mindfulness exercises?
 

Howdy,

I just started a course of dbt and would really like some other peoples ideas for mindfulness exercises, currently im trying out some but the one i find 'easiest' i guess is to focus on a candle

take a chocolate and eat it, paying attention to everything... the sound unwrapping it, the smell, how it feels in your mouth, the taste. you can do a similar one with gum or a hard candy

coloring in a coloring book page is also one i like, just doing it really carefully...

bubble wrap, blowing bubbles is my fav theres soo many chick.

ohh thanks guys, yeah i know cheryl im just so uncreative i can never think of any!

keep em coming!

p.s sorry mods (and thanks)

try the bubbles one go toys r us and get them they r like a pound and just sit there and blow them i use it all the time.

i will! in fact i have a bubble sword somewhere.

actually lol someone at my dbty group said they used bubbles on the bus sometimes as a mindfulness exercise!

Washing up can be a good mindfulness exercise. I also use a piece of amethyst (sp?) my friend bought me from the science museum. I look at the different colours and how it feels etc.

ohhh i love that idea, i have a bag of various gems ect thank you!

Play with silly putty. Focus on how it feels and looks and such.

Some of the ones we did at the day unit included looking at a lava lamp (observing), looking at different things like colourful cookie jars for describing, drinking cups of tea mindfully, going outside and listening to the noises, and we did these ones where we imagined our thoughts on leaves, floating away, or twigs down a river etc. We also had one which was quite good where we concentrated on tensing and relaxing the muscles through our bodies individually, and applying an aura/colour to ourselves.

I practice it listening to music, concentrating on the sounds and rhythms and the lyrics.

Can anyone explain to me what mindfulness is all about? Sorry, being stupid.

about bring aware of ur surroundings and u without judgement basically

The Mental Health Foundation
Have some good Podcasts they also have this

thanks folks for the input, i have dug out my gems and found some other bits in there that might be helpful, i bought a new colouring book and pens (coz im secretly 5)

I love this thread and the great ideas coming from it too, good work!!

*blushes*

and all because im soooo uncreative :D

oh btw i came up with another one,

joss sticks can come under look and smell

i love the colouring book it keeps me occupied for hours lol

the worst bit is....the original one i bought was a posh one and waaaayyy to complicated fairies so i bought a really simple one lol

nice lol

a BANANA ! When I first started DBT she wanted me to smeel, view, hear.. baciully every sense of this banana. I thought it looked foolish and didn't do it, but it could work for you.

Don't mean to hijack...but I wondered if anyone else felt really foolish when first trying this?
Just that, "this-is-utterly-ridiculous-how-is-it-going-to-make-feel-better" sort of thought??

yes i still do now tbh but they work

haha read my post. I think certain parts of DBT work for me, but def. not this part. I couldn't focus on it at all. I try but nop i just can't. I really liked imaging floating away with hot air ballons and loosing track of time, but again I did mine with another doctor while my doctor was watching through a glass window.. so it was diffcult to focus sometimes

yeh i can undestand how that can be difficult to focus i found it really hard at first now its become second nature alot of the time i still struggle to do it but i try

oh god yes, especially if people are around and its soooo hard as well, plus i am ad have always been easily distracted and find staying grounded almost impossible so any length of time.

Yesterday i was driving home and was so anxious and wound up so i thought i was try mindful driving but the only way i could do it was out loud so spoke to myself alllll the way home, it worked as well.

Just found this on Mindfulness: http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/mindfulness.htm

:)

Thanks for this thread it is really helpful

This thread is great as ive just started to do mindfullness but am not very creative...so thanks :)

When I was in hospital, one of the nurses taught me about mindfulness. I've never been able to concentrate but that feeling of concentration you get from focusing on one object is fab.

my favourite one is baking. be mindful of how the mixture looks, and with cakes i sometimes watch them cook and am mindful of them rising, be mindful of the different smells of the food, any sounds that you might hear, wash your hands thoroughly and put them in the mixture, being minful of the texture and feel of the mixture, when the food is cooked, be mindful of the taste and texture in your mouth.

We do this kind of thing at the end of martial arts classes.

Turn off any music, TV etc and be somewhere quite quiet (e.g. in your room) and then just listen and see if you can hear anything that you couldn't hear before (people outside, cars going past etc).

Another thing we do is to lie on the ground (I prefer the floor to a bed but try both) and then imagine you are sort of sinking into sand...starting at your feet and moving up. Its really relaxing.


I like holding onto a stone, or necklace or something too and focussing on the feel of it.

I've done this sort of thing in Martial Arts classes too! We stared at a stone or a pencil and tried to notice as many things about it as we could.

thank you for this thread..im finding it very helpful xxxx