Mindfulness is a deterrent for anxiety. Learn to live mindfully by practicing the following.
1. There is no wrong way to do this: Just do it and know that everyone has wandering thoughts.
2. Begin your mindfulness practice by focusing on your breath, it will help ground you for the session.
3. Some people find it useful to use a mantra to focus on: That is a word or phrase that you say aloud and/or chant. It can be ‘Om’, something like ‘Peace’ ‘Love’ ‘Calm’ or anything you want. You can use an audio or video of guided meditation if that helps you stay focused.
4. When you find your mind wandering, and you will, simply return to observing your breath for a minute or so to get back into your practice. You might say aloud ‘thinking’ to label what occurred (your mind wandering to other things) without judging it as bad or good.
5. Observe: Your thoughts, feelings and sensations - this is the objective of mindfulness (though Buddhists would say there is no goal).
6. Release: Any thoughts, feelings or sensations without judgment – this is critical to get the benefits of mindfulness.
7. Label: Your thoughts, feelings and sensations, even the errant ones that occur when the mind wanders; this can be helpful in the ‘observing and letting go’ process.
8. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.
9. There are active forms of mindfulness for those who can benefit from something more involved, ie. mindful movement and mindful walking.
10. Begin by setting aside 5 minutes to practice mindfulness the first week, then increase it to 10 minutes and continue to increase your time every week or so until you are practicing 20 minutes. If you can’t manage 20 minutes, do what works for you. Even 5 minutes each day (or twice a day) will help you.