Destressing is all about getting your mind off all the stresses of your life. Anything that can help you achieve this will make you feel calm and at peace. Our lives are so fast paced we don’t bother to stop and feel the present moment, we don’t appreciate the simple things in out lives.

Meditation is becoming a mainstream these days and seems to be a cure for everything. Sitting down and closing your eyes and trying to be at peace with yourself is what we are told these days as a solution to all our stress, With all this we tend to forget or find it hard to be more mindful.

What is Mindfulness?

Mind-ful-ness: the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis;

When I was first learning to cook, I made sure I was saying out each step loud, “Pouring in the oil”, “frying the shallots”.  While I don’t advise you to do this and scare your family off lol, the whole point is to feel and be aware of your actions as you do them.

Sometimes when I’m at work or daydreaming at home, I think and ask to myself:

What am I doing?
Where am I?
Wonder what’s the weather like outside?
What am I feeling right now?

Even though it may seem strange at the beginning,  or the answers are too obvious, we rarely stop to think or pay attention to the little things in our lives.

What are the benefits of been  mindful?

Mindfulness helps you to slow down and feel the moment, it may sound very unnecessary, but this is the way to a peaceful mind and heart. A way to connect to yourself and be in sync with yourself.

This will help you to forget your past and start to learn to appreciate your present moment more and make it more enjoyable and this way you start to appreciate life a little better.

5 little simple ways to be more mindful:

Wake up early

As you wake up draw your curtains and notice the sun rising the little golden ray hitting your room and skin, feel the light, feel your body soak in the early morning sun.

Enjoy your cup of coffee,

Try to take every minute to appreciate your coffee, feel the smell , the heat on your palms as you hold on to your mug. Don’t just gulp your coffee with distractions, just try to enjoy it without anyone trying to spoil that little moment of pleasure for you.

Take a walk

Could be an early morning walk around your neighbourhood or a walk to work. Start to enjoy it more, listen to your music while you walk, try to focus on the lyrics, see if the lyrics match anything while your walking. Maybe the song lyrics is about the clouds, you can look up the cloud and start to appreciate the beauty of nature better.

Notice your family more.

This may sound silly to you but trust me we take them for granted with the way our lives go on so fast, try to hold his hands and notice his skin better , maybe focus on his perfume and him more. Focus on how your kids laugh and talk, notice how cutely they talk and how happy they seem and learn to appreciate them. Make sure you give more quality time for your family.

Think & Reflect

Don’t just get into bed in a rush, make that a quality ‘Me’ time. Make sure you have a nice warm wash, wearing freshly laundried clothes. Notice how nice your clothes smell , maybe even help yourself with some nice chamomile tea to help calm  yourself. Think of 3-5 things you’re grateful about , try not to dwell on all the bad things, but instead focus on the good.

Give yourself the time to focus on what went well and anything that made you feel good or  laugh, or maybe inspired an idea , write those these down in a little journal which you could keep next to your bed.

By the end of the week go through this journal and you will notice these are the actual parts of your life that are important to you.