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Monday, February 15, 2021

Awesome Ideas to Help Us Use Our 5 Senses to Be Mindful

Mindfulness Ideas and Tips


Each time we use our sense of smell, sight, touch, taste, or hearing to fully experience the moment, we feel more grounded and joyful.


Post Updated 8/07/2023


Mindfulness is a self-care practice that helps us engage in activities wholeheartedly, have a greater capacity to recover from adversity, and show up for ourselves and life as it unfolds. 


Awesome Ideas to Help Us Use Our 5 Senses for Mindfulness


Breathe Deeply


If we feel anxious, afraid, or stressed we may not notice our breath is shallow. 


Nonetheless, our brain translates this emotional reaction as a threat. It triggers fast, flight or fight breathing to drive oxygen to our muscles to prepare for battle or escape. 


To regain equilibrium, we can learn simple ways to override this automatic reaction and take back our serenity. 


Here are several deep breathing techniques from Web MD to help us reduce stress and relax.


Smell Mindfully


Our sense of smell can be our most powerful "sense-asset."  


It alerts us to offensive and dangerous odors including a gas leak, fire, or rotten food. 


It also sends messages to parts of the brain that process emotion and memory. 


Our sense of smell allows us to get pleasure from the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked bread, salty sea air, and orange blossoms. 


Our nose knows. Our sense of smell helps us recall people, things, or experiences. 


For example, getting a whiff of a loved one's signature perfume or aftershave, or smelling the aroma of popcorn, wood, or pine needles can jolt our memory of things that happened many years ago.


As a key element of human and animal survival, a keen sense of smell enables living things to track food and water, find a mate, and even communicate with others of its species.


Tweak Hearing


When we pause to listen to sounds in or near our bodies like our stomach gurgling, a belch, or clothing rustling, we are anchoring ourselves to the "here" and "now."


Experiment with the concept of mindful listening.


The first day, reserve 5 minutes to sit quietly and take a break from busy-ness. 


Observe sounds around you. Perhaps you will hear noise in another room, or notice the beep or ting of an electronic device, or the rumble or purr of a fan, air conditioner, or heater. 


The next day, take 6 minutes to walk outdoors and focus on the outdoor sounds that you hear.


Later on in the day, check in with 
yourself. Do you notice when you take time to move around or sit quietly to focus on sounds in nature, your head clears and you feel refreshed and awake?


This sweet relaxation activity can be
part of your self-care routine, whenever you need it.


Savor the Flavor


Mindful eating is the practice of bringing open-minded awareness to food selection to note how, when, and where we eat meals and snacks. 


When we look non-judgmentally at our eating habits, we observe the ways certain foods impact our body, emotions, and thinking. 


We can use this information to identify times we eat on autopilot, or try to compensate for loneliness, anger, boredom, and fear with food.


Mindfulness helps us sense real hunger and select foods that taste good and deliver energy for our bodies to work at peak efficiency. 


Mindful eating can be much more. When we eat with our full being, we delight in the flavors, textures, aromas and sight of meals. For more read Favorite Foods for a Good Mood.


Try this. Make a conscious effort to slow down and eat foods with mindful eyes, nose (olfactory receptors), ears, taste buds, heart, and palate.


Then see Key Reasons to Eat Mindfully and Tips to Succeed.



Tune in to Touch


Our sense of touch helps us communicate through non-verbal expression, either by touching or not touching each other in various ways.


Touch may be the most primal or basic form of relating, and is the way things are introduced to infants, even before infants have learned anything about other modes of communication.


Touch is an important, immediate messenger for humans. All of us need loving, caring touch to thrive. So when you're tempted to text, reach out and call or give an actual hug.


A fun way to learn more about our sense of touch is to try this. 


Go for a tree hugger's walk. What is That?  Use Energy of Green to Refresh You and Your Home describes details.

Hug a Tree


See with Wonder


Mindful Woman with Colorful Sun Umbrella


Young children see things with wonder, and we can take in everything with "fresh eyes."


One simple way to see things with wonder is to practice being a fully present  observer of things as they happen.


Try this. Select a piece of fruit such as an apple, banana, pear, orange, or grapefruit and place it on a table. Sit next to the table to assure the object is totally in your line of vision.


Focus on it and imagine you are seeing this item for the very first time. 


Ask yourself: do I know what it is? Can I identify its color or do I relate its hue to something I already know? 


Can I guess how heavy or light it is just by looking at its size, surface texture, or shape? Can it move or roll? Then think of other questions that occur to you and ask them of yourself. 


Our eyesight is a gift that allows us to experience the world in living colors, and see with awe and joy.
 

Instead of taking our home, career, people, or surroundings for granted, we can recognize each one as unique and appreciate it. 


When we observe people, places, and things with curiosity and interest, our pro-action helps us experience the richness in each moment.

💖

Your work life and leisure time will bring you more satisfaction, if you use your 5 senses to take in life's abundance with mindful gratitude.


Read more about noteworthy benefits of being mindful here.


Share the love by commenting below.


Which one of your 5 senses do you feel helps you the most? 


Are you sensitive to certain sounds, tastes, smell, touch, or light? Please explain.


Do you think you use your 5 senses to increase the quality of daily living? How?


Please refrain from putting links in your comment. It won't be published that way.


If you like what you see, please re-share on social media. Don't forget to credit my work, with a link-back to this post.


Thanks for visiting and...




This post has been shared at Funtastic Friday #457

This post has been shared at First-party-in-October-WWBH

This post has been shared at Senior Salon Pit Stop #273

This post is a FEATURE at #TFT. Thrilled and excited. 




This post has been shared at Thurs. Favorite Things Party


This post has been shared at Wake Up to Wonder at the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Post is #104


16 comments:

  1. Walking my dog in the park. Way out back with no one around. Feel the breeze (if there is one) and listen to the birds and notice what else is around us. It does us both good.

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  2. Absolutely adored these ideas! Will definitely be putting them into good use!

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    1. Dear Marina, Thanks for the visit and so happy you adore these 5 Senses Mindfulness Ideas. Keep me in the loop to let me know how they work for you. Have a beautiful day.

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  3. I love stopping and closing my eyes to deep breathing for a minute or two. Helps me to be more mindful!

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    1. Agree with you Natalie. Deep breathing for a minute or two does help me be more mindful. Thanks for the visit, and affirmation about this mindfulness activity. Have a lovely day.

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  4. My 5 senses absolutely add to my quality of life. Rocking my granddaughter to sleep, feeling her soft skin, smelling her sweet smell, adds to my joy. Hearing her giggle and watching her take her 1st step, there's nothing better. Ice cream makes me happy! I think I addressed all 5 senses.

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    1. What wonderful sensory pleasures. Thanks for the comment and have a mindful, restful day Bewth.

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  5. Nancy, this is such a lovely post. Mindfulness is so important and you've shared easy ways to incorporate it into our lives. Thank you for sharing and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party Community. Take care and have a beautiful week.

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    1. Thanks April for hosting the Hearth and soul Link Party and visiting my blog. Mindfulness is such an important practice and does help me have a beautiful week. Wish you one too.

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  6. As always you have such interesting posts. Self care is so important and you have given some very helpful suggestions. Thanks

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    1. Thanks Judee for your visit and kind words. Wishing you a awesome week and many moments of mindfulness.

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  7. Nancy,
    Great tips. Congratulations, you are being featured on Thursday Favorite Things. I hope you stop by. https://www.eclecticredbarn.com/2021/05/thursday-favorite-things-party_27.html
    Hugs,
    Bev

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    1. Thanks so much Bev. Appreciate having the opportunity to show my stuff. Have a good holiday weekend. Hugs, Nan

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  8. Thank you for sharing your links with us at #273 SSPS Linky. See you again next week.

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