As our society edges towards greater awareness of personal well-being, some of the notions of what you “must do for yourself” start feel more like a chore than a favor. Things like hot yoga, daily affirmations and consuming copious amounts of kale can seem more stressful than stress-relieving.
Despite being inundated with messages about what is and is not right for both our minds and bodies, cutting through the clutter to focus on one task at a time can be helpful. The act of practicing “mindfulness” is a commitment that can be particularly useful to college students. In a place of high stress, doing sometime like taking 10 minutes out of the day to realign yourself can have lasting effects.
Practicing meditation or thinking critically about your perception, rather than the events of the day, can feel strange and be difficult to accomplish. Often, this is because most of us aren’t told how to slow down our minds to be reflexive in our thoughts. Making a small change toward mindfulness in your day can traverse beyond merely feeling relaxed and create a deeper shift in the way we react to the world around us.
Sleep
Struggling with falling asleep or maintaining a deep, restful sleep can make the waking hours feel exhausting. Whether it’s noisy roommates, a recurring to-do list or a spiral of thoughts that somehow ends up in an existential crisis, stress can seep its way into our sleep.
One of the best ways to combat our lackluster sleep patterns is to slow the day down with a guided meditation. Instead of scrolling through Twitter or Instagram into the late hours of the night, try plugging headphones into your phone and download one of the many relaxation/meditation apps that are free in the app store. An app named Calm provides your choice of background noise while a soothing and educated voice guides you through brief meditation. The app assumes a beginner status and addresses many common concerns with ways to improve next session.
Work
Whether it be working in the library or at a desk job, making an attempt to be mindful during your working hours can generate an improvement in productivity. “Being mindful” means being present in the task or thoughts at hand. Instead of trying to accomplish three things during one study session, break each task down into digestible chunks.
If you’re the type of person that likes to write things down, then by all means, write out a to-do list of the tasks you plan to accomplish. Focus on one at a time, rather than alternating between a couple or split-screening your study guide with Netflix. Computer programs like Focus allow you to block tempting websites during your time of productivity. In fact, splitting your time into dissociated chunks can make your work feel more productive and the times when you’re not working feel more enjoyable.
Yourself
Mindfulness of oneself requires acceptance of your feelings. It does not mean suppressing the moments of stress, anxiety or sadness that you experience, but rather recognizing both the positive and negative moments each day. Despite this, mindful people try not to get too wrapped up in the constant pulls of emotions. Find a way to coexist with the events of your life and discover ways to cope with the bigger challenges that manifest.
To learn more about mindfulness in a more hands-on setting, The Crossing (located on University Avenue) holds weekly meditation groups every Tuesday evening.
