Happy Meditator - Practical Mindfulness and Meditation8 Aug 2020

Hack your brain with small doses of mindfulness

Recently I have added short mindfulness practices in my day to stay connected to the present moment. I am doing these practices to hack my brain. Our brain learns better if we split things into smaller pieces. Doing short mindfulness practices that are short and repetitive could be extremely powerful to reduce daily stress and stay calmer.

In the past three months, I started a new short breathing practice. I set up five daily alerts, and I do one-two minutes of slow breathing each time. Repeating a simple exercise has been an excellent help for resetting my mind from worry and stress in these uncertain times. Why does it work? It’s super simple Spaced out small doses of mindfulness is manageable. I can do the breathing practice seated at my desk while driving, walking, reading, and gardening when I’m waiting at the grocery store, washing my hands, or filling up the gas tank. I don’t have to remember to do it It is great not having to rely on me remembering to do it. If I had to remember five times a day to do something, I’m more likely to forget doing it. Because I’m setting reminders, I simply do it when I get the reminder, and that is it. Repetition is a brain hack Our brain likes to strengthen memories that are frequent and regular. It wants to store this information because it considers it as necessary. After all, you are spending time in daily repetition, so it must be important. The more you revisit the breathing practice, the more the brain pays attention to it. Strengthens brain connections Your brain is like a muscle; the more you stay consistent, the more it strengthens the connections between the nerve cells. Spacing out the breathing practices in the day makes more connections, and the brain puts the information in the long term memory. And that is essential for creating durable retention of knowledge.

Here is today’s quote:

“Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax, and your heart soften.” ― Jack Kornfield

Are you willing to give this mindful practice a go?

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