The Mindfulness is the best medicine to treat anxiety. The sale of antidepressants and anxiolytics to treat depression and anxiety has increased in recent years. However, studies have shown that we can use Mindfulness to be happier. Don’t you know what we are talking about? In short, this technique is considered a philosophy of life based on meditation.
With it relaxation techniques are applied through which the focus of attention or better known as mindfulness is worked. Interesting, right? Here, we explain how to perform the best mindfulness exercises to reduce anxiety step by step.
Mindfulness exercises for anxiety
To perform Mindfulness exercises for anxiety we recommend this schedule:
- Weeks 1-2 : Spend 1 minute a day in the morning and 1 minute a night.
- Weeks 3-4 : Extend the exercise to 5 minutes in the morning and 5 at night.
- Weeks 5-6 : 10 minutes when getting up and another 10 before going to bed.
- Weeks 7-8 : 30 minutes a day at the time you prefer.
Now, in the event that you feel comfortable and prepared, you can extend the sessions prematurely. Just make sure that each session is useful and that you get its benefits.
Mindfulness Exercise 1: Mindfulness Minute
This Mindfulness exercise for anxiety is perfect to start getting started in this practice. It consists of just 1 minute during which we must focus on our breathing. Sit with your back upright, with your arms and legs at rest and your eyes open. Breathe in air through the mouth trying to swell the abdomen and exhale through the mouth. While doing the exercise, try to focus as much as possible on your breathing. Feel the air enter, flood your lungs, and then exit outside through your mouth.
Surely you will be distracted and realize that you are thinking of something else. Don’t worry, it’s completely normal. Refocus on breathing and executing the exercise correctly. If you find that you cannot concentrate after several attempts, abandon the exercise and try to do it later. Maybe this is not the right time!
Mindfulness Exercise 2: Conscious observation
As the name indicates, this Mindfulness exercise for adults with anxiety consists of focusing all attention on one object; whichever. You should try to focus all your attention on the object until you get the feeling that you are present at that moment, both physically and mentally. You must feel awake trying to make the chosen object steal your full attention. If while you do it your gaze drifts to other points of the room or you are thinking of objects that are not the chosen one, correct and focus again directing your attention to the initial object. Look at its shape, its color, texture, etc.
Mindfulness Exercise 3: Focusing attention on sounds
In this Mindfulness exercise to reduce anxiety we must use the sense of hearing. It consists of remaining alert to the sounds that surround us and being aware of them. Don’t try to decipher every sound; it doesn’t matter if it’s a car, a bird or a human voice. The objective of this exercise is to be able to return our attention to active listening to sounds every time we think of them when listening to them. That is, we must separate the sounds from the thoughts that evoke us. The goal is to feel the sounds, not to think about them.
Mindfulness Exercise 4: Countdown
In this exercise we will sit comfortably on the floor on a pillow or in a chair (remember to maintain the correct posture). We close our eyes and focus all our attention on counting to 10 . It seems easy but you will see that involuntarily you will be thinking about any pending task that you have to carry out that same day or that you have left the bathroom light on. Every time this happens, start again from 1. Remember that a thought can also be thinking about exercise, that is, if you are doing it right or wrong, or if you feel more relaxed.
Mindfulness Exercise 5: Attention in everyday life
In this mindfulness exercise for anxiety you don’t even need to stay still. You just have to choose some daily action that is part of your day to day and focus all your attention on it. Easy isn’t it? The objective of this exercise is to develop a greater awareness of daily tasks to appreciate the simplest. Some example with which you can practice this relaxation exercise for anxiety is cleaning the home, a simple shower, while you eat your breakfast, or even open a door.
You can choose the action you want, the important thing is that while you do it, focus all your attention on the sensations that that moment evokes: touch, smell, noise, movement, etc. As you do this, detect any negative thoughts, stop, and try to classify them and eliminate negativity. Just strive to be aware of that everyday moment that you have never stopped to think about before. Perhaps you realize that it brings you more benefits than you thought, or that you are luckier than you thought.
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