Gratitude Journaling: 10 Tips for Cultivating a Thankful Mindset

As much as I've talked about gratitude journaling when it comes to being mindful, thinking about starting a journal could be a bit intimidating when you're not sure what to do when it comes to gratitude journaling. If you're looking to learn how to mindful journal so that you can be happier, and appreciate the present moment, here are some tips. 

Tip 1: Set a Regular Journaling Schedule

 Consistency is key when it comes to any kind of mindful journaling. It teaches you to be self-reliant, and allows you to think deeper, and makes you more self-aware. When you pick a time and a special space for reflection, it can minimize distractions and helps you concentrate on your gratitude journal a bit more. For a habit to be natural there needs to be a routine. 

Tip 2: Start Small

You don't have to write for hours on end when it comes to journaling. You can start with like five minutes a day, and increase the writing time, or even keep it at five minutes a day. When it comes to gratitude journaling, please note that it's not how much you write when it comes to your journal is the quality of the work that you put in, you know quality over quantity!

Tip 3: Find the Right Journaling Format For You

Not everyone is the same when it come to journaling. There are many different options when it comes to journals. Someone may enjoy digital journaling while others may want a notebook type of journal. Even the methods of how one writes their journal can be different from person to person, some people like bullet journals others, paragraphs, or something completely different than the two. It's okay to experiment with what you prefer when it comes to your journaling. Because it's your journal, you're even free to change it up if it works better for you. 

Tip 4: Be Specific and Detailed

It might sound easy just to put down something generic when it comes to gratitude, like "I thank you for the food I ate today," but being specific and detailed when it comes to gratitude makes it better. What food were you thankful for and how did to make you feel? Why are you thankful for the food Something like, "I'm thankful for the grilled cheese sandwich I made for lunch. There are times when I forget to eat." It helps when you look back at your journal later to know why you were thankful for something.

Tip 5: Reflect on Challenging Situations

Life isn't always rainbow and sunshine, and that's okay. Write about the things that happened and write about what you were thankful for even when things were a bit tough. Learning a lesson out of tough situations is gratitude as well. Just because you were late for work, you could be grateful for the rainbow that you saw on the way there. The rainbow you saw on your way to work can teach you to take a little more time before work. All situations can be faced with some gratitude if you try hard enough

Tip 6: Include Different Aspects in Life

Sometimes it's better to think of gratitude for different parts of our life. Little pleasures in life are not the same as finding gratitude when it comes to our relationships and gratitude for our loved ones. The same can be said about writing about a moment where you showed gratitude in areas where you knew that you grew as a person. Try to include all that you can as often as you can. 

Tip 7: Express gratitude for yourself

Here you are an individual who's growing yourself, learning to be more grateful, and showing yourself some more self-love. Write about that, write about your accomplishments and how much gratitude you have for learning how to use a printer for the first time.  

Tip 8: Get Creative with Visualization and Imagery

If you're the artsy type, try to add some drawings or print out a photo to add to your journal. Give your journal entries as much life as you can. Evoke your senses in the ways you know how, only you know what works the best when it comes to bringing you back to the moment when you felt gratitude that day particular day. It's okay to visualize a situation even, and think about what outcomes may happen or should have happened, as long as you're showing some gratitude.

Tip 9: Review and Reflect Regularly

There's one big reason why I mentioned the stuff in my previous tips as I did. Going back through your gratitude journal when you need to is a lot easier when you have pictures, specifics and moments where you grew. It also makes it easier to reflect on reoccurring themes when it comes to gratitude. This journal is to grow you as a person, it's okay to see where you still need to grow.

Tip 10: Share Gratitude with Others

 When and if you're ready to share your gratitude with others. Especially if you feel gratitude for another person. Write them a letter or a note to let them know you have gratitude for them and happen to be thankful that they're there in your life for whatever reason you may have written about in your gratitude journal.

Conclusion

Go ahead set some time for yourself, when you write your gratitude journal, include what you want to remember an look back at when you want to look back at it. Just remember to be specific, in case you forget why you were grateful for the shirt that your friend gave you on a certain day. Journal your little heart out of it makes you happy. 

Mindful Mama-to-Be: 8 Activities for a Joyful Pregnancy

Because I love the mindful bear technique when need time to be mindful, and there are so many things that say Mama Bear on them at the store and online. I thought why not combine the two together, mindfulness and pregnancy should go hand in hand, there's no better time than being in the moment while you're pregnant. I've been told it's a great way to stay stress-free, connect with the baby, and to know if something doesn't feel right with your pregnancy! If you're looking for some pregnancy-related mindful activities look no further, I have 8 of them, some may be new, others you may have seen before, but they all are great during pregnancy.

8 Mindful Activity Suggestions for Pregnant Woman

1. Prenatal Yoga: With prenatal yoga, we're able to stretch, improve our strength, have a better sense of body awareness, and prepare our bodies for childbirth and it also relaxes us! If you're stuck on where to find some places online for prenatal yoga, SarahBethYoga, and BrettLarkinYoga are two great yet free places to start. 
2. Light Walking and Exercise: Time to boost our moods and energy level, control our weight gain, and help enhance circulation by exercising and walking. Before starting any exercise regimen, please consult your doctor before doing them. 
   
   
   
3. Meditation: Bonding with our baby with meditation isn't as difficult as it seems,  you can still meditate and focus on a video while being kicked in the bladder. I have a list of places to check on my blog post about staying mindful on the go and have also included The Honest Guys YouTube channel as well. 
4. Journaling: As if I haven't given people more of a reason to have their own journal. I have one more, pregnancy mindfulness. Your mindful, gratitude journal is going to be a life changer! Some prompt suggestions during pregnancy include, "What are my fears or worries about being a parent," "What are some things I'm grateful for during pregnancy?" or "How am I taking care of myself during my pregnancy?" An even cooler idea is to create a pregnancy keepsake just for your baby! 
5. Creative activities: I'm not trying to be vague when it comes to creative activities, but I do know we all have our own ideas of what could be considered a creative activity. Journaling like in activity 4 can be creative, but if you are not much of a writer, painting, drawing, crocheting, and scrapbooking are some more ideas to get you started. Having some self-expression and accomplishment thrown in with mindfulness is a great stress reducer!
6. Breathing: Breathing is something that we do every day, I bet you're doing it now! Remembering to focus on your breathing can help with some pregnancy discomforts and relax yourself. Both my Mindful Bear post and my Mindfulness on the Go post have some breathing exercises to try on for size. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Mindful eating: Let's shift our thoughts from focusing on baby to what you're eating. The food is going to them as well, but it also teaches us how to be aware of when we're full, keeps us from being emotional eaters, and lets us focus on the taste and the texture of the food we're eating. 
8. Mindful communication: I know pregnancy hormones can turn a once calm pregnant woman into a beast sometimes, but we can still practice mindful communication. Using some empathy, avoiding assumptions, and connecting with each other's feelings can help keep things running smoothly. 

Tips for incorporating mindfulness into a daily routine

Now that I compiled a list, and give you some ideas, I'm moving on to the more complicated part, at least for me. Learning how to incorporate mindfulness into your (and my) busy life. 
Tip 1: Start small: Starting small and taking baby steps, is a great way to move in the right direction. If all you're doing is eating mindfully and breathing. It's all a smaller step to a bigger goal. 
Tip 2: Make it a habit: If you're eating, remind yourself it's time to eat mindfully and remind yourself to try to be mindful every chance you get. It may not be a regular thing at first, but once you get into the habit of being mindful adding more mindful activities and making them a habit as well, will become easier. 

Tip 3: Find what works for you: One mindfulness activity may not be the right one for you. Maybe none of this list is for you, but if you've seen a mindful activity on one of my other posts or online somewhere, do that instead. 

Tip 4: Practice it regularly: Set alarms, make mindfulness the first thing you do when you wake up or the last thing you do before bed, or do whatever you do to make it a regular thing. 

Conclusion

When you're mindful during pregnancy, you're able to bond, relax and even prepare for childbirth a little bit better. When it comes to being mindful, if there's a will there's a way, and take a little time to attempt being mindful when you're pregnant. If someone isn't as compassionate about your pregnancy mindfulness activities, practice a little mindful communication back, and show them some empathy an d compassion, without judgment. 

The Power of Self-Love: My Personal Journey and the Self-Love Workbook for Women

Mindfulness and self-love go hand in hand, to practice mindfulness you need self-love, and if you have self-love you’ll practice mindfulness. I’m one of those people who haven’t seen the connection until the day came that I needed to have both.

Not too long ago, I picked up the Self-Love Workbook for Women by Megan Logan, because I knew I needed help with self-love, but it wasn’t until I flipped through the book that, my journey to self-love was possible. Here's what I've learned thus far.

Yeah, self-love it's important

When I remember to fill myself with self-love, the self-love is so magical. It changes my point of view on life. I can manage my stress better, and I know if I love myself, I can attract the positivity that I need to get my life going! After doing Google searches, I realized I wasn't alone. Who doesn't need some confidence building and that extra push for everyone in a while? The best person, to give you that confidence, and push in life is yourself, you know what works for you! 

A book for Self Love?

A few weeks ago, I picked up a journal and went to work on my love workbook, put a pedal to the metal, and worked about an hour every day working on the exercises in the book. Writing them down in my journal, so that when I’m done with this book, I can go over it again or give it to someone else who needs to show self-love.

The book helps you embrace who you are, it makes you talk about your insecurities, write letters and messages to yourself, and even make a playlist of songs to help you feel empowered. There are a ton of exercises to teach you a little bit about what self-love really is, and how to properly show yourself some self-love.

So far the journey has been great, I’ve learned where my weak points, but I also learned what makes me awesome for being myself. Especially with the exercise that I did writing down positive things, people have said to me, and going to my husband for suggestions about what people liked about me. It was eye-opening and a great conversational piece for him and I. 

This is one of my songs for my empowerment playlist. I kept the list of songs, I know I'd play over and over again when I need that self-love women empowerment moment. 

 

Why I chose this book as a guide

When it comes to self-love, I’m one of those people who will have my critical voice stop me in my tracks, or I compare myself to others when I want to do something. Therapy can only work so much for me personally, working on things in my head, on my own has been helpful. That’s exactly why this book became important.  

I jokingly say I picked up the book because I’m a book collector and love all these guided journals and self-help books, but I also knew that self-love has been something that everyone should have, and I was okay to look for help. I love to read, so I picked something that I knew I could grow from, and that I could enjoy, while using colorful pens and a beautiful journal.  

Hows it helped this far

Since reading this book, I think about some of the positive affirmations that I’ve written down and I remind myself that I am important and there were times that I have shown myself self-love. I know how that feels.  I'm now taking five to ten minutes a day has now become commonplace to reflect on my own self-love, and to practice a little bit of mindfulness.

I admit, I’m still struggling especially when it comes to things like trying new things or realizing I don’t have to be afraid of my opinions, and that they’re what make me who I am. But I’m hoping that eventually, I learn how to overcome these hurdles either in the workbook, my therapist, or my own discovery, but that’s fine. It takes time.  

Self-love is beautiful, it makes everyone’s day brighter. Even though this book title says it’s for women, I feel this book can help anyone show some of their own self-love. Once I’m done with the book, I plan on updating everyone on how my love journey is going! Until then, show yourself some respect, and give yourself some self-love. You are worth it!

Lost in Thought: Coping with Pregnancy Brain Fog

Since I’ve become pregnant, my brain is fuzzier than usual, I’m even more forgetful. I didn’t even think it was possible to have my mental ability be fuzzier and more forgetful but, it is. I have what is better known as pregnancy-related brain fog, or ‘mommy brain’. If you think you have mommy brain, and feel alone, you're not alone! 

What on earth is Mommy Brain? 

Pregnancy does a lot to our bodies, it makes it hard to sleep, we feel like we have more stress, and our hormones are fluctuating. When that happens,  our neurotransmitters, are affected and we start becoming forgetful, can't concentrate, and can't multitask the way we used to. Don't worry, it'll go away soon after the baby gets here. Mommy brain can start early and happen until the baby's born. 

 

Yeah, but what is it like?

Imagine putting down your car keys or bottle of water and forgetting where you set them down at. I don't know how many times, I've put food in the microwave, to come back a few minutes later, to find out I never set the timer or I'll buy something from the grocery store, put it away and completely forget I bought it. 

Of course, mommy brain can be frustrating and anxiety-filled sometimes, and it can cause our own personal relationships with others to suffer. I don't know how many times, I've forgotten a doctor's appointment or forgotten where I put down my bottle of water! After reading some other stories about mommy's brain I felt a little less alone. 

Looking for some tips to keep from losing stuff?

Rest: When the doctors say to rest, it should be important. According to an article, being tired can affect the ability to communicate, and lead to memory lapses. 
Make lists and use reminders: You won't forget stuff if you set a reminder or make a list. Unless you forget to write down what you need to do, or where you put something at. 
Stay organized: I know it's easier said than done, you're in brain fog mode. If you have a special place to put something put it there. It'll help you find something if you have it organized.
Practice Mindfulness: Time to be a mindful mama bear. If you read my post about mindfulness a few days ago, being a mindful mama bear will put you into the here and now, relax your body, and clear your mind.
Ask for help: If you're having trouble remembering, let people know. It's okay to ask for help from friends, family, or even your doctor/midwife. 
Support other pregnant women: Let other women know they're not alone. Give them helpful ideas to help when the brain fog is strong, like rest, mindfulness, or lists. 

When should I worry and tell my doctor?

If your brain fog gets so bad that you're unable to remember important things, when you're unable to do daily tasks, and if it's getting worse, Medical News Today, suggests talking to your doctor. There's no reason to feel ashamed to tell your doctor. They won't think that you're off your rocker when it comes to brain fog. 

Conclusion

If you're going Mommy brain, you're not crazy, and you're not imagining things. You're definitely not alone, when it comes to forgetting things, in fact the list above with 20 examples are just the tip of the iceberg. It's even okay to seek help from a professional if you need to. I sincerely hope that any one who's pregnant right now knows someone who's pregnant or hopes to become pregnant in the future has a happy healthy pregnancy.

5 Ways to Stay Mindful When You're Always on the Go

As time inches closer, I know I’ll have to be practicing mindfulness at the hospital and may not be practicing it much at home. But the amazing thing about mindfulness is that there are some mindfulness techniques that can be done anywhere! Being in the present no matter where you are is a gift. The ways below are some of the easiest ways to practice mindfulness on the go! If you have any other ideas drop them below!

Some of these exercises may be the same as my Mindful Bear techniques, just think of these as being a mindful migrating bear, who's always on the go!

Tip #1: Use Guided Meditation
 With guided mediation you have a narrator leading you through your mediation, they'll help you visualize things better and focus your attention. There are a few websites and apps I found that may be useful to practice guided meditation on the go!

• UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center 

• Insight Timer (also on iOS and Android)

• Dharma Seed

• Mindful

Apps:

• Headspace (iOS, Android)

• Calm (iOS, Android)

• Smiling Mind (iOS, Android)
  

  
  
  
  
  

Tip #2: Incorporate Mindfulness into Your Daily Activities
It's time to be a mindful bear again! Use mindfulness, when doing whatever activity you're doing. Take time to stop and notice what you're doing, if you're walking focus on your feet touching the ground and the movement of your feet, if you're eating focus on the foods that you're eating, in all reality you can apply mindfulness to whatever your doing. Focus on your actions, and your feelings, and live in the present. 

Tip #3: Take Time to Breathe
Focusing on your breathing can lower your heart rate, and improve focus and concentration. All you have to do is breathe and focus on your breathing at the moment, if you're having trouble with learning how to breathe mindfully, diaphragmatic breathing, box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, or alternate nose breathing are some suggestions, I provided an example for each of the techniques, all you have to do is click on the technique's name

Tip 4: Using Mindful Reminders
Sometimes, practicing mindfulness when we’re on the go has nothing to do with the techniques, it has to do with remembering to practice mindfulness. Times setting a reminder on your phone or on Post-it notes by your technology, to remind yourself to breathe, and practice mindfulness helps. I actually have a mindfulness app on my Apple Watch. You don’t even have to focus on breathing techniques if you’re willing to focus on your feelings in the present moment.

Tip 5: Practicing gratitude
Since gratitude and mindfulness go hand in hand, practicing gratitude is a great way to practice mindfulness. All you need to do when practicing gratitude is to stop and pay attention to appreciate the good things in life. You don’t need a journal or to keep a memo for all the things you’re grateful for, if you don’t want to. The option to include your gratitude in your meditation or breathing is there.

Conclusion

Just because you're on the go doesn't mean that mindfulness needs to stop. You can find ways to incorporate it into your routine no matter what's going on. If one tip doesn't work, go on to the next one, or create your own game plan. Practicing mindfulness can help everyone

The Importance of Mindful Self-Care During Pregnancy

Self-love, mindfulness, and self-care are the trifecta of becoming the best parent you can be. All three are important since I haven’t talked about self-care yet. It’s time to do so. I did my homework, to,o and searched the interwebs so you don’t have to! Unless you really want to. Then more power to you mama! I too needed to remind myself about taking care of myself while my baby's brewing. Self-care by eating well, sleeping better, and reducing stress are very important now!

Why Mindful Self-Care is Important

When you show self-care, you're more intuned to what's going on inside of you. It helps you become less stressed and worried during pregnancy. Eating well, dieting, reducing stress, exercising, and sleeping well are part of self-care, and without these important pieces of the puzzle, your own health can be affected.  Yes, being able to take care of yourself also means that you'll be able to care for your little one once they get here. 

7 Ways to Practice Self-Care During Pregnancy

Listen to your body: Here's where your mindfulness practices can come into play, it's time to do some good old body scanning. Take time to take note of how you are feeling and respond to your needs.

Creating a routine: If you're like me maybe setting a schedule or a routine can help. When creating your routine, remember that eating well, exercising, and even relaxation techniques all should be included. If you need help or suggestions creating your routine, don't be afraid to ask a doctor or a loved one, 

Find a relaxation technique that works for you: Not everyone is going to like yoga, or reading a book to relax. Don't worry if you can't figure out what works the first time, or try something different if the technique isn't working anymore. 

Have support and connections: It's okay to talk about your feelings and it's okay to be social, during pregnancy! If you need some connections a class, a prenatal support group (online or offline), and family and friends can all be options. I don't know your situation, but hopefully one of these is available. 

Eat well: Try to eat a well-balanced diet and drink plenty of water, even if drinking water is tough. For a little idea of what a balanced meal looks like during pregnancy, I found a photo of the "My Pregnancy Plate" from Oregon's Health and Science University (OSHU). I even try to remember using it when I'm hungry. 

OSHU

Find an exercise that works for you: Find an exercise you enjoy. Walking, swimming, and yoga are some ideas. As long as you listen to your body especially when it comes to discomfort or pain, and your prenatal care provider is okay with it, do whatever you want to help you engage in physical activity. 

Get your rest: It isn't easy being pregnant and trying to sleep. The first trimester you're tired, but you're too nauseated to sleep, and as time goes on, it's not comfortable, but put your best effort into trying to sleep. Sleeping in a nice cool quiet room, and using pillows for support can help you sleep. Remember it's okay to take a nap during the day if you're able to. 

If you're not taking care of yourself who will? Self-care doesn't have to be difficult, and it may take a while to get used to. That's okay, self-care makes you feel good! If you want more ideas on what to do for self-care, Munchkin and Mama Glow have many of ideas! 

Transforming Negative Thoughts into Positive Ones: How Gratitude Can Help You Overcome Challenges

I'm trying to think of a life without negative thoughts. They seem to be everywhere, and sometimes they feel suffocating sometimes don't they? Come to think of it what good have negative thoughts done for us? All I can think about is how it makes us feel unfulfilled, and unhappy, causing stress, anxiety, and self-doubt. That's why gratitude is important, this negativity needs to go! I want to kiss it goodbye. Don't you?

Trying to Understand Negative Thoughts

When I think of my wall of negative thoughts I hear Anita from Disney's 101 Dalmations say, "A 101? My, where did they all come from?" Because that's how it feels sometimes. I know they can come from anywhere, like past experiences and low-self esteem, and they can be the silliest negative thoughts. 

Are you having negative thoughts? Some of the most common are self-doubt and self-criticism, negative expectations, catastrophizing, and overthinking. I'll be honest I checked all of the types of negative thoughts. Its great one recognizes their negative thoughts and recognizes that it can have harmful effects on our mental health and personal growth!  

The Power of Gratitude 

It's time to flip our negative thoughts upside down and harness the power of gratitude. It's not a magical power apparently, and it's easy to do. All you have to do is appreciate the good things in life. Once one appreciates the good things, stress goes down, our relationships get stronger and we're not as as anxious as we once were. Imagining the ice block of negativity melting away in my mind gives me room to decorate or something shouldn't it?  

Transforming Negative Thoughts with Gratitude

You, there is a way to transform all of your negative thoughts into beautiful thoughts with gratitude right? There's always a silver lining when stuff goes bad. Cliche? Perhaps a little, but cliche with a dash of happiness is good! 

One way one can transform negative thoughts into gratitude is by journaling. Take a few minutes at the end of your day to talk about things that you are grateful for that have happened during the day. It doesn't even have to be anything major, a roof over your head and food in your stomach are things to be grateful for. Journaling helps us focus on what really matters in life. 

Another magical trick I've heard about is affirmations and positive messages to ourselves. If there's a negative thought that you can flip and turn into a positive message, repeat the positive message to yourself when you have the old negative thought. I saw a list on Live and Bloom that gives a few examples of common negative messages and ways to replace them, which I may read and use a few of their examples when my negative thoughts come to play in my mind. 

Remember that you're not the only one going through negative thoughts, and building positive relationships with others around you can both make you feel grateful and others feel grateful as well. Gratitude is contagious! It's one of those things that's okay to pass on to others! 

Conclusion

It's time for to start this bit of contagious goodness, we all have the power inside of us. Sometimes it does take a little bit of journaling, some positive words, or even the power of friendship. Even if it takes work, our negative thoughts will eventually evaporate, leaving us happy, and making our life seem more fulfilling! 

6 Mindfulness Exercises to Boost Your Mental Well-Being, Bear edition 🧸

Let's stop being human for a while and use the mindfulness of a bear! Today we become a mindful bear! If you don't want to be a bear, that's fine you can be whatever animal hibernates. Because who doesn't want to hibernate and feel good.

For those who don't know what mindfulness is, it's paying attention to the moment, we're reducing our stress, learning to focus better, are more aware of our thoughts, by stopping what was in your past or what will be in your future. You're focusing on the here and now.


Before I continue, I admit I'm not bear and don't remember to be mindful when I need to be, it doesn't come naturally to me, but if I remember that I am a bear for a moment, especially when I'm stressed, it'll help me learn to have more mindfulness.

Now is the time to leave your human self behind and become a bear. I guess you can be any kind of bear you want, a black bear, grizzly bear, polar bear, panda, or even your own made-up species. It's time to embrace being a bear!

Bear Breathing Exercises

I can't take all of the credit for the idea of being a bear when it comes to mindfulness. I saw a kid's video on being a hibernating bear and learning bear breathing. It's what spawned my whole mindful bear mentality. If I can adapt these exercises into being a bear, it'll be easy for myself, other adults, and even children. Even if the concept does sound a bit silly.

Learning to have mindful breathing anchor yourself, and focus on your breathing, is an easy exercise to do when you're anywhere, even if you're not going to do the bear breathing exercises. It helps you relax, it helps you become aware of your body, and it helps you forget about your past or your present because we're all breathing now! Don't take my word for it, Berkely said the same thing!

Instead of talking about the bear technique myself. I have the exact video I got my whole bear well-being exercise from! The bear even has little eyelashes if you zoom in close enough! Here is the bear video!

  

For those who couldn't watch the bear video at the moment and want a little summary of what to do. We're going to imagine we are a bear waking up from a bit of hibernation. We're going to stretch like bears and humans do after a good long rest and then when we relax our arms we get to growl like a bear. That's if you want to growl you don't have to, but it does get you to focus your mind for a second and helps you breathe when you're panicking!

The Bear Body Scan 3000 exercise

Being a bear does take a lot out of you, doesn't it? Wouldn't it be nice if had a way to scan your body after sleeping for so long? Scan the places that are sore and places that are a bit tight? Scanning your body can also help your human counterparts relax, by focusing on all parts of your body.

Because we're a bear and don't use human technology, we're going to scan our bodies ourselves, using our Bear Body Scan 3000, it's what all of the top-of-the-line bears have. Start with our paws, focusing on how they're still there and how they may be stiff, or sore, slowly moving up our body, and even making our way to our ears.

If you want a little help there's another children's video with a body scanner a little bit like yours. This one has a little human and not a bear! But that's okay. This will still work if you're confused!

Mindful bear walking

Just because the Bear Scan 3000 can scan our body for tightness, or relax us. A scan wouldn't show that we're able to walk, but focusing on walking will. Let's focus on our legs, which get us from point A to point B. Focus on how our feet work when we're walking. Moving up to our legs, and to our hips. Just a little short walk will be fine, but to be sure we have the hang of walking again, especially after sleeping, we should walk as much as we feel is comfortable. A little bit at a time is fine! Just be mindful when doing it.

Please note: If you're still in human mode please and haven't been a bear yet, please note that mindful walking is a great form of exercise, it has physical benefits and can also relieve stress! As a human, you can focus on running away from all of the people who are mindful bears!

Time to eat Mindfully

Believe it or not, you can even eat mindfully when you're a bear! It serves as a great way to get to know your food better. You'll notice all of the wonderful foods you're eating, and when it's time for you to stop, as a bear who just crawled out from its cave, eating the wrong food could give you a stomachache.

Imagine finding an amazing patch of strawberries after your long nap. When you're eating, strawberries, focus on how they look, how they taste, and how they smell. It might be great to remember that next time you're on the hunt for strawberries. Of course, it's good to know when you're focusing on your eating, how many strawberries are too much.

Don't worry if there are other bears present, trying to talk to you. You can eat mindfully and focus on your food as well. If there are no other bears present, you'll remember to tell your story about your strawberry later.

Learning to write in a Bear Journal

All of these amazing experiences I've talked about and even thoughts that are running through your bear mind can go right into your very own bear journal. All you have to do is write about the here and now and you're ready to go. Just let your little bear mind go!


If you're not sure what to write about, Happier Human, Silk and Sonder and Kim and Kalee have some great ideas for your journal. Just because the first site is called Happier Human, doesn't mean bears can't benefit from it. I myself even have books next to me to help me develop my thoughts for my mindful journal.


You're probably wondering how a journal could even help you, a bear waking up from your hibernation. The answer is pretty simple it helps us learn who we are, how our emotions work, and why we do what we do as a bear.

Practice some gratitude

It's time to notice the good in someone or something that's happening. Be grateful for what is happening. If you've used any of the other exercises, you've taken time to think about things, in the here and now. Showing your gratitude for another bear (or human), makes you happy, it makes them happy and it helps improve your brain function.

At first, it might sound hard to find something to show your gratitude for, as long as you find gratitude in something small, and you know know how to look for gratitude, you'll soon see many times when you can offer your gratitude to others.

Conclusion

While the whole bear concept may be hard for everyone to understand, remembering to practice gratitude, writing a journal, focusing on breathing, or whatever mindfulness technique helped you relax is fine. You don't have to be a bear every day, just be mindful, and just because you're not able to be mindful every day, doesn't mean it's the end of the road. You can be mindful again tomorrow. Be kind to yourself, and those around you. You are worth it!