There was a time when releasing “stress” meant endlessly waiting for a break from the routine, fooling myself that small breaks every now and then is what really brings stress levels down. For sure they did, but I observed that it clearly didn’t address the real discomfort I had. It could be aesthetically beautifying, but the wounds were only getting deeper.
It is always easy to live in denial about the everyday stress of sorts until it piles up into a full-blown outburst. The stress could be a combination of work, family, frustration of not being able to do activities you probably love. It may be altogether something you absolutely know nothing about. More often than not, it is “Mind Over Matter”! While addressing these issues is vital, demystifying their fundamentals is equally essential. To do that, one should start consciously practicing “Mindfulness Over Matters”. All it takes is adding a little discipline to your day. The rewards are priceless, I promise.
After a lot of permutation and combination of exercises with regards to physical and mental health, I eventually arrived at my best fives! These “best fives” collectively consume only an hour and fifteen minutes of my day, but adds the most magical fuel called Mindfulness. Not just for that same day but for everyday. The best part about it is, I can spread it across the entire day.

• Morning jog/walk – For a not-so-morning-person like me, this seemed to be an arduous task to drag myself every morning for a seemingly useless activity like a morning walk. Like they say, it takes only 21 days for something to be made habitual. So eventually I started loving my 30 minutes of morning strolls which started becoming jogs and of course a great “me” time. It is a boundless way of releasing those endorphins which uplifts your energies to another level.

• Breathing Exercises – The day I was introduced to some of the breathing exercises, I realized how wrong we were in our breathing, all our lives. It brought instant calmness to the ever wandering and anxious mind. I started with very moderate techniques eventually moving to one of the best, named Kapalbhati Pranayama. Kapalbhati Pranayama in itself has multiple benefits ranging from mind to body. The best part about this is, it can be done any time in the day as per your convenience and doesn’t take more than 10 mins.

• Meditation – This one is the king of all practices. Meditation is a practice wherein we train our mind to enter into a zone of consciousness. It doesn’t necessarily mean a state of no thoughts. It teaches you to let those thoughts pass by without being absorbed or acknowledged. A lot of things and situations occur which are beyond our control but we are still entangled among them. Meditation with a good soulful music helps you to let go of those thoughts and allows you to be more in the present moment. You do it better and better with each passing day, so don’t give up in the initial days when you struggle to focus while meditating.

• Yogasana – There is an ocean of yogasanas if you dwell into it, but there are always your best picks which deem fit for you. Yogasanas are the simplest and the most ancient way to shed our extra kilos and at the same time meditating our mind and body. This ancient practice provides a range of mind and body benefits. It includes benefits which gives strength and flexibility, body stretches, releases the stress levels and even cures many diseases. Surya Namaskar(Sun Salutation) is one of my favourites. It improves flexibility, strength, balance, reduces stress and anxiety, reduces symptoms of lower back pain, reduces sleep disturbances and hypertension.

• Favorite Read – It is proven that reading something everyday which feeds your soul can be extremely therapeutic. Any ardent reader will concur with the emotional high he/she gets while reading something that beautifully describes their precise dilemma. Or you can choose a completely abstract read which lifts your spirit. When you do that for 10 -15 minutes before bed, it has a capacity to calm your mind. Not just that, it helps you with a peaceful good night sleep! We all know a peaceful sleep is a fuel to our productivity for the next day.

While these “best fives” won’t give you any overnight results, slowly and steadily you will feel the difference. The way you will start handling situations will give you an evidence and the motivation to look forward to practicing these exercises. You will reach a situation of nirvana. That is what I call “Mindfulness over Matter” where you have control over your mind to keep it at a safe distance from the unwanted distortions.!!
Enjoy this time of your day and you will crave for it everyday…
Riddhi Shah I Digital Marketing Manager, Ashnik

Passionate about Content Marketing, Riddhi looks after innovative content marketing strategies through the digital platforms at Ashnik for SEA and India. She aims at continuously working towards taking Ashnik to the next level by increasing it’s brand awareness with a focal goal of generating interests around open source technologies.