It’s frequently hard to be as focused as we’d like to be. Many things in our frenzied lives cut short our concentration and erode focus. Think: cell phones, instant messaging, email, and co-workers vying for our time and energy. Providentially, there are ways to counteract these forces and bring better, more relaxed center to our activities. One way is to use “mini-meditations.”
Mini-meditations add to focus and calm your mind all through the day. They require no fancy training or techniques, and you can do them anywhere in less than a minute — so they’re ideal mindfulness exercises whether you’re at home in a tranquil room or in the middle of a full of activity day at work.
Process:
(1). Stop what you’re doing. Grab a minute for yourself, and mentally set aside what you’re doing. Remember: the whole exercise takes less than a minute, so you needn’t make a big deal about verdict the ideal stopping point. It’s really more a pause than a stop, and you’ll be refreshed and able to start what you’re doing again in just a little bit.
(2). Close your eyes. Let your eyelids close and unwind.
(3). Pay attention to your breath. The core of this work out is awareness of your breath. You needn’t do anything special with it — just breathe normally, but do pay attention to the sensation of your breath entering and leaving your body. If you’d like, you may breathe a bit slower and more deeply than you ordinarily do.
(4). Count three full inhale-exhale cycles. Inhale and exhale. As you exhale, think to yourself: one. Inhale and exhale again, and think: two. to conclude, inhale and exhale, and think: three.
(5). slowly open your eyes and resume what you were doing.
Try mini-meditations every so often throughout your day, and see for yourself if it’s obliging to you.