20 Mindfulness Exercises for Improving Your Mental Hygiene

1. Become aware of your sitting, your clothes, the temperature and all that is “outside” of you now.

2. Imagine you are not separate from the ground, but a living happening of the world. (from Butoh)

3. Take a walk and open your ears to all of the sounds around you, experiencing them as they are.

4. Listen to the drifting habitual patterns of your own inner voice; let it float by you and around you.

5. Practice the art of stretching, using a book or guide that fits your needs and stretch daily.

6. Thank the objects that you use for their continued help. (from Constructive Living)

7. Practice saying a set amount of “thank you’s” on a daily basis to those around you. (from Constructive Living).

8. Become the face of the others around you that you see and interact with.

9. Clean your surroundings with complete attention to the task-at-hand.

10. Learn an “art” or “craft” like playing music, painting, building, dancing, gardening and so on.

11. Notice the colors that are surrounding you.

12. Meditate on Korzybski’s quotation: “Whatever I say a thing is, it is not.”

13. Allow yourself to completely savor the taste of what you eat and drink.

14. Exercise and become aware of how your body changes. How did it change?

15. Take into account the habitual movements and speech patterns that you use.

16. For one day, listen to others more than you speak to others.

17. For one day, control your use of the word “is.” (from Aleister Crowley)

18. Do a familiar task with your eyes closed, noticing the sensory change (from Constructive Living)

19. Focus on the ways in which “you” are embedded in your surroundings.

20. Fully engage yourself with tasks, people and objects that are meaningful to you.

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