Welcome to October! We are getting close to the holidays, so I felt like it would be a good time to share some tips on how to be more mindful in our daily lives.

First things first, what is mindfulness exactly? Being mindful means to be fully present in the moment and taking in everything around you using all of your senses.

Why is it important? Mindfulness encourages us to experience what is at hand and absorb all that it has to offer. You will never have the fear of missing out, if you are showing up to everything being fully there. Mindfulness also has its place during our interactions with food and physical activity or movement. Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing some tips on how you can apply this daily.

When it comes to food, people typically associate restricting themselves from certain food groups as practicing mindfulness. The problem here is that most of the time, this restriction is triggering emotions of fear, stress, and other distressing thoughts. Being mindful with food means to be aware of when you feel satisfied with the meal and what you are feeding your body feels good. The food itself should always be considered nourishing, unless your body doesn’t feel good when you have it.

If you are unsure if this food feels good to you, use this mindfulness technique to figure it out. The technique is simple, curiosity. Use a curious frame of mind to ask yourself: how you feel when you have this food, does this food sit well in my body, how do I feel after I finish eating, and how do I feel after a few hours. There is no need to restrict yourself from food. Ever.

Here are some tips on how to be mindful when it comes to food:

Bring your awareness to the environment that you eat in. Is it setting you up for a pleasurable experience?
Listen to your body by eating when it is hungry
Slow down when eating to truly take in the sensory experience of eating

Now let’s pivot into physical activity or movement. Mindfulness is best applied in movement by acknowledging what feels good and what doesn’t.

What does that mean? It means that you are present in your body while doing the activity. You notice if it feels good or painful. You feel relief, not stressed when doing it. You are moving your body out of love and compassion for yourself, not as punishment or feeling forced to do it.

Here are some tips on how to be mindful when it comes to movement:

Only do activities that bring you joy
Make sure you have hydrated and nourished yourself (without restrictions) to complete the activity
Remember to breath throughout
Always pay attention to the way your body responds to the activity ( it’ll let you know how much it can take)
Reflecting after your session (did this activity accomplish in making me feel good)

I can hear you telling me already, “Ana, this is way off base for me.” I know. I totally get it. Being present in our bodies, and listening to what it is saying feels foreign. And wrong. And feels TOOO simple, like

there’s going to be a catch.

Let me put you at ease. There’s no catch. There’s no restrictions. All I want for you is to be able to be more present in your body to be more present to the people you love most.

If being mindful is difficult for you or brings up stressful moments. It’s ok, that’s why I’m here.

My mission is to help you feel free in your body.

So, if you want more support, please reach out to me. I have a chat on my website. Shoot me a direct message in social media. Send me an email.

Let’s figure this out together.

With joy and healthy growth,