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As a career and leadership coaching organization, we know that personal wellness is critical for individual health and directly correlates to greater happiness and satisfaction in the workplace. To uplift National Wellness Month, we tapped into the knowledge of one of our Crosworks team members, Michelle Rupp, who is passionate about wellness and happens to be yoga instructor in her free time.

By Michelle Rupp, Crosworks’ coaching experience manager

It goes without saying that we live in an extremely fast-paced, ever-changing world. As we do our best to keep up with the many demands of school, work and family life, it can be easy to get swept up and away from the present moment.

In honor of National Wellness Month, our Crosworks team wanted to share a mindfulness practice. This easily can be incorporated into your daily life to help you ground yourself in times of chaos, as well as open the door to a practice that nurtures mental wellbeing.

First things first – what is mindfulness? Mindfulness can be defined as “a state of active, open attention to the present, observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them.” Contrary to popular belief, the goal of practicing mindfulness and meditation is not eliminating our thoughts but, rather, to become aware of them. The awareness we build when practicing mindfulness allows us to become more familiar with our patterns. From this awareness, we can begin to make subtle shifts and changes, where indicated, to support our overall wellbeing.

If you’re newer to the idea of practicing mindfulness, you might be relieved to know that you can begin to incorporate this practice into your day in as little as a few minutes. As with the formation of any new habit, it is more about consistency of behavior over time, rather than time spent on the new behavior. You’ll benefit much more from engaging with mindfulness practices for five minutes or less each day than you would with doing a one-hour meditation once per week.

Interested in exploring mindfulness but not sure where to start? Try these steps:

1. Set a daily reminder on your phone at a time that works for you – there is no right or wrong time to practice mindfulness.
2. Find a comfortable seat and set a timer for 1-5 minutes. You may start out with a smaller amount of time and gradually increase as you feel ready.
3. Begin to focus your attention on your breathing. No need to change the pattern of your breath, just simply notice your inhales and exhales. As a way to keep your focus on your breath, you may even silently say to yourself “inhale” as you breathe in and “exhale” as you breathe out.
4. Notice as thoughts come into your mind. Take a mental note of where your mind has wondered and, without judgement, shift your attention from the thoughts back to your breath. Begin again by noting your breath in with “inhale” and your breath out with “exhale.”

We hope you take some time to practice mindfulness – whether it’s with these steps or another approach – and to intentionally support your personal wellbeing.

Learn more about National Wellness Month. And, if you manage a team, here are some tips for employers to make wellness a priority for employees.

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