Mindful Mix
It can be easy to get lost in the turbulence of everyday life without stopping to notice much, especially if you find yourself in a busy hospital. Paying more attention to the present moment, your thoughts, feelings, and the environment around you, can be a really helpful way of improving your mental wellbeing.
What is Mindfulness?
Professor Mark Williams, former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says that mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. Being aware of the stream of thoughts and feelings inside all of us can help us notice signs of anxiety and stress earlier, helping us to deal with them.
Meditation Apps
Meditation apps have become one of the easiest and most accessible ways to start and maintain a mindfulness practice. Whether you prefer guided visualisation, deep breathing exercises or calming sleep stories, mindfulness meditation can be a huge added benefit to your daily wellness routine.
Click the link below to see the NHS recommended apps:
Click the link below to try a quick mindful breathing exercise
How to be more mindful:
Here is a quick list of bullet point ideas to consider when thinking about how to be more mindful:
-
Notice the everyday
-
Keep it regular
-
Try something new
-
Watch your thoughts
-
Name thoughts and feelings
-
Free yourself from past and future
Music and Mindfulness
For many people, it can feel difficult to find the time or energy to commit to a regular practice, so for now why not simply close your eyes and listen to one of the BBC Mindful Mix tracks.
BBC sounds have curated a wonderful collection of tracks to capture a moment to yourself with stress-busting classical music.
These can be broken down into mindful soundscapes, mindful yoga, mindful sleeping, and mindful music to get you through the day.
You can access them here:
If you’d like to read more on mindfulness, you can do so here on the NHS website: