Life as a student comes with many responsibilities, which may add to the stress in your personal life. Even the slightest things during the day can erupt into stress or anxiety.

These emotions are normal and nothing to be ashamed of. But sometimes, your feelings can get overwhelming and overtake everything, leaving you with a pit in your stomach. Mindfulness can be a way to combat stress, anxiousness and even depression. 

Mindfulness is a form of meditation with many techniques that can be applied at any time of the day. The goal of mindfulness is to focus on the moment and your feelings while leaving behind judgmental thoughts and actions such as overthinking, debating and focusing on the future.

Here are five techniques to implement into your routine that may lead to positive changes and benefit your mental health and mindset. These techniques are not an end-all-be-all and may not work for everyone, but please do not be discouraged.

Mindful wake-up

Waking up on the right side of the bed can help you to have a successful and meaningful day. To do this, setting intentions for the day is a good start. 

Knowing what you want out of the day can help how you go about the activities and actions you participate in. Give yourself some grace because even when having a daily set intention, straying away from it is okay. Some days are more difficult than others. Getting through the day is what is most important.

Mindful walking

With mindful walking, you can go anywhere and get your steps. The goal of this practice is to focus on your surroundings. You can do this by putting your feet on the ground and taking in the scenery in the environment around you. You might ask yourself: “What do I smell, hear or feel?”

Some places to walk mindfully are in the Fullerton Arboretum, local trails, a treadmill in the gym or even around your neighborhood. 

Mindful writing 

Writing is a form of expression that can be helpful to approach situations to work through your thoughts, allowing you to reflect on perspectives you didn’t recognize before. 

Journaling can be an excellent way to store all your thoughts in one designated space, knowing you can express yourself freely there as a personal outlet, sacred to only you.  

Mindful breathing

Mindful breathing has many different techniques. 

You can focus on the physical results of your breath, like your body movements, during the inhale and exhale, allowing you to concentrate on the moment. 

Another technique for breathing is using the “2-4 method,” where you inhale for five seconds, followed by an exhale of 10 seconds. A longer exhale slows down your heart rate and blood pressure.

Yoga

Levels of yoga vary, but any form you’re comfortable with will work for implementing mindful yoga into your day. You can follow a guided yoga video from YouTube or pick out a few stretches and poses that you feel will be beneficial. Some common yoga poses include downward dog, child’s pose and extended puppy pose. 

Through this practice, you can focus on breathing and allow the stretches to relieve any built-up tension and emotion your body may carry.