I love mindfulness because it’s a good brain health practice for everyone, but can be particularly helpful for people dealing with post concussion symptoms. It is one of my very favorite strategies to help clients suffering with emotional dysregulation or nervous system over stimulation or focus/attention or memory concerns. Seriously, it can help with any and all of those issues.
Mindfulness is basically just keeping your mind in the present, without judgement. This is way easier said than done, but the practice is well worth the time and effort investment.
One simple way to practice mindfulness that you can easily do as part of your everyday routine is to take a moment while you’re eating a meal or a snack and do it mindfully. Pause before just throwing the food in your mouth — explore it with your eyes and really notice what it looks like. Smell it, consider where it came from and how it will help your body. Then put it in your mouth but before you chew and swallow it, roll it around with your tongue — really notice the texture and feel of it in your mouth. Then go ahead and start chewing, and again, do so slowly, with your awareness focused on how that feels, if it’s crunchy or smooth, what it tastes like, etc. Have a moment with your food instead of rushing to chow it down or distracting yourself with other things while eating.
I share this and many of my other go-to mindfulness tips in the podcast episode this week. You can listen in at:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Vx3mJ1qrBaA