Flyer: Be Aware/Take Notice
Flyer: Be Aware/Take Notice
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TAKE NOTICE - BE AWARE flyer - 5 Ways to Wellbeing.pdfClips from our community, how to get involved in activities and plenty of resources around Taking Notice and Being Aware.
Video: Be Aware/Take Notice
Video: Be Aware/Take Notice
Staff and Haylee from Headspace talk Take Notice / Be Aware
Being Aware & Taking Notice
Being Aware & Taking Notice
Take time to stop and be aware of your surroundings and the moment you are in, paying attention to your thoughts and feelings. Doing this can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach life’s challenges.
Take time to stop and be aware of your surroundings and the moment you are in, paying attention to your thoughts and feelings. Doing this can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach life’s challenges.
Scroll down for loads of information and activities to inspire and help you.
Scroll down for loads of information and activities to inspire and help you.
Why Be Aware
Why Be Aware
It means being aware of your thoughts and feelings as they arise, without getting lost in them. This can increase your ability to keep calm, reduce stress, think clearly, cope better with difficult situations and improve mood.
Reduces worry, anxiety and depression
Reduces worry, anxiety and depression
Many studies have shown that thinking about the past too much and worrying about the future is strongly linked with anxiety and depression. Although it is natural to respond to the stresses in our lives’ by thinking about them, it has been shown that, by focusing on the present moment, we reduce negative thoughts and maintain a level of calmness, which is good for our mental health and wellbeing.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness
Being aware is a step towards self-awareness. By developing a better connection to ourselves, we are more aware of our needs, values and interests, and the behaviours consistent with them.
How to Be Aware
How to Be Aware
Take time in your day to appreciate something good that is already present in your life: this is called ‘practicing gratitude’. Like any other skill, gratitude takes practice.
Feelings of gratitude directly activate brain regions associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine feels good to get, which is why it’s generally considered the “reward” neurotransmitter. But dopamine is also almost important in initiating action. That means increases in dopamine make you more likely to do something again. It’s the brain saying, “Oh, do that again.”
Studies have found that higher levels of gratitude were associated with better sleep. Once they controlled for the impact of sleep, they found that people practising gratitude were less depressed.
Doing yoga or tai-chi and can help the body to stretch and move with an emphasis on being aware of our breathing which relaxes and tones our bodies as well as improving our mood.
We can train ourselves to practice ‘mindfulness’. Awareness of thoughts, sensations and feelings for 8 to 12 weeks has been shown to enhance wellbeing for several years. Mindfulness is associated with changes in grey matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, the way people process information about themselves, and perspective taking.
MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION
MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION
Mindfulness and meditation can improve our overall sense of well-being. We feel more relaxed by paying attention to the present moment. We are also practicing training our minds to focus which can help in our study and work.
Mindfulness and meditation can improve our overall sense of well-being. We feel more relaxed by paying attention to the present moment. We are also practicing training our minds to focus which can help in our study and work.
If you're new to meditation you might think it's all about sitting crossed legged inside a wooden temple repeating mantras.
If you're new to meditation you might think it's all about sitting crossed legged inside a wooden temple repeating mantras.
But it doesn't have to be that complicated.
But it doesn't have to be that complicated.
A beginners guide to meditation:
A beginners guide to meditation:
- Get Comfortable
- Be Grateful
- Don't try too hard
- Chill (when thoughts come into your mind, just sweep them away)
- Try Guided Meditation
- Don't be too Self-Conscious
- Open your eyes & take in as much of your environment as you can.
Being mindful means you have focus on the present moment.
Being mindful means you have focus on the present moment.
Practicing mindfulness helps with building awareness of thoughts, feelings and sensations while also strengthening your ability to get the space and clarity needed to respond to life in the most effective way.
Practicing mindfulness helps with building awareness of thoughts, feelings and sensations while also strengthening your ability to get the space and clarity needed to respond to life in the most effective way.
In a busy world, we’re all looking for things that can make our lives simpler and less stressful and mindfulness meditation is a scientifically proven way to do it.
In a busy world, we’re all looking for things that can make our lives simpler and less stressful and mindfulness meditation is a scientifically proven way to do it.
Join Sydney Swans legend Brett Kirk as he teams up with the experts in Mindfulness, Smiling Mind, to show you how you can use mindfulness in different areas of your life, to find a calmer and happier you. Take a look at all the series available by clicking on the link.
Join Sydney Swans legend Brett Kirk as he teams up with the experts in Mindfulness, Smiling Mind, to show you how you can use mindfulness in different areas of your life, to find a calmer and happier you. Take a look at all the series available by clicking on the link.
MINDFUL SILENCE
MINDFUL SILENCE
To be present in the moment, take these steps:
To be present in the moment, take these steps:
- Gently close your eyes
- Take slow, deep breaths
- Notice what you can smell
- Notice what you can hear
- Notice what you can feel
- After 5 minutes, open your eyes
MINDFUL OBSERVATION
MINDFUL OBSERVATION
This exercise is simple but incredibly powerful because it helps you notice and appreciate seemingly simple elements of your environment in a more profound way. The exercise is designed to connect us with the beauty of the natural environment, something that is easily missed.
This exercise is simple but incredibly powerful because it helps you notice and appreciate seemingly simple elements of your environment in a more profound way. The exercise is designed to connect us with the beauty of the natural environment, something that is easily missed.
Take these steps:
Take these steps:
- Sit by a window or outside and look at your surroundings. Imagine you are seeing this view for the very first time.
- Avoid labeling what you see. Instead, choose an object and notice its range of colours, shapes, textures, shadows and patterns.
- Choose another object and repeat step 2.
- Spend a few moments observing the movement of the objects in your surroundings, and perhaps the stillness too.
- Try to focus only on what is in front of you. If your thoughts begin to wander, gently bring your attention back to the moment.
- Stop after a few minutes. Hopefully you feel calm and relaxed!
MINDFUL STEPS
MINDFUL STEPS
This activity could be done in the backyard, if suitable. You may even like to walk barefoot.
This activity could be done in the backyard, if suitable. You may even like to walk barefoot.
Select a small area where you can walk in a line for about 5 or 6 steps and then change your direction. While walking, bring your awareness to your breath and your body.
Select a small area where you can walk in a line for about 5 or 6 steps and then change your direction. While walking, bring your awareness to your breath and your body.
- What does the ground feel like under your feet?
- Which part of your foot touches the ground first when you take a step?
- Does your body feel heavy or light today?
- Are you slouching when you walk?
- Or, is your back up quite straight?
Try not to change the way you walk, but instead just notice how your body naturally moves.
Try not to change the way you walk, but instead just notice how your body naturally moves.
MINDFUL COLOURING
MINDFUL COLOURING
- Mindful Colouring asks us to focus on how we choose and apply colour in a design to bring our awareness to the present moment. This process is similar to meditation, we let go of any thoughts about tomorrow or yesterday, or what we are going to do when we finish.
- If we catch ourselves thinking about the past or the future, we can gently bring our awareness back to what we are doing in the present moment by describing what we are doing. “I am picking up a red pen and will use it on all of the hearts in the picture.”
- We need to let go of judging whether the colouring in is good or bad, amazing or terrible and whether we are good at it or not. There is no right or wrong way to colour in, it is a form of self-expression.
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