While stress has become a part and parcel of life, managing it could be easier when you are more mindful. In a study published in Elsevier, psychology researchers found that people who received MBCT (Mindfulness-based Cognitive therapy) were less likely to react with negative thoughts or unhelpful emotional reactions in times of stress.
Here are mindful habits that can transform your wellness and help you live longer:
1. Meditation
One of the oldest mindfulness practices followed by saints and sages of India is meditation. By focusing attention on your inner world, and disconnecting from the external world for a while, a sense of calm and peace is achieved. In this state fighting anxiety and stress becomes easier, which has a positive effect even on your physical health. People who meditate regularly live a longer life. According to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology journal, meditation has potentially beneficial effects on the plasma telomerase level which is linked to longevity and delaying cellular ageing.
2. Mindful eating
A toxic relationship with food can be detrimental to your health as it can lead to emotional eating, eating to satisfy your taste buds or mindless eating. Building a positive relationship with food means observing whether or not you are hungry, and enjoying every morsel of your food. Mindful eating is all about paying complete attention to your meal and savouring it with every bite. Enjoying the aroma of a freshly prepared meal and relishing it, while understanding body cues on when to stop, is something mindful eaters do. Such kind of eating is associated with good digestion, satiety, weight loss, and relaxation.
3. Flow
Being in a flow can be immensely rewarding and enhance your well-being. Flow happens when you are completely focussed on a task or a chore, lose the sense of self and time, and find activities intrinsically rewarding. In his book Flow, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes “flow as the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” Being in ‘Flow’ can be extremely rewarding and make you a happier and more satisfied person. It can reduce stress, help in emotional regulation and keep you self-motivated.
4. Slow walking
Slow walking is what it sounds like. Walking at a sluggish pace with complete focus on your every step is slow walking. This mindfulness way of walking is becoming popular as it is not only good for your joints, but also helps you connect with your inner world by promoting calmness and connection. While walking, pay attention to how your leg lifts and touches the ground and how your arms move. The practice is said to reduce anxiety and depression, and helps you connect with the present moment.
5. Body scan
Sleeping mindfully is as important as living mindfully, as drifting off to sleep with a tired body but a restless mind will carry forward your daily stress to your sleep too, which means the deep sleep that’s considered restorative may evade you. In body scan meditation, you focus attention on every part of your body, which helps release the hidden stress and allows you to slip into a deeper and more restful sleep. Sleeping well is associated with increased longevity as it can help chronic diseases at bay and boost your overall well-being.
If there is any antidote to stress, it’s mindfulness, as it connects us to the internal as well as external world, and soothes the mind. Stress is one of the major risk factors of most of the chronic diseases today, including heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. Embracing mindfulness can help a person lead a healthier and happier life.
Morning Habits for Longevity and Health
