The 7 Best Mindfulness Exercises – How to Stay Calmer

When was the last time you simply let time pass? Without checking your smartphone, without making big plans, without going through the day's tasks? Without worrying about your job, your relationships, or the state of the world? When did you simply perceive yourself and the feeling inside you as it is?

Whenever you do that, you experience mindfulness. Mindfulness is a major buzzword of our time, because it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to listen quietly and attentively into ourselves. Being mindful means that we experience the moment completely without judgment, just as it is. The more mindful moments we have, the greater the chance that we will become calmer inside. To make this easier for you in the future, we've put together the 7 best mindfulness exercises for you. They are easy to implement and can improve your well-being.

Mindfulness not only improves your mood and makes you more stress-resistant [1] [1] The relationship between mindfulness exercises and stress reduction: Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. J Behav Med, 31(1), 23–33. doi:10.1007/s10865-007-9130-7. Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. J Altern Complement Med, 15(5), 593–600. , it strengthens your immune system [2] [2] How mindfulness exercises help cancer patients: Carlson, L. E., Speca, M., Faris, P., & Patel, K. D. (2007). One year pre-post intervention follow-up of psychological, immune, endocrine and blood pressure outcomes of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in breast and prostate cancer outpatients. Brain Behav Immun, 21(8), 1038–1049. , helps you tolerate chronic pain better, [3] [3] Mindfulness exercises and chronic pain: Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. J Behav Med, 8(2), 163–190. deal with anxiety and panic reactions more easily [4] [4] Mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety disorders: Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A. O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L. G., Fletcher, K. E., Pbert, L., Santorelli, S. F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am J Psychiatry, 149(7), 936–943. Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K. E., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry, 17, 192–200. and even reduces the risk of relapse in depression.

The most effective and best-researched is the so-called MBSR training (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, in German mindfulness-based stress reduction). The molecular biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn developed it on the basis of Buddhist mindfulness meditation, which is used, for example, in psychotherapy.

Mastery over the moment is mastery over life. – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

You will learn for each exercise how it works and why it is so good. Have fun trying it out mindfully.

1. For the lunch break: The raisin exercise

What would it be like for an alien to taste their first raisin? That's pretty much how you can imagine the raisin exercise. It is one of the easiest yet most fundamental mindfulness exercises there is. It works like this: You take a raisin (well, for us, a date, an apple, or a piece of chocolate) and look at it as if it were the strangest thing in the world. You can feel its surface, smell it, and finally slowly put it in your mouth. Enjoy it instead of swallowing it. Take your time! Here, it's only about perceiving what you feel. [5] [5] Mindfulness in the treatment of mental illnesses: Michalak, Johannes, Heidenreich, Thomas, Williams, J. Mark G. (2021): Mindfulness Progress in Psychotherapy 

That's why the exercise is so good: The raisin exercise shows you that even everyday routine activities like eating are suitable as a mindfulness exercise. It lets you feel when you can be consciously mindful and above all, what many of us usually do on autopilot. Because we are often inattentive at the table too: We stuff our meals in or eat to suppress feelings. However, if we consciously, slowly, and with all our senses enjoy, we perceive ourselves and our needs and feelings more strongly. [6] [6] This is how eating becomes mindfulness: Freitag-Ziegler, Gabriele/Federal Center for Nutrition (2020): Mindful eating – Attitude or method?  If that hasn't convinced you yet: There are even studies that show that mindful eating increases the chance of really losing weight on a diet. [7] [7] Losing weight through more mindfulness: German Health Portal (2022): Mindful eating brings dieting success 

2. For stressful moments: Breathe 

We only think about one thing when it becomes difficult for us: breathing. You can give this rather important process a few moments of attention now and then. For example when you are stressed or your energy is waning on a long day. For this, we recommend two variants:

• Simply consciously concentrate on your breathing, without changing it. This way you press the stop button for your thoughts for a moment and perceive how your body works. Feel free to breathe a little slower and deeper into your belly.
• The Physiological Sigh: Here you consciously breathe in twice, briefly and strongly, directly one after the other through your nose and then breathe out significantly longer through your mouth. You repeat this ten times before you continue breathing normally.

That's why the exercise is so good: Breathing consciously is an ideal exercise for all mindfulness beginners. This makes it easier for your thoughts to step back for a short time. Who breathes consciously can calm themselves. [8] [8] This is how our breath affects the nervous system: Jerath, Ravinder, Edry, John W., Barnes, Vernon A., Jerath, Vandna/National Library of Medicine (2006): Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system   It is not for nothing that breathing techniques have been taught in almost all cultures for more than 2000 years. The Physiological Sigh is considered the fastest method to counteract severe stress. It concretely lowers your heart rate and reduces the so-called fight-or-flight reaction, i.e., the feeling in acute fear or in anxiety and panic states. [9] [9] The physiological and psychological effect of the deep sigh: Vlemnicx, Elke, Van Diest, Ilse, Van den Berg, Omer/Psychology / Behaviour (2016): A sight of relief or a sight to relieve: The psychological and physiological Effect of Deep Breaths   So you can breathe a sigh of relief, because you always have this great tranquilliser with you.

Breathe, it's just a bad day, not a bad life. – Johnny Depp

3. For more acceptance: The Body Scan

This exercise sounds like a device from a science fiction film, but it is one of the most elementary mindfulness exercises there is. You only need yourself again – and a comfortable lying position. Take a few minutes to simply feel your body. Then you scan your individual body parts one after another by feeling into them: first the feet, then the legs, the pelvis, and so on … Until you reach the head. You send your feeling on a journey through your body. It works best under guidance. (You can find sound guidance, for example on YouTube).

That's why the exercise is so good:  Sometimes people feel like they are failing at the body scan because their thoughts keep wandering and they cannot manage to concentrate on individual body parts for longer. But that is not the purpose of the exercise at all. Instead, it helps us practice acceptance, openness, and curiosity for our own sensations, even when we are restless and tense. Relaxation, well-being, or calm are therefore not the main goal of this exercise – but they often show up as a lovely side effect. Much more important is: By letting go of thoughts that pull us in one direction and patiently returning to our body, we learn that we are not helplessly at the mercy of thoughts and feelings. [11] [11] Letting thoughts go: Michalak, Johannes, Heidenreich, Thomas, Williams, J. Mark G. (2021): Mindfulness Progress in Psychotherapy 

4. For your anchor in everyday life: Journaling

If you know us from the 6-Minuten-Verlag , you know that we are fans of good habits. And what could let you experience mindfulness for a few minutes every day better than a journal? By writing down your feelings, thoughts, and experiences, you create an exact recording of your sensations at exactly that moment. A journal like The 6-Minute-Diary helps you to pause briefly twice a day, let your feelings in, and at the same time clear them up.

If you are a mum, there is even a specially adapted version for this: The 6-Minute-Diary for Mums – developed to make self-care even easier to integrate into a chaotic everyday life. In addition, you will find 12 inspiring posts from mums who share their experiences and valuable practical tips. Among them are Susan Sideropoulos, Sara Nuru, Anna Adamyan, and Kathy Weber – because mindfulness not only means taking time for yourself, but also learning from each other.

That's why the exercise is so good: Who regularly puts their feelings on paper becomes demonstrably happier and more balanced. You can deal better with stress, [12] [12] Strengthen resilience through gratitude: Wilson, Jane Taylor (2016): Brightening the Mind. The Impact of Practicing Gratitude on Focus and Resilience in Learning, in: Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Issue 16 (4), pp. 1–13. become more successful, [13] [13] Gratitude makes you more successful: Achor, Shawn (2018): Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life get sick less often [14] [14] Stay healthier with gratitude: Sansone, Randy A.; Sansone, Lori A. (2010): Gratitude and Well Being. The Benefits of Appreciation, in: Psychiatry (Edgmont), Issue 7 (11), pp. 18–22.  and sleep better. [15] [15] Sleep better with gratitude: Emmons, Robert A.; McCullough, Michael E. (2003): Counting Blessings Versus Burdens. An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life, in: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Issue 84 (2)  Who fills out the 6-Minute-Diary daily experiences four more positive effects. We have always suspected them, but in 2022 they were confirmed by an evaluation study by the Medical School of Berlin: If you use The 6-Minute-Diary regularly, your negative feelings and your perception of stress measurably decrease, while your resilience and your self-efficacy expectation increase. [16] [16] The effectiveness of the 6-Minute-Diary proven with an evaluation study: Lorenz, Timo, Algner, Mona, Binder, Benjamin/Medical School of Berlin/Frontiers of Psychology (2022): A Positive Psychology Resource for Students? Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the 6 Minutes Diary in a Randomized Control Trial   That is why this journal is already helping more than 1.5 million people in over 20 countries, which makes it the most popular gratitude and mindfulness journal in the whole world. 

Writing a diary is like whispering to yourself and listening at the same time. – Mina Murray

5. For longer breaks: Go outside

Mindfulness also works in motion. The most popular form is probably yoga. At this point, however, we do not want to take away the job of all the wonderful yoga teachers, because yoga cannot be comprehensively explained in a short post anyway. So we recommend a simple walking meditation, in short, a walk. While you stroll through your neighbourhood, a park, or through the forest, you can very well concentrate on the feeling in your feet and use your senses at the same time. Listen to the sounds of traffic (or better, the birds in the trees), feel the temperature, or smell the scent in the air.

That's why the exercise is so good: By walking, you are practically engaging in one of the most natural movements of us humans. Mindfulness exercises in motion also have the advantage that they can make it easier for all those to access mindfulness who find the calm of a sitting meditation or a body scan difficult. A walk around is very healthy for the musculoskeletal system and the muscles. A short trip to a park or through the forest is even a real remedy for stress: Just 15 minutes in nature measurably lowers our stress hormone level. [17] [17] Why the forest is good for our health: Frobeen, Anne/Techniker Krankenkasse (2021): Breathe in the forest 

6. For advanced: Do nothing

This exercise is so wonderfully simple and yet pure horror for some people: Just do nothing for a short time. Nada. Niente. In a slightly creepy experiment, some test subjects even preferred to give themselves electric shocks rather than be alone with their thoughts for a moment. [18] [18] Social psychology: spektrum.de (2014): Rather electric shocks than doing nothing   If doing nothing is a big hurdle for you, we recommend you start with the lowest dose “Nothing”. If you are standing in a full line at the supermarket or waiting for the bus, for example, you could exceptionally not immediately reach for your smartphone to distract yourself. Just enjoy the given moment of peace and relax your head for a few minutes.

This is why the exercise is so good: Doing nothing makes you extraordinarily creative! This is because doing nothing activates the so-called default mode network, which sets many creative processes in motion. [19] [19] Neuroscience: spektrum.de (2016): The Benefits of Daydreaming   If you want to become a real doing-nothing pro, you can take your time twiddling your thumbs. Even twelve-minute breaks in which we let our minds wander increase creativity and the associated ability to solve problems by 41 percent. [20] [20] Wonderful Daydreaming: The New Yorker: (2012): The Virtues of Daydreaming   So far from being lazy, idlers are sometimes particularly clever.

Nothing gets us further on our path than a break. – Elizabeth Barrett Browning

7. For more concentration: Meditate

Finally, the ultimate mindfulness discipline: meditation. We are so convinced of the effects of meditation that our little 6-Minuten Verlag offers every employee a meditation break on every workday. To meditate, you only need a few minutes of quiet to listen into yourself (see point 1). You can take a little mental journey to a feel-good place or try not to think at all. If you would like to know more about the different variations of meditation, we recommend this article by our dear friends at 7Mind, the only meditation app in Germany that is covered by health insurance.

This is why this exercise is so good: Meditation not only provides a short relaxation, but also increases concentration for the rest of the day. Whether you believe it or not: Meditation not only strengthens your concentration, it also makes you age more slowly, lose weight more easily, and is more restorative than a holiday. Because you probably want to know more about this, you can find everything about it in our blog post: 6 scientifically proven benefits of meditation. 

Mindfulness is a real passion of ours: If you would like to know more about the topic, we definitely recommend setting a bookmark for our blogs:

Mindfulness against anxiety

More productive with mindfulness – 5 gentle alternatives to performance pressure

Mindfulness against depression – What's the truth?

Finally, an important note:

Because your well-being is important to us, we've got one more piece of advice: Whenever something is really effective, unwanted side effects can also be possible. Researchers at the University of Coventry have discovered that mindfulness exercises such as meditation can, on average, even worsen anxiety and depression in one in twelve people. If this happens, it can be an indication that the person in question suffers from a previously undetected anxiety disorder or depression. [21] [21] Unwanted side effects: Newscientist.com (2020): Mindfulness and Mediation can worsen Depression and Anxiety   So listen carefully into yourself when trying it out and only do what really makes you feel better. But in the vast majority of cases, the positive effects outweigh the negative ones.

____________________

This post is by Daniel Dzienian, former journalist and word juggler. Instead of working under time pressure as a reporter for a daily newspaper, he now writes with great effort about serenity.

Sources:

[1] The relationship between mindfulness exercises and stress reduction: Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. J Behav Med, 31(1), 23–33. doi:10.1007/s10865-007-9130-7. Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. J Altern Complement Med, 15(5), 593–600.

[2] How mindfulness exercises help cancer patients: Carlson, L. E., Speca, M., Faris, P., & Patel, K. D. (2007). One year pre-post intervention follow-up of psychological, immune, endocrine and blood pressure outcomes of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in breast and prostate cancer outpatients. Brain Behav Immun, 21(8), 1038–1049

[3] Mindfulness exercises and chronic pain: Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. J Behav Med, 8(2), 163–190.

[4] Mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety disorders: Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A. O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L. G., Fletcher, K. E., Pbert, L., Santorelli, S. F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am J Psychiatry, 149(7), 936–943. Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K. E., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry, 17, 192–200.

[5] Mindfulness in the treatment of mental illnesses: Michalak, Johannes, Heidenreich, Thomas, Williams, J. Mark G. (2021): Mindfulness Progress in Psychotherapy

[6] This is how eating becomes mindfulness: Freitag-Ziegler, Gabriele/German Federal Centre for Nutrition (2020): Mindful eating – attitude or method?

[7] Losing weight through more mindfulness: German Health Portal (2022): Mindful eating brings dieting success

[8] This is how our breath affects the nervous system: Jerath, Ravinder, Edry, John W., Barnes, Vernon A., Jerath, Vandna/National Library of Medicine (2006): Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system

[9] The physiological and psychological effect of the deep sigh: Vlemnicx, Elke, Van Diest, Ilse, Van den Berg, Omer/Psychology / Behaviour (2016): A sight of relief or a sight to relieve: The psychological and physiological Effect of Deep Breaths

[10] Breathing technique helps with panic attacks: Westermann, Holger/menschenswetter.de (2020): 4/7/11 makes stress disappear

[11] Letting thoughts go: Michalak, Johannes, Heidenreich, Thomas, Williams, J. Mark G. (2021): Mindfulness Progress in Psychotherapy

[12] Strengthening resilience through gratitude: Wilson, Jane Taylor (2016): Brightening the Mind. The Impact of Practicing Gratitude on Focus and Resilience in Learning, in: Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Issue 16 (4), pp. 1–13.

[13] Gratitude makes you more successful: Achor, Shawn (2018): Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life

[14] Staying healthier with gratitude: Sansone, Randy A.; Sansone, Lori A. (2010): Gratitude and Well Being. The Benefits of Appreciation, in: Psychiatry (Edgmont), Issue 7 (11), pp. 18–22.

[15] Sleeping better with gratitude: Emmons, Robert A.; McCullough, Michael E. (2003): Counting Blessings Versus Burdens. An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life, in: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Issue 84 (2)

[16] The effectiveness of the 6-Minute-Diary proven with an evaluation study: Lorenz, Timo, Algner, Mona, Binder, Benjamin/Medical School of Berlin/Frontiers of Psychology (2022): A Positive Psychology Resource for Students? Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the 6 Minutes Diary in a Randomized Control Trial

[17] Why the forest is good for our health: Frobeen, Anne/Techniker Krankenkasse (2021): Breathing in the forest

[18] Social psychology: spektrum.de (2014): Rather electric shocks than doing nothing

[19] Neuroscience: spektrum.de (2016): The Benefits of Daydreaming

[20] Wonderful Daydreaming: The New Yorker: (2012): The Virtues of Daydreaming

[21] Unwanted side effects: Newscientist.com (2020): Mindfulness and Mediation can worsen Depression and Anxiety