Mindfulness

The way you approach your thoughts affects your happiness and mental resilience. Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of what’s going on inside and around you without judgmental thoughts. It is about focusing your full attention on the present moment.

Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis brings many benefits backed by research. The main benefit is that it helps you better manage stress and your own emotions. Other benefits include better quality sleep, better management of anxiety, depression, pain and improved concentration.

There are many ways to practice mindfulness. If you’re new to mindfulness, it may be helpful to be guided through the practice either by a mindfulness coach or through a recording on a mobile app. Observing your own breathing can be a good place to start.

Breathing exercise

1. Sit with your back straight and breathe through your nose into your abdomen. 

2. Inhale for 4 periods and exhale for 6 periods.

3. Put your hand on your stomach to feel its breathing movements.

3. Count the periods in your mind. This will help you keep your attention. 

4. When a thought arises, try not to develop it any further and bring your attention back to your breath. 

5. Breathe like this for 3-5 minutes or until you feel calm. 

It’s common for thoughts to drift. There is no need to criticize yourself for that. The goal is to notice it and keep coming back to your mindful breathing. 

The exercise may seem trivial, but it’s not that easy at all!

Tips

  • Mindfulness should be practiced regularly, even 5 minutes a day is enough.
  • Take advantage of many free apps with recordings of exercises in Czech or English – Headspace, Calm, Simple Habit and more.

Do you want to know more?

  • Watch a short animated series on Netflix Guide To Meditation to learn more about mindfulness and try it out yourself.
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