Living Mindfully

Next time you take a shower, do a body scan and go through the five senses, noticing each sensation. Notice the water on your skin, the slippery feel of the soap, the subtle scents of your shampoo. Or when you’re on a walk, see how it feels to really pay attention to your feet at each step. What parts of your feet touch the ground? What muscles in your legs make this happen? What does the breeze feel like? Do you hear any sounds?

So why do we do this?

Practicing mindfulness in our everyday life is a quick way to calm our central nervous system if we’re anxious or agitated. It’s accessible, and can be even easier than trying to dial into just your breath when you’re feeling out of control. This is also great to do when we are not activated, because it helps to strengthen our neural pathways so we have a more centered response when we are activated. This is all part of the practice of mindfulness - the more you do it, the stronger your brain “muscle” becomes.