3 Habits of Mindful Women

Women have a lot to deal with between maintaining households, careers, families, hobbies, a changing political climate and trying to practice self-care. These habits of mindful women can help you go through life with your sanity intact. 

What Does it Mean to Be Mindful Women?

Anyone can practice mindfulness to feel calm and centered throughout their day. It involves keeping your mind focused on the present, and releasing worries or negative thoughts about the past and future. 

Though it can take time to learn, practicing mindfulness decreases symptoms of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. It helps with emotional regulation and can impact the levels of stress you feel, improving your well-being. 

Staying in the moment can help with cognition and memory since your mind is present during various activities. When your mind doesn’t wander, you can focus more on the quality time you spend with friends and family, strengthening your relationships. 

There are many ways that women can practice mindfulness each day. Here are three habits of mindful women and how you can do them. 

1. Meditation 

The art of meditation originated in ancient times and is still practiced today to calm the mind and body. It’s time when a woman can connect with her inner self, blocking out the day’s distractions. 

It takes practice to meditate, and there are many free resources online that can help. A basic meditation involves the following. 

Choose a Peaceful Spot 

It’s easier to meditate away from the noise and other distractions. You can meditate on your porch, in your living room or even in a walk-in closet. Wherever you find the most peace in your home works as a mediation spot. 

Notice Your Legs

While you can meditate in any position, a traditional and effective pose is on the floor with your legs crossed. If you need to sit on a chair or high cushion, keep the bottoms of your feet touching the ground instead. 

Straighten Your Spine

Sit up as straight as possible to open up your diaphragm for breathing. Let your head and shoulders comfortably rest on your spine without stiffening. 

Rest Your Arms 

Your arms should rest comfortably, preferably parallel to the rest of your body. Lay them on your legs or keep them at your sides. You don’t want them to be engaged but not tight, and you can adjust as necessary. 

Relax Your Gaze 

Getting to meditation often means lowering your gaze and resting your eyes. 

Breathe 

Focus on your breath and focus on mindful breathing. Slowly take in each breath before gently releasing it. Breathe deep into your diaphragm, focusing on relaxing your mind, calming your heart and releasing muscle tension. 

Complete Your Meditation 

When you’re ready, slowly raise your gaze and open your eyes if you closed them. Notice how you feel and reflect on your meditation and how you want to move forward. 

2. Journaling 

One way to stay mindful is by releasing your thoughts and feelings into a journal. There are many ways to mindfully journal. 

Mind Dump 

This method involves freely writing down your thoughts and feelings on the day without a filter. You can occasionally look over these entries to identify positive or negative patterns you can use to improve your life. 

Gratitude Journaling

Practicing gratitude is a way to calm the mind and body, focusing less on the negative aspects of life. Gratitude helps women focus on what they are grateful for now instead of past and future stressors. Write down a few things you are thankful for each day to improve your mood and keep a more positive mindset. 

Doodling 

Sometimes, you can’t find the right words to express your feelings. Just doodling can calm your mind and body. Let your mind guide the pen around the page. You don’t have to think much of it. You could also draw pictures or add colors representing the day. 

Check-In Journaling 

Journaling allows you to release your thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, you don’t want to wait until the end of the day. Women can stay mindful throughout the day by keeping a small journal that they “check-in” with to remove any stress about the past or future or have things they want to return to later. 

Prompt Journaling 

You might struggle with what to write in your journal, but think doing so will be helpful to you.   These prompts ask you questions about a topic that you can answer. It could be about your day or just about different values and ideas. 

Mindfulness Prompts Include: 

• What Challenges Did You Overcome Today?
• What Urges Did You Resist Today?
• What Made You Feel Productive Today?
• What Made You Feel Loved Today?
• What Made You Smile Today?
• What is Something Beautiful You Saw?
• What’s Something Nice You Heard This Week?
• What Made You Feel Brave Recently?
• What Raised Your Confidence Today?

Journaling is a great way to keep your focus without neglecting your overall state of mind. 

3. Spending Time in Nature 

Nature is healing for humans and is proven to relax the mind. It’s also a way for women to stay mindful. 

Taking a nature walk can be an excellent way to center yourself. Breathe in the scents of the earth and notice the sights, sounds and textures around you. Take the time to thank the trees, ground and bugs for all they do in the world and focus on the simple things. 

Meditating in nature is an excellent way to enhance that experience. Breathing in clean, crisp air can help center your mind and prepare for a time of peace and reflection. Doing yoga in nature can provide a similar experience. Going to an outdoor class or doing poses in a comfortable place can make you feel balanced. 

While nature helps you stay mindful, it also improves mental health symptoms that can help you stay mindful longer. Exposure to natural light and fresh air can reduce anxiety and depression, which helps you stay in a positive state of mindfulness. 

Staying Mindful 

Women live with a lot of stress, and staying mindful can help you be in a better mood throughout the day. With these methods, you can start incorporating the practice of mindfulness in your life.