{"id":74855,"date":"2022-07-31T13:58:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T17:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=74855"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:14:12","slug":"everyday-mindfulness-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/everyday-mindfulness-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Mindfulness: The 2 Techniques to Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can you practice mindfulness every day<\/a>? What are the benefits of everyday mindfulness<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practicing mindfulness in your daily life has many benefits, including reducing anxiety. In Unwinding Anxiety<\/em>, Dr. Judson Brewer offers two mindful techniques that you should incorporate into your daily routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more to learn the two mindfulness techniques that can help you cope with anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform’s guide on ADHD<\/a>.\u00a0If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyday Mindfulness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you start practicing mindfulness in response to anxiety, Brewer recommends that you incorporate mindfulness throughout your daily life. He suggests that practicing everyday mindfulness lowers stress, increases your enjoyment of life, and helps you spot new anxiety loops as they arise. To that end, he offers a few more techniques designed to strengthen and expand your mindfulness practice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Noting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Noting is <\/em>a technique for avoiding distraction when you\u2019re trying to be mindful. Brewer explains that if you\u2019re watching the breath or other bodily sensations and you notice yourself thinking, feeling strong emotions, or feeling the urge to do something else, you should simply note the distraction by naming what it is\u2014\u201cthinking,\u201d \u201cfeeling,\u201d \u201chearing,\u201d \u201csoreness,\u201d and so on<\/strong>\u2014and gently return to your practice. Doing so encourages you to be mindful by paying close attention to whatever\u2019s going on right now and also gives you distance from your thoughts and emotions<\/a><\/strong> by showing you that you can experience and acknowledge them without getting caught up in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Noting can also help you recognize patterns in your thinking<\/a>, which, as we\u2019ve seen, is a key step in treating anxiety. Still, as meditation<\/a> teacher Andy Puddicombe explains, you don\u2019t need to note every single thought you have<\/a>\u2014just the ones that distress you or threaten to distract you from your mindfulness.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Loving Kindness Practice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Brewer recommends extending your mindfulness by taking up loving kindness practice<\/em>\u2014a meditation technique whereby you offer positive wishes toward others and\/or yourself to develop compassion, love, and joy. Brewer says that loving kindness is a powerful antidote to anxiety because it relaxes you, reduces stress and self-judgment, and engenders positive, gentle emotions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Benefits of Compassion<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Brewer presents loving kindness meditation with a focus on stress relief and self-compassion<\/a>. In the context of anxiety treatment, the idea is that practicing loving kindness will make you feel calmer and will help you avoid self-judgment. But practicing loving kindness has further benefits as well. For example, in 10% Happier<\/em><\/a>, journalist Dan Harris outlines the following benefits<\/a> that he learned from interviewing the Dalai Lama:<\/p>\n\n\n\n