No Time to Meditate? 5 Ways to Take 60 Seconds for Mindfulness Meditation by Julie Potiker

Think you don't have time to meditate? Think again! Meditation has many scientifically proven benefits, yet some people think they don’t have time to practice it. If you have 60 seconds, you have time to squeeze a mindfulness meditation into your day.

Unlike meditation practices that require you to close your eyes, this one can be done with eyes open, anywhere and anytime, and uses the first five senses. Being out in nature might be most relaxing – and I highly recommend you make time in your life for that on a regular basis – but you can also do a mindfulness meditation at your desk in the middle of your workday, in traffic on the highway or while making yourself dinner, just for example.

So set your time or glance at your clock, and give yourself a minute of calm!

1. Look. Explore your surroundings with your eyes – even familiar surroundings. Notice all the different colors, shapes and sizes. See the movement and the stillness, the light and the shadow.
2. Listen. What can you hear? Outside, you might hear wind rustling in the trees, the sounds of birds or other animals, water running through a nearby creek, cars passing on the roadway. Inside, you might hear the voices of those you live or work with, people moving around the space, the hum of electronics, the light snoring of your dog.
3. Smell. Do you notice any smells? If you’re cooking, you might smell the vegetables you’re chopping, or the noodles cooking on the stovetop. Give yourself time to let this sense explore, even if there aren’t obvious smells from something like cooking. Does the room have a smell? Are there any smells on the breeze? Indoor and outdoor spaces often have subtle smells that we may not normally pay mindful attention to.
   
4. Touch. Feel the smooth surface of your desk, the spongy texture of your mouse pad. If you’re outside, feel the sensation of the air on your skin and the sun on your face. Feel your breath coming in and out of your nostrils. Feel your feet on the ground.
5. Taste. This one is great for mindful cooking moments, or tasting the bright, minty taste of your toothpaste when brushing your teeth. You might also notice that you are tasting while you are smelling, as the two sensations are integrally related. Try this mindfulness practice next time you’re out in nature and see if you can “taste” the breeze by the water’s edge, in the forest, or even in the city.

You could pick one of these senses to focus on each day for five days, or explore them all in a single sitting. Mindfulness meditation is a fun and simple way to build more tranquility into your day.

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