Mindfulness exercises
We have researched and here you will find different approaches that give you guidance on mindfulness training in your language.
Pause button
If you need a break because there is way too much going on at once right now and you don't know what to react to, this mindfulness exercise can help you:
Preparation:
You can set a timer for, say, two minutes, or use the time while the computer is booting up, for example.
For media, the sign for the pause function is this:
For this exercise, you can perform the sign with your index and middle finger.
Press the pause button...
Now you have a break, you don't have to react to anything, you don't have to think about anything. Everything that happens in and around you is allowed to happen. You don't have to do anything.
If you happen to notice that you are doing something (thinking, planning, writing a list...) then just stop it.
You have a short break now.
Press the (imaginary) button and everything continues. Now you can react to whatever you want.
Mindfulness "turbo exercise"
Breathe in and out deeply. Pause for a moment, consciously step out of ruminations and thought loops by saying "stop" to yourself. Then look around and ask yourself the question: "What is still there now?"
- Inwardly choose 5 things that you see. Start looking at one "target object“. Look at it carefully, the colours, shape, texture. Don't think about what it looks like, but perceive it as accurately as possible. Then look for the next "target object".
- Then choose 3 things one after the other that you hear. Focus your attention on individual sounds in your surroundings. Again, try not to think about them, but to stay with your perception.
- Now choose 3 things that you perceive in your body, one after the other, without evaluating the perception.
If you wish, you can start again from the beginning until you realise that you have arrived more in the current moment.