instructions

Candle Study Exercise

Light your favorite candle, sit comfortably, and watch the flame sway and flicker. This is actually a form of meditation. Gaze at candle for five to 10 minutes and let your mind wander. Observe your thoughts. Let them pass without judgement.

Tea Drinking Exercise If you love drinking tea every day, why not try drinking it a little bit slower? Better yet, try drawing you attention to the sensations, smells, or sounds you observe from the moment you start brewing to the moment you finish your cup.

Notice how it feels to make the tea, the color of the tea leaves, the sound of the kettle, the shape of the mug, the scent that arises, what the tea tastes like, and how it feels in the body as you make and drink the tea. Invite yourself to meet the activity with an embodied presence by noticing sensations that arise as you drink the tea and how often the mind wanders. Then with compassionate awareness, gently bring the mind back to the tea, back to the body, resting it in the present moment.

If you're more of a coffee person, you can perform this practice in the same manner. In fact, you can bring this sort of mindfulness to any activity.

The Berry Challenge

When it comes to mealtime, many of us scarf down our food while watching TV, scrolling on our phones, or typing on our computers. Since we're distracted, sometimes we eat our food too fast, increasing the risk of overeating, indigestion, bloating, and gas. That's a recipe for crankiness and irritability. So here's a challenge for you: try to eat a strawberry as slow as possible. To begin, aim for 30 seconds to a minute. Notice the taste, the texture, any scent. This can be done with any morsel of food and it can help you slow down when you're eating a meal.