Being mindful has a myriad of benefits for you. Mindfulness is a simple way of living and yet, a thing that can drastically improve the quality of your life. As an essay writer, I often tell people that this is the actual way to live. Exercise and healthy nutrition are a way to keep your body healthy and your brain focused. Mindfulness is your way of getting inner peace and killing off the stress. The combination of the two is simply – life-altering.
What Is Mindfulness?
What is mindfulness, really? Mindfulness is all about paying attention to the moments we live in, without any judgment or interpretation. This practice was first invented in Buddhism and has been practiced as such for a really long time. Unlike the more traditional, active psychotherapy approaches like behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and humanism; mindfulness is much simpler way to deal with symptoms like stress and anxiety.
Ways to Use Mindfulness for Better Studying
Being a student comes with many stressful days. You feel stressed over everything – upcoming exams, homework, varied assignments, class attendance, deadlines, etc. Students have to think about everything from how to organize their study schedule before exams to where to find an essay writing service to get assignment assistance that’s due tomorrow. Moreover, every time they have to submit an assignment or homework, they have to do a plagiarism check and make their essays free from plagiarism in addition to meeting the deadline.
With all this in mind, it is even more important for a student to take a mindful approach toward learning. Here are the best practices to help you do this:
1. Mindful breathing
Breathing is the core of mindfulness. We do it automatically, but what if we are more aware about it? If you, for a moment, turn your attention to breathing and feel your chest and lungs expand on inhale, you’ll get a sense of calmness and mindfulness. Then, when you exhale, you’ll feel a sense of relaxation in your entire body.
Think about it when you stop to take a breath. Where do you feel most relaxed? If you do this, you’ll notice that your body has its own ways of beating stress. All you have to do is stop and focus on your breathing.
Breathing is a great factor into your productivity in learning, too. When you’re anxious or stressed, you’ll notice that it’s shallower or faster. This will make you lose focus and spend more time on learning. But, when you’re focused on the studies, it will be slow and firm. The more you ‘practice’ your breathing, the more you can control the breathing patterns and with it, the effectiveness of your learning.
2. Meditation for Mindfulness
Meditating is a really popular way of practicing mindfulness. Take a deep breath and check with the physical senses. What do you feel? Do you feel the pressure of the object you are sitting or lying on? Turn your attention to this. Count your breaths to keep yourself focused. If you do, your mind will drift down to a line of thoughts and wander somewhere else. The point of this exercise is to get your attention on your breathing for as long as you can.
3. Body Scan
When our body is aching and we are feeling pain, we lose our focus. The slightest pain can make it hard for you to focus on your studies. But, while you will definitely not be able to avoid the uncomfortable things, you hardly ever stop to think about the things that make you comfortable, do you?
If you want to truly practice mindfulness, you need to become more aware of the body. This can be achieved through the so-called body scan.
To do this, take a pause from studying and take a couple of breaths. Then, start scanning the feelings in your body. Which parts feel most relaxed? Which parts feel uncomfortable or tense? Start with the top of your body, the head, and go down to the feet. Include every component of your body. Don’t dwell of anything, not even the things that cause you discomfort. The exercise isn’t intended to focus on the parts that don’t feel comfortable. The idea is – when you scan your body and then return to look at it as a whole, you’ll get a wider and better perspective of the whole experience.
4. Walking Meditation
Walking meditation is a more active technique than traditional meditation. In this exercise, you move your body in a meditative state and are aware of its movements. Take a short walk of around 15 minutes and pay attention only to your breath and the body. Your walking shouldn’t have any other purpose, not even going to the store or walking your dog.
While you walk, feel the posture. Breathe in and out and deeply. Feel your body from the bottom to the top. Start with the feet and move up to your head. Find a spot to look at while you’re feeling your body. When you feel the body, make your step and look how it moves.
Cultivating a more mindful approach to your life will reduce the tension, stress, and kill off negative things like insomnia. It can also positively affect everything from your studies to your personal life and relationships. So, give it a try – see how it works for you.
Author’s Bio:
Rey Campbell is a meditation trainer and a popular nutritionist. His main focus is on healthy living and as such, he prepares plans for people who want to live a healthier lifestyle. If you want to learn about healthy living and mindfulness, this is the person to go to.
Story submitted by Rey Campbell.
