Mindfulness and meditation can seem quite daunting to the beginner. I’ve been practicing both for over ten years now and I still sometimes struggle with it. One of the main things that helped me with my practice was discovering that mindfulness and meditation are not one and the same—I learned that there are many mindfulness practices other than meditation.
mindfulness vs. meditation
If we were to take a look at the official definitions in the Oxford dictionary, mindfulness is the quality or state of being conscious of something, while meditation is to think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time, usually in silence.
To simplify, mindfulness is more about being conscious and aware as you do things, any mundane or exciting tasks in your daily life. Meditation is about sitting or lying down in silence and focusing your mind on one thing, usually on your breath. Therefore, you can practice mindfulness without meditating.
A huge inspiration for this post was a book I just finished called “The Miracle of Mindfulness” by Thich Nhat Hanh where he shares numerous ways to practice mindfulness without meditating. This book inspired me to share some of his ways as well as some ways that I enjoy practicing mindfulness.
Let’s get into it—here are my favorite easy mindfulness practices.
SELF-CARE | mindfulness practices
We’ll start with self-care first. These are mindfulness practices that can be incorporated into your current daily self-care practices.
skincare routine
I love practicing mindfulness during my skincare routine. I take this time to be incredibly kind and nurturing no matter what kind of day I’ve had.
Give yourself compliments and repeat your affirmations. It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe them right now. Your inner reality is always reflected outward. Continue to speak kindly to yourself, nurture yourself, and your beauty will naturally shine.
bathing
Any form of bathing is a great time to practice mindfulness. This can be while taking a bath or a shower.
At least once a week bathe with intention. Do not rush, in fact, Hanh suggests moving in slow motion. Treat this time as sacred. Nothing else is more important than bathing.
Practice gratitude while you’re in the bath or shower. Gratitude for the warm water, the lovely scent of your soap. Feel the water wash away all your worries.
cooking and eating
Cooking and eating can be a lovely time to practice mindfulness. In fact, practicing mindful eating is what helped me to heal my dysfunctional relationship with food.
This practice can start with the preparation of your food. Be present while you are chopping your vegetables and boiling water. Do not wish to be somewhere else. Be here now.
Plate your food in an aesthetically pleasing way. I love to do this. Make it look nice for yourself—almost as though you’re at a restaurant. You deserve this type of treatment, why not give it to yourself?
Then when you are eating, continue to be present. Truly taste the food, do you like it? Would you make it again? How does it feel in your body afterward? Over time this mindfulness can help you find the foods that you truly enjoy eating and that make you feel your best.
GRATITUDE | mindfulness practices
Next up are mindfulness practices centered around gratitude. Practicing gratitude can be such a nice way to practice mindfulness. It brings you back to the present moment and reminds you of all the incredible things you already have in your life.
washing the dishes
Washing the dishes can actually be so nice. The water is warm, the soap smells good, and you’re doing something to take care of yourself.
Hanh really emphasizes the importance of being present while washing the dishes—or even more so, the importance of enjoying washing the dishes.
It’s something we do every day, even if we have a dishwasher because we all know our dishwashers can’t handle the slightest amount of food and need everything to be heavily rinsed first. So, we might as well enjoy it.
Don’t rush to get it done. Set the temperature just right so that it’s warm and comfortable. Pick out soap you’ll enjoy the scent of. Only allow yourself to think pleasant thoughts—refrain from thoughts such as “I’d rather be doing xyz”, you’re only making the necessary process more unpleasant for yourself.
putting away laundry
These days most of us no longer wash our clothes by hand, thanks to washing machines and dryers. However, we have yet to have robots to put away our laundry for us. And honestly, I’m glad, I quite like putting away my laundry.
Especially when the clothes are still warm straight out of the dryer, I love taking the time to be with each item of clothing as I fold and put it away. I use it as a gratitude practice in a way. Grateful for everything I own, everything that allows me to express myself the way I want to.
When I was traveling around Europe, without easy access to a washer and dryer, I chose to hand wash and hang my clothes. I found it a great time to practice mindfulness—to move slowly and be present. To use my hands for something useful was so calming and healing.
cleaning and doing chores
Cleaning is another one of those things that can be so pleasant with the right mindset. First off, what a privilege to have a space to clean! To have a bed to make, a carpet to vacuum, and a shower to wipe down.
Completing chores such as these is one of the purest forms of self-care. It immediately translates to the body and mind as, “oh, I’m being taken care of, this is nice”. I always feel so much better after doing these little tasks to make my space liveable and enjoyable for myself.
PRESENCE | mindfulness practices
These next few mindfulness practices are focused on presence. They’re practices to help bring yourself back to the present moment, in the here and now.
making tea
One of my favorite practices is making tea. I love to make a whole ritual out of it. Before I started traveling, I had the cutest tea kettle my mom thrifted and painted for me (pictured above). Using dishware such as this or cute mugs makes the whole routine so pleasant.
Take your time while making your tea, don’t rush. Treat it as if this is the most important thing you need to be doing right now.
Take in the aroma, watch as the water changes color from the tea leaves. It’s such a magical process—be conscious enough to be a part of it.
the half-smile
My absolute favorite mindfulness practice from Hanh’s book was the half-smile. It’s such an easy and wholesome way to practice gratitude and presence.
Essentially what you do is take a moment at certain points throughout your day to stop what you’re doing, smile a little to yourself, and take a few intentional breaths.
The first time Hanh suggests doing this is when you first wake up in the morning. You could even place a reminder for yourself somewhere on your nightstand or wall to remember to smile first thing.
One thing I like to do is set specific names (with lots of happy emojis) on my phone alarm to set the tone for the day. Some examples are “RISE AND SHINE 🌞”, “GOOD MORNING 🦋🌻🍀”, and “THIS IS IT. THIS IS LIFE”. The last was a quote from a movie I saw—a little existential reminder that this is it, we only live once, and we’ve got to make the most of it.
Some other moments Hanh suggests doing this little half-smile is during your free moments. This can be at any random point in the day. One lovely moment could be while listening to music. Intentionally listen, paying deep attention to the words, instruments, and rhythm. Be grateful for those who created the music and that you are able to listen to it. Notice how the music makes you feel in your heart, your mind, and your body.
One especially critical moment to practice this is when you find you’re irritated. Hanh says that when you notice you’re in this tense emotional state “half-smile at once”. I love the idea of using this practice to put you in a calmer, happier state.
ceiling time
Not too different from floor time, I like to practice ceiling time. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, I’ll stop everything I’m doing and take a moment to have ceiling time. I’ll lay down on a flat surface, it could be the floor, a couch, the kitchen counter, my bed—anywhere goes—and I’ll stare at the ceiling.
I don’t put any pressure on myself to do anything during this time. Sometimes I’ll focus on my breath, sometimes not. The only thing I make myself do is stare at the ceiling and allow myself to rest. It can be especially nice to stare at a ceiling with a fan—I find it so relaxing to watch it as it spins.
I usually find myself needing ceiling time when I’ve been scrolling on social media too long, am feeling overwhelmed with work, or feel overcome by my emotions. This practice helps me to quickly calm and ground myself, especially since laying flat is so comforting.
journaling
Journalling can be a really easy and simple way to practice mindfulness. Grab a pen and pencil or your digital notes and sit in a comfy spot.
Write about the current moment, not anything else. Write what you’re currently feeling—in your mind and body. Do you feel light or heavy? Do you feel at peace or overwhelmed? In this exact moment, here and now, how are you feeling?
BODY | mindfulness practices
Here are some of my favorite ways to practice mindfulness through presence in the body. The body can be a great tool for the mind to be more intentional and present throughout your day.
stretching
I love stretching. It’s so relaxing and immediately releases tension in the body. Stretching, or even a light form of yoga, can be an amazing way to practice mindfulness.
All you have to do is focus on moving your body in whatever way feels good in the moment. Stretch anything that feels tight or tense. Do not force anything, go with the flow. Be present in your body and listen to its feedback.
walking
One of the easiest ways to practice mindfulness is by taking a walk! Take this time to be really mindful and present with each of your main five senses.
Notice the sights around you. Are there trees? What color is the sky? Notice the smells and sounds around you. Does it smell earthy, like dirt? Do you hear any birds? Take a moment to notice what you feel. Is the air warm or cold on your skin? What do your feet feel like in your shoes or if you’re walking barefoot, how do they feel bare on the ground?
Feel gratitude for being outside and being able to move. Gratitude for your legs, your feet, and your mind, as you walk. It’s easy to forget, but as simple as a walk may seem, not everyone is able enough to take one.
You also could take it a little farther and practice it the way Hanh suggests which is to measure your breath by your footsteps. This basically means you would measure the length of your inhale and exhale by the number of steps you take for each. So you’d notice something like, “oh, I was able to take three steps during that inhale and four steps during my exhale”.
a day of mindfulness
This is a bit more of an advanced practice, but Hanh recommends dedicating an entire day once a week to mindfulness.
He suggests taking a day to completely forget about your occupation and to-do lists. Don’t organize any meetings have friends over.
Spend the day only doing simple work such as cleaning, cooking, and washing clothes. Maybe take a slow bath or prepare some tea, take a walk.
With every task, and in every moment know what you are doing. Be fully aware and conscious of everything that you do. This looks like having thoughts such as “right now I am washing the dishes” or “oh, the water is so nice and warm”. It’s about truly being in the present physically—not allowing yourself to be whisked away by the mind.
That being said, this is the end of this post. I truly hope you enjoy these easy ways to practice mindfulness that aren’t meditation, and I hope you’ll share in the comments your favorites! Wishing you a lovely rest of your day <3
For some other ways to practice mindfulness, check out my post on finding inner peace in a chaotic world or how to regulate your nervous system.
And if you do happen to want to try meditating, check out my blog post on my favorite self-care and wellness apps—there are some great apps for those just starting out with meditation and breathwork.
