In today’s fast-paced world, it is easy to get caught up in stress, distractions, and endless to-do lists. Practising mindfulness exercises can help you find balance and peace.

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If you feel disconnected or empty, embracing mindfulness can improve your lifestyle and health. Find out how to get started with these daily exercises.

What Is Mindfulness

Mindfulness means being fully present in the moment, perceiving yourself and your body in the surrounding space and noticing all the aspects of reality.

It is common to feel lost in busy work-life routines, but you can reconnect with yourself and become fully conscious of the world around you with simple mindfulness exercises to include in your daily routine, which can help reduce anxiety, improve focus, and enhance your overall well-being.

The good news is that practising mindfulness is for everyone. You do not need to set aside hours to start or have any equipment; it is easy and free. Try these 7 mindfulness exercises to improve your well-being the more you practice them.

Mindfulness Exercises For Your Daily Routine: #1 Morning Breathing Practice

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Start your day with a moment of stillness. Before reaching for your phone or rushing into your morning routine, take a few deep breaths. Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique:

• Inhale through your nose for four seconds.
• Hold your breath for seven seconds.
• Exhale forcefully through your mouth by making a "whoosh" sound for eight seconds.
• Repeat the cycle for a total of 4 times.

Why The 4-7-8 Breathing Technique Is Good For Your Well-Being

This simple breathing exercise calms the nervous system and reduces stress levels and anxiety, setting a peaceful tone for the day ahead.

Mindfulness Exercise #2: Mindful Eating

Instead of eating on autopilot and in a rush, take the time to truly enjoy your meals. This exercise invites you to slow down at the table and pay closer attention to your food and its aromas. Chew slowly, savouring each bite, and appreciate flavours and textures.

Why Mindful Eating Is Good For Your Well-Being

Eating mindfully not only enhances your enjoyment of food but also improves digestion and prevents overeating. It also helps you understand when hunger is real and when it is emotional.

Mindfulness Exercise #3: The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

Whenever you feel overwhelmed, this quick mindfulness exercise can help bring you back to the present moment. Simply focus on:

• 5 things you can see
• 4 things you can touch
• 3 things you can hear
• 2 things you can smell
• 1 thing you can taste.

Why The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique Is Good For Your Well-Being

This grounding technique is particularly useful for reducing anxiety and refocusing your mind.

Mindfulness Exercise #4: Mindful Walking

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Transform your daily walks into a mindfulness practice by paying close attention to your surroundings. Notice the feeling of your feet touching the ground, the rhythm of your breath, and the sounds of nature or the city around you.

Why Mindful Walking Is Good For Your Well-Being

Walking mindfully helps clear your mind and allows you to reconnect with the present.

Mindfulness Exercise #5: Gratitude Reflection

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Take a moment each day to reflect on three things you are grateful for. This could be something as simple as a sunny day, a kind gesture from a friend, or a delicious cup of coffee.

Why Practising Gratitude Is Good For Your Well-Being

Practising gratitude shifts your focus from what is missing to what you have, fostering a more positive mindset.

Mindfulness Exercise #6: Body Scan Meditation

Try a body scan meditation to release tension and promote relaxation. Close your eyes and mentally scan your body from head to toe, noticing any areas of tightness or discomfort. Breathe into those areas, allowing them to soften.

Why The Body Scan Meditation Is Good For Your Well-Being

This practice helps you unwind and reconnect your mind and body, and these to the present moment. If done before going to bed, it can improve the quality of your sleep.

Mindfulness Exercise #7: Digital Detox Breaks

Throughout the day, take short breaks from screens. Set aside five minutes to simply sit down and breathe, look out of a window, or step outside for fresh air.

Why Digital Detox Is Good For Your Well-Being

Being mindful of your screen time reduces stress and improves focus.

Mindfulness does not require hours of meditation or major lifestyle changes. By incorporating small, intentional moments of awareness into your routine, you can cultivate a greater sense of calm, clarity, self-compassion and well-being.

You already know you need to lose some extra pounds but cannot bring yourself to do it. If this sounds familiar to you, you will find your motivation in this blog.

The pandemic has had a huge impact and long-lasting effects on our health and it continues to do so leaving it in tatters. 

Lockdown restrictions are finally easing, which means we can look forward to embracing some form of new normality.

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One look at Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima, or Naomi Campbell, and we all swoon instantly, in awe of their blemish-free complexions, glistening smiles, and their unwavering confidence. Their slender physiques deserve the same level of admiration, so women around the globe have always been curious about their, pardon the pun, secrets.

After all, one doesn’t just munch on a carrot and earn that slim, but toned look, nor can we expect our walk to the office to do the trick. Much like with so many other aspects of their career in fashion, their fitness is a matter of dedication, perseverance, and professional support from the finest nutritionists and personal trainers.

However, you can certainly bring some of their coveted fitness tips into your own lifestyle and work your way towards that lean look of youthful vibrancy. From taking steps to refine your nutrition to introducing new workout ideas, you can achieve so much more by following in the footsteps of Victoria’s Secret Angels.  Here’s what you can do!

You’ll Thrive On Versatility

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In fitness, as in life, you’ll find that it’s too easy to get bored with the same old moves and the same old places. Yes, some people do love the comfort of their favorite gym, but it becomes easy to slack off simply because you’ve showed up at all. If you think like a model, getting lazy is not an option if you want to stay lean, thin, and strong. On the contrary, adding diversity into your workouts can be the perfect way to beat boredom, stay motivated, and of course, stay on the right track with your fitness goals.

Now a New York supermodel, Maria Borges loves training versatility, so she relies on more than just one, monotonous class. She loves Zumba, but you’ll also find her boxing and working on her Zen in yoga. If you’re the kind of gal to find it difficult to stay loyal to one routine, then adding more options to your menu can be a great way to stay engaged and active while you melt those pounds away.

Balanced Nutrition Is Key

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From Jasmine Tookes to Jacquelyn Jablonski, you’ll find that all Angels rely on healthy, balanced nutrition to stay fit. Most of them do their best to cut out unhealthy, processed foods such as sugary drinks and fast food, while others believe that moderation is key, even if you don’t shy away from the occasional sweet treat. They all agree, however, that protein is crucial, as it helps build lean muscle and burn fat.

In case you’re a vegan, protein intake can be a challenge, since most food sources of lean protein come from meat and dairy. The simplest way to follow this piece of advice is to follow a detailed vegan protein guide that can help you discover the best ways to consume plant-based protein to stay lean and healthy. Pair your protein-packed diet with a strong exercise routine, and you’ll soon be catwalk-ready!

Mix Cardio And Strength

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Whether we like it or not, the simple truth is that the treadmill will sometimes not cut it, especially if you want to reach some very challenging weight-loss goals and keep your physique in check. Once again, Victoria Secret’s finest such as Kelsey Merritt share their wisdom to help you stay on the right track by reaching for those weights, without abandoning your cardio routine! She’s a fan of intense workouts such as boxing, as well, but she favors balancing her workouts with some cardio and strength.

If you’re stuck at home and have no access to weights, you can do bodyweight strength exercises, or you can follow in Jourdana Phillips’s footsteps and use resistance bands. These handy contraptions are multifunctional, easy to adjust to your needs, and ideal for home workouts – perfect when you need an excuse not to train, and they’re just silently judging you from the corner of your bedroom!

Get Graceful And Elegant

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Some workouts are focused on toning your muscles and granting your joints more mobility, which means you can work with the range of motion that you already have. Other workout systems, however, will push your limits in that respect and grant you more mobility, flexibility, and help you move in a more graceful manner. We’re talking about barre workouts, based on the beautiful and challenging moves found in ballet.

Lily Aldridge is one of those models that swear by this particular workout approach, and while she does use ballet to stay fit all year long, she actually elevates her training efforts before a show. Perhaps combining an artistic workout such as this one with something more intense can help you stay fit and reach your goals more quickly.

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These ladies make all of their grace and beauty seem so effortless, but it’s crucial to remember that they invest years of hard work to discover the perfect fitness plan for them. The same applies to you, so you can look for a combination that allows you to stay fit and healthy, but that also makes you happy and elevates your confidence in one fell swoop!

The UK’s Health & Fitness Festival for Women celebrates it’s fifth year with lots of exciting and new ways to stay healthy and keep fit.