How to Live Mindfully

Mindfulness has become an important part of the wellness conversation in recent years, playing a role in everything from yoga, to food and nutrition, and calming pastimes like art and coloring-in. But what does it really mean to be mindful, and how can you start to weave it into your life?

What is mindfulness to us?

We would describe mindfulness as the practice of living completely in the present moment. It is a practice of no distractions, no judgment for whatever you’re doing, and it is a space where you can observe your thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them.

Now we know what you’re thinking - how is this different to meditation?

So much can fall under the banner of ‘mindfulness’ that for someone who has never tried it before it can feel like a bit of a minefield. But it doesn’t have to be complicated or something that’s difficult to achieve - it can be as simple as you like.

Here are our top three ways to bring mindfulness into your everyday life.

Being mindful of the world around you

A big part of mindfulness, for us, is being mindful of the world around you - both of other people and the environment. One of the greatest ways you can become more mindful is to help others, through charity work, forming a closer bond with your neighbors or even just smiling at someone in the street. Community is a big component to living mindfully, or at least it is to us. After all, it’s all well and good doing things for ourselves, but we need to make sure everyone is looked after.

There is so much we can do to be of service to those around us, and to our environment. Chances are you are probably doing lots in this department already - recycling, donating to food banks or clothes banks, taking part in beach cleans etc.

If you’re doing something that can help somebody else, or help to protect our natural world, then it’s mindful.

Take care of your outer self

Self care is important for our mental health and, once you get into the routine, you’ll find applying your skincare each day is the perfect time to practice mindfulness. Oftentimes we rush through the various activities that make up our day, and rarely do we slow down to appreciate what we’re doing in the moment. The same goes for our skincare routine - how many times have you just slapped on some cleanser, quickly scrubbed your face, smeared in some moisturiser and then dashed out the door quicker than lightning? We know we’ve done that plenty of times!

However, going through the various steps of your skincare routine can be the perfect opportunity to appreciate the present moment. As you put a little bit of cleanser into the palm of your hand, start to notice the texture of the product, the scent and the coolness. As you massage the product into your skin, think about spreading it across your face slowly, evenly and smoothly. How does it feel? Focusing on the sensations across the skin is an amazing way to anchor you in the present moment and to help you feel a little more calm.

You can take this same approach with the other steps of your routine, be it your oils, serum, moisturisers, eye cream. Tuning into the different senses will immerse you in the experience and leave you feeling super calm.

Take care of your inner self

What happens on the outside must happen on the inside too. We all know that what you put on the inside of your body is just as important as what you put on the outside, so one of our favorite ways to bring more mindfulness into our lives is through food.

Just like applying skincare has several steps that offers you a moment to slow down, cooking a dish from scratch offers up the same opportunity of calm.

We understand that some days (or most days!) you may not have ample amounts of time to spend hovering over your stove whipping up a fabulous intricate meal, and in a world where we can have any kind of food delivered to us at the click of a button, cooking a dish from scratch can feel like a waste of time. However, preparing a meal at home (even if just once in a while!) can be such a mindful activity.

Take each step of the process slowly, smelling each ingredient and where possible feeling the texture of the ingredients as you go. Tuning into the different sounds, the change in colour of what you’re cooking, the different aromas.

We really believe that when a meal is prepared slowly, with presence and love, it tastes all the better. It’s like eating your mom’s cooking - it always tastes better, because it’s made with love!

These are just a few suggestions but you’ll notice when you slow down and stop you allow yourself to be present and let all the stresses and strains of daily life start to wash over you. Try practising weaving mindful moments into your day, however small, and you’ll soon notice the sense of calm it brings to your life.