We hear so much about being mindful and adopting habits that will help reduce stress and increase our overall health. In fact, we hear so much advice and read so many tips that our wellness routines, in themselves, could be at risk of adding more stress and making us aware of yet another thing we aren’t doing properly.

With this in mind, I wanted to share some simple, everyday behaviours that are easy to work into our existing routines. They should be easy to establish and will genuinely make a difference but we must also take small steps as we work towards our ideal outcome. If you do these things only twice a week, that is still better than not at all. And, if you miss a day, don’t see that as failure to make a change, just forgive yourself and get back into the swing of things the next day.

1.   Take a breath

Obviously, you are doing this anyway (!) but I am referring to a proper breath. A big, chest-expanding, lung-filling, reaches-right-to-your-toes corker of a breath. Breathe in as deeply as you can, hold it for a second and then slowly let it out. Feel different? It should do.

This article by the BBC states that, by the time we are 30 years old, we will have inhaled and exhaled roughly 250 million times. But how many of those breaths did we really make count? When we take the sort of breath I described above, it has a knock-on effect to our whole body. It oxygenates our brain and all of our organs and triggers our calming system.

Even better is to consciously take three or more of these breaths in a row. This is proven to switch our nervous system into a calmer state. Doing this simple and quick exercise regularly will lead to physiological changes in your body that will actually lower your stress levels.

Finally, research has shown that if we combine these deep breaths with inhaling certain smells – such as essential oils or, strangely, tomato skins, we can help ourselves relax even further and even get to sleep. The scent of a tomato skin is thought to be one of the best aromas to fall asleep to.

2.   Get back to BACE-ics

No, that’s not a typo, BACE is a meditation process and this is how it works:

• B – body: breathe and focus on your body and think “what can I do today that will make me feel good?” It could be stretching, exercise, or a hot cup of tea. Just taking the time to listen in is what matters here
• A – achievement: take time to positively reframe if you feel stressed by your to-do list. Instead, think “what can I achieve today?” Sometimes using different words makes all the difference
• C – connect: who can you connect with? As humans, we need connection with others as it gives us energy and a sense of belonging. Who could you phone or pop round to see?
• E – enjoyment: Review your B, A and C and find out whether these are giving you enough enjoyment. Is there anything you need to add?

BACE works well because it’s like a mapped out meditation. It’s easy to remember and it’s driven by want and need rather than the dreaded ‘should’.

3.   Gratification ‘Lite’

If you struggle with finding time to write, or you’re just not a fan of putting pen to paper, why not build your gratification thoughts into your daily activities? This is still an effective and enjoyable way to focus on the positive, therefore increasing the likelihood of more positivity coming your way. To do this, simply take a moment at different points during the way to recognise what’s around you and appreciate what’s beautiful. What pleases your eye? Do you have a favourite piece of art that you admired, bought and now barely look at? Spend some time studying it. If you’re outside, look and listen carefully and think of the sheer beauty of nature. By connecting in this way, we allow ourselves to slow down and just appreciate the natural world.

Keep an eye out for future blogs which will share tips on things you can do with your thought processes and what you eat that will also be easy to implement but have an exponential impact upon your happiness and mindset.