Sounds great! But let’s be serious, who has the time to perch on a fluffy pillow and go deep? Actually, you do—and you don’t need a fluffy pillow to do it. That’s the beauty of mindfulness exercises: It takes less than a minute to pause and check in with yourself, and you can do it anywhere. “The key is making mindfulness a habit,” says Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. Yes, she starts every morning with a quiet meditation, but once her crazy-busy days get started, she also just stops and breathes. “Conscious breathing gives me something I can return to hundreds of times during the day in an instant. That helps bring me back into the moment and transcend upsets and setbacks,” she says. MORE: 67% Of People Would Rather Receive An Electric Shock Than Meditate And if the woman running one of the biggest news sites in the world can do it, there’s definitely hope for the rest of us. These three simple mindfulness meditations can help you get started: Be the observer. The next time you’re about to lose it, imagine that you’re watching yourself on a movie screen. By stepping outside of a situation before reacting to it, you’ll gain an instant, calming sense of perspective rather than getting caught up in the moment, says mindfulness expert Aunna Pourang, MD, author of Meditate Don’t Medicate. Do chores with purpose. Doing the dishes? Pay close attention to the feeling of the warm water, the smell of the soap, and the sound of the running water. “Focusing on your senses keeps you present and aware of what’s happening now,” says licensed psychologist Susan Orenstein, PhD. “And for the most part, when we’re present and noticing and observing without judgment, we’re in a calm state.” (Consider giving this eating mediation a try.) Take a slow breath. Try this the next time you’re stuck in line behind a woman with a fistful of coupons: Breathe in as slowly as possible while thinking, “I am.” Then exhale just as slowly, and think, “at peace.” Repeat as needed until the tension starts to melt—which likely won’t take long. “Stress is oftentimes behind us or in front of us, and not actually here and now. But breathing pulls you into the present,” says Kathy Gruver, PhD, author of Conquer Your Stress with Mind/Body Techniques. MORE:
