware of it?

Throughout the Building Better Habits Challenge, we’ve talked about a variety of healthy habits you could add to your life. One thing we talked about is adding different food to your diet. Even if you go to the grocery store and intentionally do not buy different foods, just having gone through the challenge you are going to be more mindful and aware of your habits that may impact your health.

If you are interested in awareness and mindfulness, starting a meditation practice is a great way to start to notice habits. It will not be immediate or automatic initially, but over time you will notice that practicing meditation gives you an awareness of your habits. It provides insight into the way your brain works, and you become aware of things you never even realized.

Meditation apps are a great place to start if you want to begin guided meditation. There are free apps or apps available for purchase that are more advanced. We have tried several of them and have some favorites, so if you’d like more information let us know.

Many people think we are our thoughts, however, meditation will teach you that you are not your thoughts. When you start becoming aware and mindful of things you do, you also become aware and mindful of the thought patterns you have. You will notice that you will start to question them. When this happens, you will know that meditation is having an impact on your life.

Through our own experience, we have been able to turn our negative thought patterns into positive patterns just by being more mindful and aware. Building awareness into our day-to-day lives sets the tone for the things we do.

Maybe you do not like exercise, so you have formed a habit of avoiding it. Try forming a habit of taking the stairs instead of an elevator or turning some music on and dancing in your kitchen. You are mindful and aware that you do not like going to the gym, but you have moved your body by climbing the stairs or have done 12 minutes of cardio while making dinner. This is one way of being mindful and aware.

If you have a health concern and need help digging deeper, going forward in your life, and staying healthier, schedule a free discovery call with us today - bit.ly/3tb36Ft. We would be happy to talk with you and tell you more about the programs available at Mana Wellness Medicine.