Natural Living

9 Mindful Exercises To Boost Your Mood

Try one of these quick mindful exercises and recharge your wellbeing

Ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of healthy lifestyle advice you read and the different habits you need to incorporate into your life in order to be the happiest version of yourself? We do, too. So, this issue we’ve asked the experts what one thing they’d suggest doing for better wellbeing. Here’s what they said…

Say a mantra everyday, and feel the words

Patrick Zeigler, energy healing teacher (all-love.com), says:

“Most mantra meditations deal with sound and involve repeating the same words over and over again. By doing this every day you can help calm a busy or anxious mind. However, the most effective way to practise mantra meditations is not only to say the words, but also feel the words. A good example is the mantra ‘all love’. Each time you say it, really feel the power of its meaning. This way the mantra will open your heart and calm your mind.”

Schedule some unplanned time

Sheila Chandra, author of Organizing for Creative People (sheilachandrabooks.com), says:

“Our busy lives can make us lose touch with our inner impetus. But performers, especially those who improvise in comedy, know that working simply, moment by moment, from your inner wisdom, is truly joyful and emotionally refreshing. Clear an hour of your diary and put away your smartphone or any other form of ‘entertainment’. Plan nothing. Tune in to what your body and inclination prompt you to do. It could be to stretch, make a cup of tea, or do a job that isn’t that important, but suddenly feels immensely satisfying. Honouring your true inclination to work or self-care is empowering!”

Clear your energy field with kenyoku-ho

Reiki teacher Torsten Lange (reikiacademylondon.com) says:

“The original Japanese teachings of reiki use a very simple technique to clear our energy field called kenyoku-ho. It helps to rid us of stress, imbalances and disharmony. Even when I miss a bus, this is my first reaction to let go of the upset! Simply bring your right hand to the left shoulder, then brush diagonally along the body to your right hip. Do this on the other side, then on the first again. Now stretch out your left arm, and brush along the inside from your shoulder to hand with your right hand. Repeat on the right, then left again. So simple and so powerful!”

Engineer moments of wonder

Tiu de Haan, ritual designer and creative facilitator (tiudehaan.com), says:

“Engineering serendipity is about creating the optimum conditions for it to arise – and then relinquishing our urge to control the outcome. We can’t order up magical moments at will, but we can cultivate our appreciation of synchronicity and then let go of expecting it to appear. We can’t force wonder – but we can welcome its arrival. One trick is to shift your perspective to see the serendipity already happening. Have you experienced any coincidences recently? Stumbled upon inspiration? Run into a friend unexpectedly? Simply logging the synchronicities can attune you to their existence – and then you might find they’re everywhere.”

Recognise your social media ego

Kate Brockhurst, social media coach and author of Social Media for A New Age (katiebrockhurst.com), says:

“To enhance your wellbeing around your online presence this month, start to recognise when your social media ego is in control and learn how to connect with your social media soul instead. Your social media ego wants to look popular and successful, and compares itself to others a lot. Your social media soul, on the other hand, wants community, connection with like-minded people and to be able to support others through the magic of the internet. Take a moment to acknowledge and say hello to both your social media ego and your social media soul. When we bear witness to both sides, it makes it easier to get back into balance.”

Draw in cosmic energy

Elizabeth Puru, cosmic guide and spiritual teacher (elizabethperu.com), says:

“One of the most natural and easiest ways to accelerate your life purpose and fill up with healing light is to draw in cosmic energy. Simply close your eyes and focus on the top of your head. Imagine that you can breathe in through your crown and that it’s opening up ready to receive cosmic light. Breathe in through your nose and draw in a deep breath from your crown. Imagine that the energy of the planets and the stars is filtering though you. Take the breath down your body and out through your feet. Repeat three times, as you feel cosmically connected, tingling and alive.”

Enjoy all of your good feelings

Lidija Markovic, life coach and author of Gaining While Losing – The Gentle Art of Transformation (lidijamrosati.com), says:

“If you want to have more good feelings and flow in your life, spend five minutes every day doing this exercise.

1) Simply think about one of the best feelings you have felt in your life.

2) As you think about it, notice where in your body you feel it, and in which direction that feeling is moving.

3) Have it flow back into itself, so that it flows in a circle.

4) Gradually increase the speed with which the feeling flows, and let it be comfortable.

5) Notice if the feeling has any colour or sound attached to it, and if they change as you increase the speed of the spinning.

6) Enjoy the good feeling and spin it every time you need to feel good.”

Leave your mobile phone alone

Bettina Campolucci-Bordi, nutritionist and founder of Detox Retreats (bettinaskitchen.com), says:

“Have tech-free moments when you’re bored. This might sound easy but for a lot of people picking up their phone at every spare minute is a habit. Try not to reach for a gadget when you’re on the tube, in a queue, or during any moment of deliberate boredom. Likewise, don’t have the television on just for the sake of background noise. Solve, ponder and endure the company of yourself. Take time out from the buzz of the world, from traffic, from your to-do list, from media, from your phone and from family members that stress you out. Whether you call it meditation, a holiday or alone time, just make sure that you have a time out every now and again.”

Energise your body with sexual energy

Intuitive healer Vanya Silverten (vanyasilverten.com) says:

“Sexual energy is more than just for romance and procreation, it is life force that when trained can be used like fuel to bring vitality to the body, a glow to the skin, joy to the heart and vibrant thinking to the mind. Through intention you can train your sexual energy to charge your body just like a battery.

One easy way to cultivate your sexual energy to be a source of vitality is to do the micro-cosmic orbit when you meditate. This taoist exercise teaches you how to recycle your sexual energy by training it move up your spine, over your head and down your front to store as chi. Through breathwork and squeezing your intimate muscles, your sexual energy is trained to orbit the body. This is a great practice, which both calms the mind and energises the body.”