Mindfulness is a great practice that we love integrating in many shapes and forms here at Hannah's House of Michiana. We believe simple ways of practicing this can drastically positively improve our resident's lives. Plus, it is shown that daily meditation and mindfulness practice affect brain chemistry and grey matter. Therefore, we make it part of our mission to concentrate on this mental and spiritual integration of mindfulness practices within our community.
What is Mindfulness?
Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of simply being aware. In a mindfulness practice you are aware of the current state you are in from emotions to physical sensations and being aware of your awareness. That is a wonderful ability that we as humans have that not all species have. So practicing this is simply an act of being more present, aware, and in tune with yourself as well as others.
Ways to Integrate Mindfulness Into Daily Life
There are so many ways one can begin to integrate a mindfulness practice into their daily life. Simply taking five minutes a day to sit quietly with yourself and just "BE" is a great start. Our lives can be chaotic and taking this time is a great way to reset. You don't try to change the way you feel or the way things are, you just want to be more fully aware and present with reality as it is. We encourage our residents to take a breather like this often. Sometimes that is all that is needed to gain a more fully rounded perspective on a situation or reset among intense emotions. Giving yourself this love and space is a great way to honor yourself and practice self-care and self-love.
Other Ideas For Our Residents
Some other ideas we love to share with our residents for a mindfulness practice include a simple awareness when eating. Listening to your body when eating is a wonderful way to become in tune with your actual hunger cues, cravings, and needs. As a pregnant woman, our bodies are often telling us what they need. For example, cravings for salty foods often mean you need more salt in your diet which is something most people ( pregnant or not) lack significantly.
Another example of a mindfulness practice we love seeing our residents engage in at Hannah's House of Michiana is prayer. Prayer and mindfulness 100% go hand-in-hand. Whether a person is praying to God or meditating inwardly, these forms of spiritual development connect you to something deeper, higher, and more intimate as well as yourself.
We believe these practices don't have to be complex or overly complicated to be effective. We encourage the development of mind, body, spirit, and fun here at Hannah's House of Michiana & mindfulness fits perfectly into this program.