Mindfulness exercises: do you know any fun, creative ones? With mindfulness all the rage and New Year resolutions making their annual appearance, why not find out how to use mindfulness to relax and re-energise in the next 5 minutes?
Mindfulness exercises can help you relax and re-energise strategically throughout the day
I know, not everyone believes in making New Year resolutions
If you’re a resolution-sceptic (as I was — you’re in good company), don’t stop reading! Scientists have proved that people who make New Year’s resolutions do in fact improve their lives as a result. As do many of those who embrace mindfulness as a practice.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is simply focusing on the present moment. Disregarding the past and the future and simply savouring the now. It sounds simple enough… until you try it.
As soon as you sit down determined to focus on the now, a hundred random thoughts seem to rush in! The call you forgot to make, the groceries you need to focus, the new role you’d love to take at work.
And that’s where mindfulness exercises come in.
Mindfulness exercises help you concentrate on what’s happening right now, in the moment
In our Da Vinci cartooning course which starts each August, we’ve stumbled upon our own form mindfulness with a twist: a fun, random exercise with pencil & paper which is extraordinarily relaxing and meditative — because it holds your attention in the present.
The video below is a brief introduction to the process. All you need is a pencil and scrap paper.