How To Practice Mindfulness In One Minute or Less + FREE Printable
Imagine being able to press reset on your brain during a hectic day and experience calm and peace whenever you wanted to.
Sound too good to be true? That’s what I thought. But I’m learning to be more open and less judgmental to new ideas, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and put it to the test.
I don’t have to tell you about how stressful life can be. Is it me or does life seem to be getting more and more stressful by the day? It’s crazy out there! Yet, that doesn’t mean we need to succumb to the stress and overwhelm that life can throw our way.
I’d like to share with you a quick, one minute exercise you can do anywhere that can help you tap into the incredible benefits of mindfulness. It’s a short exercise that you can immediately start using whenever you find yourself becoming stressed, anxious or when you want to break free from the loop of negative thinking and shift into a more neutral mindset.
It’s called the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique.
It’s really easy, I promise.
This activity is a great way to bring yourself back to the present moment, especially when you are feeling especially stressed, anxious or caught up in your thinking.
How To Do The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
Start with identifying 5 things you can see within your immediate location. For example, I’m sitting in my lounge room right now typing this blog post and I can see; a TV, a guitar, a crocodile sculpture, a rug and a 10kg dumbbell.
Next, identify 4 things you can hear. Where I am I can hear the television, the clock ticking, the fridge humming and cars driving past on the highway.
3 things you can touch- I can touch my laptop, the ring on my finger and the footrest.
2 things you can smell - the pizza I cooked earlier for dinner and a Kakadu plum candle.
1 thing you can taste - I can taste the pizza I ate earlier.
See? That wasn’t so hard, was it? Well, actually I did have to stop and think a bit there, especially for the smell one. And that’s exactly what this technique is designed to do!! To take your mind off what is worrying or stressing you, and bring you back to the present moment.
The great thing about doing this technique is that it doesn’t cost anything, you don’t need any special equipment and you can do it literally ANYWHERE! Yes, anywhere.
And as a fun reminder, I’ve made a FREE PDF Printable for you to download, print out (maybe even laminate) and post it somewhere you will see it often to remind you to do the quick 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique and bring yourself instantly back into the present moment.