6 Mind Healing Practices

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Sharen Ryan, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

When we are bombarded by constant negativity, not only does our mind feel it, but the body begins breaking down. This can be felt in different ways, from tense muscles around the shoulders to a migraine headache. When this is combined with mental over-stimulation, the decision-making process part of our brain gets derailed often leading to poor decisions.

A recent study conducted by Nobel Prize winners, Dr. Kahneman and Dr. Tversky, found that, “When making decisions, people consistently place greater weight on negative aspects of an event that they do on positive ones. This tendency to overemphasize the negative can have an impact on the choices that people make and the risks they are willing to take.”
The first step in healing is focusing on your mind. Let us look at the six best ways to rest those emotions and reset your mood leading to more positive outcomes:

Do not forget to breath – When our emotions are running high, our brain signals that more air is needed to keep up with all the triggers. Instead of keeping a steady pace, the breaths are short and fast. This can lead to an anxiety attack or physical aggression. By taking a few short seconds to take in deep long breaths, this will give your mind a chance to reset itself.
A good pattern to think of is using the “cube method.” Breath in five seconds while drawing an imaginary line going up. Breath out five seconds while drawing to the right. Breath in five seconds while drawing the third line. Lastly, breath out while completing the box. Now, imagine your negative emotion is kept in that box. Move on from the feeling and respond accordingly.

Allow yourself the time to meditate – Meditation has been a part of our world culture for centuries. In fact, recent studies have shown that overall, between 300-500 million people regularly use meditation. Yet, less than 15 percent of Americans have meditated at least once. By incorporating this practice into your schedule once a day, this will give yourself the time that is needed to nurture your mind and body.
Choose an area that is quiet and free of distractions. Even sitting in your car will do. Make yourself physically comfortable first. Then begin the process of deep breathing.
After completing each “cube,” reward your mind with a good thought. Use the last few minutes to focus on your response and further actions. Remain focused on the potential positive outcome and less on the downfalls.

Sing to yourself – This may seem trivial when dealing with high emotions, yet this is the best time to distract your mind. By vocalizing and repeating the same phrases with the music, these few minutes lets the negative emotions come back to base level. Make a playlist you enjoy and use it when you are overwhelmed.

Perhaps your genre of choice is eighties pop music. Pick songs that are enjoyable to sing along with and less on the memory that song holds for you. Grab yourself something cold to drink to and turn up the music. Allow your conflicting emotions to flow away with each passing note. Now, go back and make a rational and calm decision.

Go for a walk – When we are at an impasse with others, frustration often takes the lead. With no agreements and minutes lost, the moment becomes overwhelming emotionally. This is the time to step away. By taking ten minutes to walk around outside or even doing stretches in another room can drastically change the negative outcome by giving yourself these minutes of self-care.
This is also a great time to incorporate your music into your walk. By distracting your mind with music and using your energy to exercise, the positive and neutral emotions begin to resurface. When you return nourish and hydrate your body. Even a glass of water and a yogurt can give back the mental energy needed to deal with future disagreements.

Reboot your hobbies – The nice thing about hobbies is they can change over a lifetime and still be engaging. Maybe as a teenager, drawing anime was a past time you enjoyed. Yet, as an adult, you haven’t drawn anything past a happy face. This is a good time to dust off those old pencils and notebooks and begin creating again. By focusing on a leisure activity more often, this gives your mind the acceptance of doing something positive.
Choose one quiet hobby for indoors and one physical hobby for outdoors. Perhaps building birdhouses is one of your favorite pastimes. Use the nicer days to go outside and construct the houses and rainier days for painting finishing touches. Whatever you choose, keep it simple and be proud of each step you complete.

Keep smiling – When our days are taxed emotionally and lengthy, the face is the first to show signs of defeat. Often in the form of frowning. It is difficult to smile at others when the return is minimal. Instead of thinking of it as smiling for others, think of it as smiling for yourself. By showing a neutral or relaxed face, this shows others that their words and actions do not affect your positive emotions.
Start this practice first thing in the morning. Smile to yourself in the mirror while getting ready. Use this positive energy to complete your morning tasks with more ease and less frustration. Throughout the day, mentally check in with yourself, “Do I look approachable?” Remind yourself what type of person you want to portray to others and act on it.

In Conclusion
By using each of the practices in your daily life, your mind will be less irrational and more focused on solutions. Continual practice will bring wiser choices and more positive emotions. As American author Caroline Myss once said, “The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”

Curated by Sharen Ryan