Why You Should Practice Mindfullness

Written by Prakrati Kadekar

Edited by Kaylee Kim and Krithika Rajesh

You come home from a long tiring day and look at your planner. You realize you have four exams this week and lots of homework due tomorrow. On top of that, you have to attend piano class tonight, and your mother is bugging you to help her in the kitchen.

All this stresses you out and you end up exploding at your mom and slamming the door to your room.

This is, unfortunately, a scenario many high schoolers face in their academic career and it is both physically and mentally taxing.

How do you combat stress and calm yourself down?

The answer is mindfulness.

Mindfulness is focusing on the present and only the present—you are aware of your thoughts, feelings, sensations and environment. As a result, many people find themselves happier and calmer than before.

So how do you implement mindfulness? There are several ways to implement this in your daily life and make yourself stress-free:

• Take a mindful shower - Pay attention to the water temperature and sensation of the droplets falling on your skin.

• Breathe - A simple deep breath can lower your heart rate and reduce your stress.

• Go for a walk - Notice the colors and sounds of your environment.

• Listen to music - Think about how the song makes you feel and try to pick out the instruments and the rise and fall of the singer’s voice.

• Practice gratitude - Take a few minutes each day to think about a few things you are grateful for in your life. Bonus: dedicate a notebook to writing for them down.

• Cloud watch - Staring at the sky can be a way to calm your mind and think in the present.

• Smile - Focus on how that feels.

• Use an app - Download apps like Calm, Headspace, and Aura for daily reminders and motivation

These are just some examples that could help you stay calm without anxiety and stress.

More important than mindfulness is how to utilize it. Implementing it the right way, especially the first time, will encourage you to do it more often. Here are some suggestions and tips to consider.

1. Practice mindfulness in your everyday routines - Bring awareness to activities that you usually do in autopilot, such as eating, washing the dishes, or even brushing your teeth. Examine your sensations, and you might find a particular activity more interesting than you thought.

2. Practice once you wake up - Doing this in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. By setting a time aside, you increase the likelihood of completing the task.

3. It’s okay for your mind to wander - According to studies in the neuroscience field, your brain changes when you accept that your mind has wandered and then brings it back.

4. Keep it short - It’s better for you to experience bursts of mindfulness rather than a long period of it. When you start, you are most likely not going to reach 20 minutes. Just a few to start off is great.

5. Journal - Choose a prompt that makes you mindful. Sometimes it feels good to write down what is going on in your head and heart. It is meditative writing. (There are several types of journals for gratitude, art food, travel, dreams, and more.)

6. Meditate - This is the language of mindfulness. You can’t be fluent in French unless you actually learn it. The same applies here.

If you want some prompts to journal in, I have a list for you right here:

• Write a few inspirational quotes

• What are you grateful for?

• What are my goals?

• What does a perfect day look like for me?

• What are my most important values?

• How do I feel right now?

• What do I want to learn outside of school?

• Sit quietly for 5 minutes. What thoughts went through your head?

• What makes you feel proud?

• What makes you feel afraid?

• Who do you admire the most?

• Travel bucket list

• Lyrics of your favorite song

• Describe yourself in a few words

• What inspires you?

• List your best qualities

• What is one quality you want to improve on?

Prompts like these can stimulate mindfulness, because it allows you to be conscious about your feelings. It focuses your energy on positivity and happiness, and if, for whatever reason, you have negative thoughts in your head, these writing sessions can help you redirect them.

Whether you write every day or just simply stare outside the window for a few minutes in the morning, this habit can instantly calm your mind, reduce your anxiety and make you feel much happier and healthier. I hope you find yourself inspired to pick up mindfulness today and continue the practice for the rest of your life.

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Prakrati Kadekar is a high school junior from New Jersey. She loves sports, especially tennis and taekwondo. She also loves chess and graphic design. She wants to have a career in the psychology or neurology field.