This World Health Day, we encourage you to embrace Mindfulness every day.

Life can often feel like an endless cycle, moving from one stressful situation, to the next. At times it may feel like we are constantly pulled between dwelling on the past, or worrying about the future, leaving little time to enjoy the present moment. 

Have you ever felt like you have been physically present, but your mind is miles away? 

You might have experienced this when arriving at your destination with no memory of the drive, nodding your head to someone with no recollection of what they said, or maybe finishing your dinner whilst scrolling on your phone without having enjoyed a single bite. 

Life can feel overwhelming, and to help these feelings it is important that we remind ourselves of what is happening in the present. 

When we anchor our thoughts to here and now, we stop thinking about yesterday’s mistakes, or tomorrows to-do-lists. This mental shift not only allows us to exist in the moment, but it helps lower our stress levels improving our mental health. 

But how can we make this mental shift? It is at this point that practicing mindfulness becomes a critical component for our mental wellbeing. 

Physical activity is a way to practice mindfulness. This may look like going for a walk and paying attention to how your body moves, listening to the sounds of nature around you, or feeling the sun on your skin. These practices can help remove ourselves from being in that cycle of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Exercise helps increase our ‘feel good’ chemicals like endorphins and serotonin, which also helps improve mood and decrease stress, together working as a great way to improve mental health. 

As someone who often loves finding new ways to practice mindfulness, I find that moving my body helps quiet my mind and stay in the present. For me, going to a Pilates class is my favourite way. 

Whether I am focusing on how my body is feeling during the movement, concentrating on my breath or listening to instructions, I am forced to stay in the present. As it requires so much focus, I am distracted from fixating on the past or worrying about my to-do-lists in the future. 

I notice the more I practice mindfulness, the easier it becomes to carry these practices with me during my everyday activities. For example, focusing on my breath if I am feeling stressful about a task at work. 

To help you carry mindfulness practices in your everyday life, I recommend downloading our Supportive Mind App to help track your mood and physical activity. 



Written by Yiana Tamvakis