April is Stress Awareness Month and this year’s theme is #LittleByLittle – a reminder to cultivate daily habits that nurture our minds and help us to take small steps towards managing our stress and mental health.
At Candalia, we are always advocating taking time for Mindful Moments, a pause in the stresses of daily life to step back, breathe, relax and do an activity that helps you rejuvenate and relax.
Here are 5 easy ways you can enjoy a Mindful Moment:
1. Take a Short Walk
Breathing fresh air and getting out in nature has been proven to improve mental health.
2. Enjoy a Matcha Moment
Take a moment and enjoy the soothing ritual of making a matcha, from whisking the powder to finding a cute mug and enjoying every sip. Take this moment to pause and be present.
3. Low Impact movement
Movement not only helps us soothe our mind, but strength-focused exercises also help increase bone mass and keeps your body healthy. We suggest a Yoga class or a Pilates class for low impact movement.
4. Journal
Sometimes when life begins to feel overwhelming, it helps to write down your thoughts to process them. Moreover, writing down what we are grateful for helps us remember the positivity in our lives when it seems difficult.
Try these prompts:
“Today, 3 things I am grateful for are…”
“Something that made me happy today is… This made me happy because…”
“One person/kind action that added positivity to my day was…”
5. A Minute of Mindful Breathing
Lastly, sometimes keeping it simple is key. Often, we may get overwhelmed and think we are unable to handle certain stresses in life, however we are stronger than we think and we just need a moment to breathe, relax and process our thoughts and emotions.
If you are short on time or need to recompose yourself quickly, take 60 seconds to breathe.
Here are some mindful breathing techniques you can try:
2-4 Breathing
When your stress response is in overdrive (and whose isn’t?), promote serious relaxation with a 2-4 breathing exercise: inhale for two counts and immediately exhale for four counts.
Box Breathing
Inhale for 3 counts, hold your breath for 3 counts and exhale for 3 counts. Repeat until you can feel your heart rate slowing down.
Let us know if you try these mindfulness tips and join us this month in taking small steps #LittleByLittle to help manage your stress and mental health.
Remember, even the tiniest actions add up to a lot over time! 🫶
