Mindful Activities You Can Do That Are Completely Free

Being aware of your thoughts and feelings can help you navigate your way through life smoothly and efficiently. It puts you in charge of your situation and helps you make the most of your potential.

Studies prove that mindfulness can:

Reduce depression
Enhance relationships
Increase emotional regulation
Decrease anxiety and stress

So in this article, we invite you to authenticate these benefits of mindfulness yourself by getting started with some free-to-practice mindful activities listed below.

Try Basic Breathing

Mindfulness is a form of meditation — it enhances your focus. Hence, the best free mindful activity is to practice breathing.

You can do this by sitting in a comfortable position and breathing in and out for 3-5 minutes every day.

As you inhale and exhale, observe the rhythm of your breathing. Your mind may perceive this as free time and wander in random directions. It might start worrying about an upcoming task or replay an old memory. If you give in to it, you’ll nullify the impact of this mindful activity.

So, consciously get your mind back to focus on inhalation and exhalation. Observe the warmth of your breath and the movement of warm air in and out of your nostrils. Take notes on how your chest expands as you breathe.

We know it may be difficult to keep your mind from wandering in the first few sessions. So it might be a good idea to try these breathing exercises, which will help you become focused on executing the exercise properly.

Solve Puzzles

According to surveys, digital distractions of the present day have made multitasking an integral part of our lives, so much so that most people find it impossible to focus on one task at a time. This deep-rooted multitasking even means a 10-point fall in IQ for some.

Puzzles help counter this by forcing you to focus on one task at a time. Because when you’re solving a puzzle, you’re fully immersed in figuring out the solution. In this way, solving puzzles proves to be an excellent mindful activity.

If you don’t wish to spend on a 100 piece puzzle set, you can easily download free apps for the following puzzle activities from the Google Playstore:

Jigsaw puzzle
Sudoku
Riddles
Spot the differences
Crossword
Word games like Scrabble

You can also take more inspiration from the Big W catalogue for puzzle activities. Remember, puzzles will not only help you practice mindfulness, but they’ll also improve your cognitive ability, memory, and overall brain function.

Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is both free and game-changing. You are what you eat, and if you pay attention to what you eat, you’ll be paying due attention to who you become. All you’ve to do is to be present at your everyday meals. It will make your dining experience richer and healthier.

To begin practising mindful eating, complete 8-10 deep breathing cycles before you start eating. It will help you pause the buzz of the world and calmly transition to your mealtime. You can pay more attention to the flavour and aroma of the food, chew more consciously, and truly relax. Doing so will make your body more accepting of the nutritional benefit of your food.

Once you begin eating mindfully, you’ll be more aware of your bodily needs, and you’ll be able to determine when, how, and what you want to eat. As a result, you won’t face issues like obesity, weight loss, or insufficient nutrition.

Another good way of practising mindful eating is to actively opt for a healthy menu and consume nutrient-rich meals to meet your body’s needs. You can try some of our healthy recipes here.

Spend Time In A Green Environment

Research proves spending 30 minutes in a green environment every day can significantly reduce stress and anxiety.

Some easy and free ways to practice mindfulness in a green environment are:

Planting trees or gardening
Walking in a park
Observing nature

We encourage you to practice each of these with complete focus and attention. For example, when planting a seed, feel the texture of the sand. As you water the plants, listen intently to the falling drops of water. Pay attention to the chirping birds. All of this will improve your focus and help you become more mindful.

Spending time in greenery also creates feelings of gratitude and hope, which are very useful for getting through bad days.

Workout Mindfully

Mindfulness helps you actively contribute to your present and shape your future. The best means of verifying this claim is to choose a workout as your mindful activity. You can begin by setting up a clear goal of what you wish to achieve, creating a plan for your goal, and working actively towards it.

Ideally, you should begin with a warm-up session of five minutes to get into the right mental space. Eventually, settle into your rhythm and challenge yourself to do better each day. Focus on reaching your goal and don’t forget to take a break when the physical stress starts building up. As this becomes a routine, you’ll find yourself doing better every day!