Mindfulness exercises: short practices to try today

What mindfulness exercises can you try?

Try one at a time and keep it short. A minute or two is enough to start. If a practice feels unpleasant, stop and try another. If any of these brings panic, dread or a feeling of being detached, stop and see the section "Can mindfulness be uncomfortable?" below. A safety note: chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting can have causes that are not stress and can be serious. Do not assume it is stress. Call 999 (UK) or 911 (US), and use NHS 111 if you are unsure.

1. 1Feel your breath. Sit comfortably. Notice where you feel your breathing most, perhaps the nose, chest or belly. Let it move on its own; you are watching it, not steering it. When you notice your mind has wandered, note 'thinking' and return to the next breath.
2. 2Scan your body. Starting at your feet, move your attention slowly up through your legs, belly, back, hands, shoulders and face. Rest on each area for a few breaths and notice what is there: warmth, tightness, tingling or nothing at all. You are noticing, not fixing.
3. 3Walk mindfully. Walk slower than usual, indoors or out. Feel each foot lift, move and land, the swing of your arms and the air on your skin. When your mind runs off, notice that and bring it back to your feet.
4. 4Tune in to your senses. Pause and notice what you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste right now, one sense at a time, without labelling any of it good or bad. Pick small details you would normally miss: the shadow on a wall, a distant engine, the weight of your clothes.
5. 5Eat one mouthful mindfully. Take a small piece of food, such as a raisin, a slice of fruit or a square of chocolate. Look at it, smell it, then chew slowly and notice the texture and taste change. Put your phone away for this one.
6. 6Name your thoughts. When thoughts come, give each a quiet label such as 'planning', 'remembering' or 'worrying', and let it pass. The NHS suggests naming what you notice as a way to watch thoughts without trying to push them away. You are practising seeing a thought as a passing event, not an order.
7. 7Take a one-minute pause. Stop what you are doing. Feel your feet on the floor, take a few slower breaths, and ask yourself: what am I feeling in my body, and what is on my mind? Then carry on. This is the version that travels best into a working day.

For a longer, guided practice, the body scan script takes you through a full body scan. The mindfulness worksheet helps you choose one everyday practice and track it for a week.

How do you start a mindfulness practice?

Starting small is more useful than starting big. These tips make it easier to keep going:

• Keep it short. A minute or two, done regularly, is better than a long session you dread.
• Pick a regular time. The NHS suggests choosing a time such as a commute or a lunchtime walk. Tie the practice to something you already do, like the kettle boiling or brushing your teeth.
• Expect your mind to wander. That is not failing. Noticing that it has wandered and coming back is the exercise itself. The NHS notes a busy mind can be hard to quiet at first.
• Do not judge the session. There is no good or bad result. Some days will feel calm and some will feel restless, and both count as practice.
• Try moving versions if sitting still is hard. The NHS says gentle yoga or walking may make it easier.
• Write a line afterwards. A sentence about what you noticed helps you see how it is going. The mindfulness worksheet has space for this.

Can mindfulness be uncomfortable?

Sometimes, yes. The NHS says mindfulness is not right for everyone, and that some people find it does not help or that it can make them feel worse. Sitting quietly with your own body and thoughts can bring up feelings you were not expecting.

Take extra care if you have lived through trauma, have panic attacks, or sometimes feel detached or unreal. Some people find closed-eyes practices uncomfortable. Signs to stop for:

• Panic, a racing heart or a feeling of dread that gets stronger as you continue.
• Feeling far away from your body or surroundings.
• Painful memories or images that feel too vivid.
• A growing sense that sitting still is unsafe.

If that happens, stop. Open your eyes, press your feet into the floor, look around and name what you can see, or move around. The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding worksheet walks you through it. Then speak to a GP before you carry on with regular practice, and consider a trained teacher or therapist who can adapt it to you.

Does mindfulness actually work?

It may help, and the picture is more modest than the hype. The studies are of courses that run over weeks, not of single short exercises like the ones above. Those have not been tested on their own.

A 2014 review of trials found mindfulness courses modestly eased anxiety, low mood and pain, with no evidence they were better than other active treatments.

The NHS says studies support mindfulness for stress, anxiety and depression, and that more research is needed for other conditions. Put together, mindfulness looks like a reasonable thing to try, with modest effects on some outcomes, not a cure and not better than the alternatives. Those results come from courses, so a few minutes here and there may not do the same.

When to get more support

Mindfulness is a tool, not treatment. Please talk to a GP if low mood, anxiety or stress is affecting your sleep, work or relationships, if panic keeps coming back, or if practising makes you feel worse. A GP can talk through options such as talking therapies and can check for other causes.

If you have chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting, call 999 (UK) or 911 (US); use NHS 111 if you are unsure. Do not assume it is anxiety.

Thoughts like these are serious: thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life. Please get help now. Call Samaritans free on 116 123 (UK and Ireland), or call or text 988 (US). Elsewhere, findahelpline.com lists free, confidential lines by country, and selfgrowth.org/help has more. If you are in immediate danger, call 999 (UK) or 911 (US).