Mindfulness in 5 Minutes

A lot of us put ourselves last on the priority list, often not practicing relaxation or self-care because we have our job, our kids, our tasks etc to care for first. But, what if I told you it only takes 5 minutes of mindfulness sometimes? Taking just 5 minutes out of your busy schedule to focus on you can do wonders for your mental health, whilst recharging you and giving you more energy to share with others.

If you’re completely new to mindfulness, here’s a couple of practices you can do in just 5 minutes, and trust me, they work!

1. Mantras/Affirmations, if you’ve never tried this before, it can feel a bit odd speaking to yourself. But, there’s a lot of science behind it, studies show that thinking or saying affirmations overtime will eventually re-wire your brain. There’s many affirmation videos on YouTube to speak a long with. Or if you’d prefer doing your own, think of a goal you have, e.g. being more confident, and create some affirmations based upon those, such as

   . I am worthy

   . I am confident

   . I deserve to be heard

   Try repeating your mantras several times in the morning for a few days, and see if you notice a difference!

2. Box breathing, this is a fundamental mindfulness practice. Try setting 5 minutes aside to doing some box breathing, either in a morning, evening, or when you feel stressed. Simply breathe in through your nose for the count of 3, hold for 3, and release through your mouth for the count of 3. This regulates our nervous system, calms our thoughts and emotions, and feels relaxing.

3. Gratitude practice, try listing in your head, or writing down 5 things you are grateful for at the start of each day. You might find these are the bigger things, such as your home, your success, your family, or the smaller things like your morning hot chocolate, and birds tweeting. Doing this regularly is also proven to re-wire our brain to a more positive state, and over time, you will find yourself thinking of more and more things you are grateful for.

All of these of course can be amplified with a cup of mindfulness, aka hot chocolate. Our hot chocolate is full of mind and body boosting benefits, helping you feel joyful, relaxed, and leaves your heart open. Let me know if you try any of these practices, and if they work for you! I’d love to hear from you