Mindfulness in College
Mindfulness in college is important. Mindfulness is defined as awareness, and in this case it is helpful to be present in your everyday life. In college, it’s particularly easy to get swept up in anxiety and worry about the future. You have exams, essays, maybe even a part-time job to worry about all the time! Mindfulness in college can really help you keep your day in check and become a happier person. Here are some tips of staying mindful when things feel overwhelming.
Meditate
Now I don’t claim to be any expert on meditation. I still suck at it, for the most part. However, even when I suck at it, it’s still a really great way to keep myself grounded and relaxed. Here are some beginners tips for meditating that really helped me get started. The most helpful thing to me is meditating at a set time each day, like first thing in the morning, and just focusing on being quiet and calm. I might not be able to completely clear my mind (actually, I seriously struggle with this!), but I always benefit from a few quiet, focused moments.
Breathing Exercises
Practicing breathing exercises is a great way to focus on mindfulness in college! In case you’ve never heard of them, breathing exercises are when you focus on your breath and nothing else to achieve calm. There are different tequniques and patterns you can try, but just starting with a deep breath is a good way to stay in control of your breathing. When you feel yourself starting to get anxious or stress, you can turn to breathing exercises in order to stay mindful of your situation. Oftentimes a deep breath goes a long way in helping you reevaluate the situation. For some more ideas on breathing techniques check out this article.
Get Active
Doing an activity can help you stay mindful while in college. Sometimes I go to the gym, but that’s not always the best way for me to reach a calm mind. Running is the most therapeutic thing in my book. I run while I listen to podcasts, music, or sometimes just the natural ambient sounds around me. I never return from a good run feeling stress. That time is reserved just for releasing stress.
Write
Writing has been my source of sanity for basically my entire life. You can write a journal or poetry, or even just extensive Harry Potter fanfiction. The act of writing and focusing on one task can really help center your mind and relieve stress. I like to write blog posts, like the one you’re reading now, and even writing my homework sometimes can help ground me in the moment.
Track your Mindfulness
Using a mindfulness tracker can give you the extra boost to stay aware in all areas of your life. The Spire Mindfulness + Activity Tracker is an easy to use device which hooks to your clothing and keeps track of your breathing and activity. By syncing it with an app on your smartphone, you’re able to receive real-time feedback about your state of mind. Not only does it track activity level, it also monitors your breathing and can let you know when you’re feeling tense or calm. If you go too long without taking a much needed deep breathe, your Spire wearable tracker will gently vibrate to remind you to take a moment. It also vibrates when you’re tense to let you know that you might want to practice some breathing exercises on the app or alone.
By using the Spire Mindfulness + Activity Tracker in college, I’ve learned a lot about how my body reacts to my daily activities! Using API Integration, the spire wearable tracker is able to analyze data utilizing your location, calendar, and even photos. I’ve learned that I’m almost always the most tense when I’m at work. My body is also very focused when I’m reading a book or working on my computer. Weirdly enough, I’m the most calm in class! Basically, I’m a super nerd. The Spire tracker has also encouraged me to be more active by challenging myself to reach a higher step count each day! Check out my week below! The blue represents my focused minutes, the green is calm, and the red is tense.
Mindfulness in College
Being mindful is an important skill to hone in college. It can help you achieve calm in moments of tension, and it can teach you to let go when you’re hung up on your Biology final. You should try a couple of different mindful techniques to determine the way the works best for you! I like to focus on staying active and writing, but my Spire tracker has opened my eyes to different things like breathing and meditation. How do you stay mindful in college?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.