Mindfulness exercises help you become more aware of yourself and your surroundings. Often, we get caught up in our daily lives. We forget to slow down, breathe, and listen to our bodies. Mindfulness exercises can help us become more present and aware.
Not sure where to begin your mindfulness journey? Take a look at a few creative mindful movement exercises recommended by the team at YogaRIOT.
Try New Yoga Poses
When it comes to mindful movement exercises, nothing quite beats yoga. Yoga has an abundance of benefits, including increased mental health, stress management, strength, and muscle toning. The slow, deliberate movements help you calm your mind and focus on your body in the here and now.
Those who practice yoga usually go through their favorite poses each session, emphasizing some more than others. But there are 84 classic yoga poses (or asanas). Modern poses are popping up all the time. Why not try something new?
Trying a new pose can help you refocus differently. The different movements can challenge your body and calm your mind.
Use Simple, Repetitive Crafting Exercises
Crafts can be a great way to be mindful. Fiber arts, bead crafts, and many other practices offer smooth, repetitive motions. These help calm your mind, relieve anxiety, and help you reflect on your surroundings. You must be aware and mindful of each stitch or bead needed to complete your project.
If you are willing to take the time to learn, some crafts can be mindful and meditative. Knitting, crochet, bead weaving, felting, and similar crafts all offer a kind of meditative state. Once the basics are mastered, you can be mindful and productive!
Relax with Sound Therapy
Sound therapy seems complicated, but it’s one of the simpler exercises on this list. Choose your favorite nature sounds or soft music tracks. Rain, thunder, crackling fires, or spiritual songs can also help guide you towards mindfulness.
The music itself can help focus your mind, but sound therapy is about more than music. To be mindful, pay attention to the sounds themselves, how they change and bend around each other. When combined with your favorite meditative yoga pose, sound therapy can help you find balance and a true state of relaxation.
Name Your Surroundings
We’ve all heard of the standard mindfulness exercise to avoid a panic attack – name 5 things you can feel, see, hear, smell, etc. This is a spin on that practice. Instead of trying to find things you can taste, smell, and feel, just name 5 things around you.
Every moment, we are existing in surroundings that we probably take for granted. Take the time to name the things on your desk, in your room, and outside your window. Just saying ‘tree’, ‘pen’, and ‘coffee mug’ can help bring your mind back to the present and refocus your thoughts away from the stressor.
Try Abstract Coloring Exercises
Whether you’re talking to a kindergarten teacher or a spiritual professional, coloring is probably on their list of mindfulness exercises. While your mind can certainly wander while you’re coloring, the act itself helps keep you grounded.
The deliberate nature of the movements when you try to stay inside the lines is calming. Choosing colors and embracing mistakes helps you shed stress. The repetitive motions can help calm the buzz of unfinished tasks.
Choose something abstract so you aren’t focused on choosing the ‘correct’ colors. Feel free to color inside or outside the lines – make whatever motions help to free your mind.
Conclusion
Mindfulness and creativity are often two sides of the same coin. The creative mindfulness exercises discussed above emphasize repetition, deliberate movement, and focus. The result is refocusing your thoughts and calming your body and mind.
