What is mindfulness? Put simply, it’s being aware of yourself and your surroundings in the present moment. Simple but not always easy. There are many distractions that can take us away from mindful awareness – an endless to-do list and the feeling of pressure to rush from one task to the next, scrolling on social media without noticing how much time is passing, ruminations about the past and worries about the future.
But if we spend most or all of our time in these distracted states, we can end up stressed, anxious, overtired and out of touch with ourselves and our needs. Cultivating mindful awareness can help improve wellbeing, reduce anxiety, help manage feelings of overwhelm and improve sleep. There’s a lot of information out there about mindfulness, and a wide range of resources. So where’s the best place to start?
These are some resources that I have found helpful.
HEADSPACE
Headspace is one of three apps I have tried for mindfulness and meditation. It is quite expensive but you can start with a free trial. That should give you time to test it out and discover if it feels like value for money for you, but remember to make a note to cancel your subscription if not. I find the app easy to navigate and there is a wide range of audio meditations as well as a selection of videos. One of my favourite things is a small set of videos called “Nature breaks”. They are beautiful, calming video clips of a range of natural environments such as “Serene Ocean”, “Sleepy Forest”, and “Playful Savanna.”
CALM
Another app I find useful is Calm. This is also a fairly expensive subscription, but again has a free trial. I didn’t find this one quite so easy to navigate to start with, although now I’m used to it I like it. I really love the design and colour scheme of the app – it’s very calming, as the name suggests! It’s also particularly good for sleep, with lots of sleep stories, meditations and music, and it has some lovely resources for children.
INSIGHT TIMER
I have recently started using Insight Timer. This is a great one to try if you are on a limited budget as there are a lot of free meditations. To access the full library, there is a subscription, but there is plenty there for free if you don’t want to pay for it. As a new user, I’m finding it easy to find my way around and I’ve enjoyed the meditations I have tried so far.
OTHER RESOURCES
I have recently discovered two mindfulness and meditation practitioners on Linked In. Both have useful information and resources on their websites as well as sharing inspiration in their social media posts.
Alison Bale is a mediation and mindfulness teacher who specialises in mindfulness for pain relief. There are some lovely mindfulness practice gifts on her website and she also runs a monthly half hour group mindfulness practice online which is a wonderful, welcoming space.
Ann Parkinson is a specialist physiotherapist and integrative somatic practitioner. She works with people with persistent pain as well as anyone who wants to improve their wellbeing including those with chronic stress, anxiety and trauma. The meditation page on her website includes a beautiful selection of calming and nurturing meditations.
Another place I sometimes go for mindfulness resources is You Tube. There are so many on there, and I’m not going to recommend particular ones because I tend to dip in and out, but it’s a useful place to look. You can search for meditations and mindfulness practices for particular situations such as anxiety, stress or sleep. If you are a parent you can look up meditations for kids – and if you just want to nurture your inner child, you can use some of those for yourself too as they can often be simple and accessible ways into mindfulness. If you’re short of time, or just not ready for a longer practice but want to dip your toe in the water, you can search for 5-minute mindfulness practices too.
I hope you find some of these resources helpful to grow your mindfulness practice. Which ones work best for you?
If you would like a confidential space to talk about that is troubling you, and to cultivate mindful awareness of yourself and your needs, contact me on hannahflowerscounselling@gmail.com or fill in the contact form.
