Mental health activist shares minuscule ways to condition your brain towards mindfulness: From traffic to self-talk

Mindfulness can be described as a buzzword in the mental health community nowadays, yet it is what all of us need to strive for. Mental health activist Prakriti Poddar refers to mindfulness as the "modern world's best survival skill".

 

"It's sort of like a hip fix, but mindfulness isn't a hack. It's the brave, uncomplicated act of showing up fully, just where you are, even when life is a circus," opines Prakriti Poddar, Roundglass Living's global head of mental health and wellbeing.

 

The mind, she believes, can be a monkey or a maestro, depending on how you train it.

 

"Independent of others, our minds leap from branch to branch, replaying humiliating memories, plotting catastrophes yet to befall us, or bullying people not even inside the house. Mindfulness is the means we entice this monkey back into the present, breath by curious breath. Long before brain scans confirmed its power, yogis and monks knew that mindful awareness was the key to mastery of life's peaks and troughs. What is new is how waterlogged our minds are these days. Notifications, breaking news, financial worries, doom scrolling etc. It is no wonder inner peace seems like an endangered species," adds Poddar.

 

Benefits of mindfulness

Mindfulness, as scientifically proven, also has the extra bonus of thickening the areas of your brain that control memory and emotions, in addition to dialing down the stress loops that make you anxious.

 

"One huge review of over 200 studies concluded that mindfulness can damp down anxiety and improve mood. It actually builds mental resilience, so we're less likely to get sidetracked when life hits us with a curveball," says Poddar.

 

That is when it is important to pause.

 

"Imagine you get pierced by sharp criticism at work. Your heart beats faster. Your stomach constricts. You want to strike back or retreat. Mindfulness intervenes like a wise old friend: 'Wait. Feel that? Breathe.' That split second makes all the difference. It is the moment when you choose to respond out of curiosity instead of reactivity. Over time, these little choices lower stress and anxiety, and increase mental and emotional resilience," writes Poddar.

 

She also calls mindfulness a "calming tool" that reminds us to greet life head-on, with open eyes and an open heart.

 

"When we are meeting sickness, loss, or failure, it's all too easy to go into fear or helplessness. But mindfulness reminds us: we can't always make what's occurring occur, but we can choose how we meet it. The awareness of that choice can change everything," the expert says.

 

How to practice mindfulness

You don't have to sit for hours or chant on a mountain top. Mindfulness can hide in plain sight, says Poddar.

 

In your tea cup

Hold its warmth in your hands, the roll of steam, the initial sip. You've just grounded yourself now.

 

In traffic

Don't fume, but hold your feet on the floor, your hands on the steering wheel. Take the red light as a reminder to return.

 

In tough times

When your heart is racing or your throat closes up, label it quietly: "Nervous. Sad. Angry." Labeling quiets the storm. This brings emotional clarity and enables you to welcome yourself with more compassion.