Mindfulness and the 5 Senses

Mindfulness, our ability to pay attention to the present moment, with curiosity and without judgment,

There are various ways to practice mindfulness, one example of a mindfulness practice is called the Five Senses Practice, the aim is to focus on the environment that you are in, using your five senses, it's simple and easy to do and it can be as long or short as you wish the practice to be.

Start the practice as you normally would, being in a comfortable position, maybe even walking, bringing your focus to your breath, the phyisical sensations of the breath as you inhale and exhale, the eyes softly closed if your not walking.

Seeing - Open your eyes and look around you, observe what you can see, the colours, shapes and textures, really look at all the variations, shades of colour,  bright or muted, angles and curves, rugged or smooth surfaces, maybe noticing something you've never seen before, take your time.

Hearing - Start by listening to the sounds close to you, try not to label the sounds as pleasant or unpleasant just notice, allow your attenion to drift outwards to hearing the softer more subtle sounds that are in the distance, sounds that may have previously gone unnoticed.

Smell - Now bring your concentration to what you can smell, if your outside what do you notice about the air in nature, maybe if your indoors, the smell of cooking or beverages, if you are close to other peolple, their perfume or aftershave, try closing your eyes for a moment so that you can focus just on the smells without the visual connection of what you are also seeing.

Taste - Start by noticing the current taste in your mouth, run your tongue over your teeth and the inside of your cheeks, what do you notice here? If you have a snack or a drink close by, take a small bite or a small sip, take your time notice all the different flavours and textures that your tongue can detect.

Touch - Bring your attenion to the things that you are currently feeling, your clothing, the surfaces that you are in contact with, the pressure whether its light or heavy, the temperature of the air on the bare parts of your skin, just noticing all the sensations you can feel.

As always when you find yourself wandering, being distracted, focus once again on your breath and then gently back into using your senses, when you feel its time to finish your practice, spend a moment noticing how you feel at the end compared with how you felt at the start of your 5 senses mindful practice.

Enjoy........