Mindfulness & Compassion Blog | The Moment is Now

Settling the mind

Whether you’ve just started your mindfulness journey or you’ve been practising for a while, it’s worth spending some time studying or revising basic mindfulness practices to help you get the most from them. Here’s the first of a series of posts about six key mindfulness practices to help you do just that! Each post will examine a different practice and include a free audio guide. Plus, there’ll be hints and tips on how to get the best out of each exercise. Enjoy your practice!

Everyday mindfulness…

Sunlight and blue sky coming through clouds

…five simple practices to fit into your day!

There are times in everyone’s life when fitting a regular mindfulness session into each and every day is going to be a challenge. There’s the school holidays to cope with, for a start—and that week before you go on holiday when you’re trying to get a mountain of work finished before you go!

If you’re in that situation now, try one or more of these five informal mindfulness exercises. Each one will fit easily into your busy day! Find your favourite and see if you can practice it three times a day.

Spend time close to nature…

Tiny alpine flowers, with raindrops on their petals, next to a rock covered in lichen

…for a happier, healthier, more creative life

Scientific research has shown that being close to nature can benefit our brains as well as our bodies. Jill Suttie, writing on mindful.org, lists five ways in which nature can have a positive effect on us, each of them backed up by science.

Start your morning mindfully—and you’ll feel the benefits all day!

The day ahead of you may contain many different experiences—some good, some bad, some neutral. How you start your day, though, can have a significant impact on how you deal with those experiences.

Starting your day mindfully can help you:

Really appreciate the good things in your day and
Help you meet the day’s challenges with greater ease.

Four science-based keys to well-being – and how you can practise them

Four keys to well-being: resilience, positive outlook, focus and generosity

In 2015, Dr Richard Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, spoke at an event called Mindfulness & Well-Being at Work. In his talk, he described what he sees as the four science-based keys to well-being.

The effects of each of these four elements on the neuro-circuits of your brain can be physically measured. These neural circuits all exhibit what scientists call neuro-plasticity. This means that the circuits can be altered. Most importantly for your well-being, they can be strengthened by exercising them.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at these key elements and suggest some practices that can help you increase your own sense of well-being.