Mindfulness: A Guide to Practicing Awareness in Everyday Life

Staying alert and aware of the present moment is one of the most effective ways to stay mindful. Learn how to use mindfulness techniques such as open awareness or “If This, Then That” messages as reminders throughout your day-to-day life.

Mindfulness: A Guide to Practicing Awareness in Everyday Life

Staying alert and aware of the present moment is one of the most effective ways to stay mindful. Our brains are wired to take shortcuts and run on autopilot, which can lead to us relapsing into old behaviors. To combat this, we can practice open awareness, which helps us stay in the present and truly participate in specific moments in life. This can be done by focusing on our breathing, or by doing a series of “If This, Then That” messages to create reminders that are easy to switch to a slow brain.

We can also practice mindfulness in small doses throughout the day, such as taking the first three bites of food mindfully and experiencing the flavor, flavors, textures, and pleasure. Cara's experience includes science-backed tools to improve coherence and awareness through mental training and the preparation of the nervous system and the connection between the intestine and the brain. Practicing mindfulness as part of your daily life can have benefits for both your mind and body. You may find that even one-minute mindfulness exercises can make a difference in your mind and mood throughout the day.

If you have to stand in line somewhere, put yourself in a state of mindfulness with a message, such as imagining an object you've meditated on. When you're aware, you're paying attention to what's happening, both inside and outside of you, in the present moment. Mindfulness can be used as a tool in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), meditation, and stress-reduction exercises. If you have drug or alcohol cravings after addiction treatment, you can use mindfulness techniques to cope with it.

For example, you might think, “If it's the door to the office, take a deep breath” as a way to switch to mindfulness when you're about to start your workday. Mindfulness can also be sensory, such as noticing every sound, taste, smell and tactile sensation in your environment and then leaving these impressions. When you begin to practice mindfulness, you may notice that every moment provides an opportunity for a conscious presence. Another great way to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life is to focus on sensations. Mindfulness is an incredibly powerful tool that can help us stay alert and aware of our surroundings.

By practicing open awareness or using “If This, Then That” messages as reminders, we can stay mindful throughout our day-to-day lives. We can also practice mindfulness in small doses throughout the day by focusing on our breathing or taking the first three bites of food mindfully. Mindfulness can be used as a tool in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), meditation, and stress-reduction exercises, as well as for coping with drug or alcohol cravings after addiction treatment.