July is Mindfulness Awareness Month, a campaign by the Mental Health Foundation designed to boost wellbeing by helping you create a daily mindfulness practice for the month. Mindfulness is scientifically proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as lowering blood pressure and improving sleep.
Here are some simple ideas anyone can use to help find peace in the present every day, even at work:
When you wake in the morning, try not to think about the day ahead, but instead bring your attention to your breathing just for a few breath cycles.
- Leave your headphones or music off during your commute to work and be aware of the sights and sounds what's around you.
- Begin meetings with karakia or a short reflection, allowing people to put aside distractions and bring their full attention to the room.
- Try to get out of your work environment during breaks and seek out green spaces where possible. Go for a walk, being mindful of your breathing, your footsteps and the environment around you.
- Be conscious of your screentime at work. Make a rule to have no phones or laptops on during meetings so you can all be present in the room. If you work on a screen, utilise the 'do not disturb' function on your phone to keep distractions from multiple devices to a minimum.
- No matter how well you think you know your work colleagues, try meeting them in a fresh way. Can you relate to them as they are now instead of relating to the mental image you may hold of them?
- Before you leave work for the day, take time to prepare a little bit for the next day so that when you leave, you can truly let go and be present for the next area of life.