After spending decades raising a family and building a legacy, many people enter their fifties feeling worried, fretful, anxious, and aimless.
However, there are many ways to make retirement meaningful. Mindfulness techniques are daily practices that help set the mind at ease and help people feel at ease with their existence. Read on to discover valuable mindfulness techniques that can make retirement feel like the reward it is.
What is mindfulness?
You may be wondering exactly what mindfulness is. Mindfulness is a practice that requires slowing down and becoming aware of your own thoughts and feelings. You might be tempted to think that mindfulness should be a form of self-policing, becoming aware of your bad habits so that you can scrub them out. This is also not true. Mindfulness requires awareness without judgment. You aren’t required to make any big lifestyle changes. All mindfulness requires is intention and consistency.
Meaningful hobbies
When your career winds down and becomes less demanding, it is important to have something to fill the time. Many people over 50 take up a new sport, allowing them to spend time in the present moment, concentrating on gaining a new skill, and experiencing the joys of community. Others who enjoy sports but prefer a more solitary experience might turn to gaming online. Many platforms now offer streamlined interfaces, secure payments, and a wide selection of games, while resources like insights from Esports Insider outline which online platforms provide the most reliable experience for UK users.
These types of games can allow people over 50 to unwind at their own pace, offering a quiet and flexible way to spend time without external pressure or commitments.
If spending time on the computer is not for you, take up a hobby like knitting, crocheting, or calligraphy. These hands-on hobbies allow you to be present as you engage in a meditative, repetitive motion. You also get to experience the joy of learning a new skill while seeing your small, repetitive actions grow into a beautiful and individual piece of art. This is a wonderful practice that can show you how your small actions create value in the world.
Morning rituals and starting your day
Starting your day off with mindfulness is also a wonderful way to beat the blues. A mindful morning doesn’t involve scrolling on your phone endlessly or starting a fight with the neighbours over your morning coffee.
Try building mindfulness into your morning routine. Start the day with some breathing exercises, and develop a meaningful ritual around preparing your breakfast. Many people use meditation techniques like transcendental meditation as a way to start their mornings. Along with this, adding a pot of loose-leaf tea or pour-over coffee to your breakfast is a simple way to create a space for yourself as you wake up. This allows you to be present and aware as you start your day.
Others might prefer to start their day using journaling. A popular method of journaling is called the morning pages, a method pioneered by the writer Julia Cameron. This popular method of journaling involves sitting down for about half an hour and doing three full pages of freewriting. Freewriting means writing down whatever comes to your mind, whether it's boring, repetitive, incoherent, or scrambled. This early morning flow allows you to free up your mind to engage with the rest of your day more meaningfully.
Moving with meaning
Movement is critical as you age. Your bones often become less dense, meaning maintaining muscle mass is critical for staying strong and preventing falls as you grow older. Stretching daily is also critical in maintaining mobility and avoiding the chronic pain that comes from stiff, tight muscles.
However, incorporating movement into your day does more than just protect your body. It also boosts your feel-good hormones and improves your mental well-being. Adding an element of movement to your routine allows you to be present in the moment.
A wonderful way to bring mindfulness into your movement is to make a habit of taking walks in nature. Spending time in nature allows you to create distance between yourself and the humdrum of your responsibilities. You will be more able to focus on the sights, smells, and textures of the world around you when it feels like nothing is begging for your attention. Instead, you are able to give your attention freely to the small details that make nature beautiful.
There are also ancient movement techniques that encourage mindfulness. These include practices like yoga and tai chi. Classes with licensed instructors are easy to find, and there are many classes available for older people. These classes focus on mobility and maintaining strength rather than on doing difficult poses. The instructors are usually passionate about your health and more than willing to share their own knowledge on being mindful.
Finding everyday calm
Once we are able to stop and appreciate the world around us, we are able to better manage our own negative emotions. People who practice mindfulness are able to calm their anxieties and look at the future as something that is bright, rather than something bleak.
Engaging in mindfulness techniques may seem overwhelming at first, and will take some practice. As long as you refrain from judgment, and you continuously recommit yourself when you fail, mindfulness will show its benefits in your quality of life.
Image Credit: Vitalii Onyshchuk at unsplash
