Life is the fullest when you are aware and grateful for the present moment. Mindfulness training encourages clarity and focus. It also fosters gratitude for the good things that are now. Distraction is a strong habit that can make it difficult to be present even when we’re walking, eating, and traveling. How can we learn mindfulness? There are easy ways to add mindfulness to our daily lives. Our training on the chair or cushion allows us to use any situation to observe and recognize in-the-moment emotions, thoughts, and experiences without undue judgment. These are five suggestions for increasing awareness of the moment. Buddha would be proud.

Just Breathe

Meditation is a meditation that focuses on your breath. You can also get mindful by getting off the cushion and paying attention to how your breath enters and exits the nostrils. This will help you to be more aware of your belly rising and falling. You are always breathing. But how often do you notice it? You can extend your sitting practice to be aware of your breathing while you are at work, school, or moving around.

Pay attention to your breathing while you wait for the bus, at the bus stop, in traffic jams, or before or after eating. One purposeful breath is enough to bring you present moment awareness and maybe the best way to improve mindfulness.

Learn to Enjoy Silence

Mindfulness can be achieved by being quiet. It is important to learn how to embrace it and how you can explore it. Our lives are anything other than quiet. It’s not the sounds of traffic, planes overhead, students chatting, or the pinging of a message or phone call. It’s the music we play to fill the silence. You can take the time to be quiet. Silence is not always silent.

Even in the most remote areas, there is wind, leaves rustling and birdsong, rain falling, and animals calling out. As part of your awareness practice, you can use the sounds that arise from the silence. Begin to explore any feelings of anxiety that you may feel when you give up the distractions. Then, let go of them and get back to mindful listening.

Remove the Busy-Ness

It is simple to improve mindfulness, but it can be difficult to practice. Keep your mind focused on one thing at a time. You will be amazed at what happens when you stop multitasking even for a moment. To ensure that each project gets your full attention, you should focus on one task at a time. Turn off all distractions, such as your phone on airplane mode or mind-numbing applications, and switch off any background noise.

Focus on one task at a time, no matter if it’s writing an important speech, making breakfast or refinishing furniture. Regular mindfulness practice will make it easier to recognize when your thoughts wander. You can gently, but firmly, bring them back as you do in meditation. Then, you can continue to give your full attention to the task-at-hand.