5 Tips for Being in the Present Moment

Nowadays, we are over stimulated by our surroundings as well as hyper aware of everything around us. Because of this, we have become professional multitaskers, or at-least think we are.

What I’ve noticed is that by trying to do many things at once, plus thinking of the future and remembering the past, we rarely get to enjoy and live in the NOW. The NOW can be pretty amazing.

This is how I've lived most of my life- in the past and future, rarely in the Present. But a few years ago I learned about how liberating and awesome it can be to live and enjoy the NOW  So I started practicing and working hard on changing my mental habits. The following tips are tools that helped me achieve this:

5 Tips to Being in the Present Moment

1. Set boundaries with yourself and stick to them. Choose certain times/activities during the of day in which you’d like to be more present, and setup your environment up in order to succeed. For example, maybe you notice that when you have dinner with friends/family, you zone out and loose track of the conversation because you’re on your phone. The result is that you’re not present and you’re disconnected from those around you. What you could do in this case is decide to turn off your phone, leave it in the other room, or leave it at home if you’re going out. Decide  what your boundary you will set with yourself in different situations and hold yourself accountable to it.

2. Use your 5 Senses: take an inventory of the present moment: 

What do you SEE? Look for colors or objects that may stand out

What do you HEAR? Listen to the tone and pitch of the sounds you hear, how loud are these sounds?

What do you FEEL? Notice textures, are they smooth or rough? Hot or cold?

What do you SMELL? Fresh air? Incense? food? Coffee? Ocean air?

What do you TASTE?

Repeat this exercise at different times during the day in order to help you make a habit of this. Also, it’s pretty cool to realize how much our body and our senses tell us and allow us to sense. Unfortunately our mind is rarely quiet enough for us to enjoy it.

3. Breathe. Take deep breaths and pay attention to your breath. Inhale 3 seconds through your nose and exhale 3 seconds through your mouth. Bring awareness to your breathing. Notice the cold air entering your nasal cavity and the warm air leaving your mouth and touching your lips. Repeat this for about 5-10 breaths at a time. Try to do this thought your day.

4. Check In with your body by doing a Body Scan. Throughout your day, stop and pay attention to what you're physically feeling in your body. Do a scan of your body, starting with your feet and working your way up to your head. For each body part, notice any temperature and texture. For example, when you bring awareness to a particular part of your body, notice if it feels cold or warm, and of the surface it's touching is smooth or rough (if your hands are touching your lap, notice if they are warm or cold and how the texture of the pants you're wearing feels against the skin of your hands). So start by bringing awareness to your feet, notice how they feel. Next, bring awareness your knees, hips, butt, stomach, chest, shoulders, hands, throat, mouth, eyes, forehead and the top of your head. Do this for about 15 seconds at each body part.

5. Practice Practice Practice. Every time you catch yourself drifting off in thought unrelated to the present moment, reel yourself back in and bring your focus back to whatever you’re doing in this moment. Maybe 15 seconds later your mind will wander again, so as soon as you realize it, bring yourself back. Repeat this. Over and over again and I promise you will get better at it. Our brain is a muscle, and like any muscle, it needs to be worked out and strengthened. As you practice this more and more, your mental muscle will become stronger and you will be able to remain present for longer periods time. Don’t stress, as every human, even the Dalai Lama, struggles with this on a daily basis. But you can get better at it. You just need to be aware and practice.

These are some of the many benefits of being in the present moment:

• Connecting to Others
• Clearing your mind
• Reducing stress and anxiety
• Inner peace
• New appreciation for things, places, people
• Less energy wasted
• Getting in-tuned with your body

So try it out and send me an email letting me know how these tips work for you! I hope you can find a little more peace in the hectic days we all have :)

Sincerely,

Meli