Trying to remember now, because I don’t do it any more.
What I do remember is that it’s hard to do if others are around as you need to quiet everything and focus on your breathing. And as quick as you get it, it moves away again. I simply sat on the edge of my bed, closed my eyes, tried to get past the chatter that your internal dialogue throws up and got to it. It didn’t really work for me because I wasn’t too good at it - I’d highly recommend yoga though!
I do my own version of it - mindfulness whilst walking: in that I look around and focus, really focus on what I’m looking at whilst walking - trees, movement, birdsong, colours, clouds, car noises, people’s gardens, so much of the stuff your mind blocks out from you.
When I start a walk I always go through my ‘list’ of things to do and look forward to. Because I’m furloughed (but still on call for work), I’m the kind of person who needs to do things, especially as I am disconnected from the things I enjoy. So being productive helps me to stop worrying. So I go through my list, get things in order and then reach a point where I’m ‘on the walk’. I don’t look too far and focus in on what I see or hear as I pass them. There’s a part of my walk which gives me the most enjoyment. A solitary horse in a field, covered in a blanket, hair matted with mud.
I approach the gate, scan for the horse and make a squeaking noise with my lips and then clap my hands. I show the horse the apple and call him/her over. It puts its head down, has a think about it and starts coming towards me. I put the apple on the gate and when it gets closer, I bite into the apple and tear a chunk off. I place it my upward facing palm and the horse gently takes it and stares at me. I give the other half to it and it lets me gently stroke it. I say to it, “see you tomorrow” (whilst it is still chewing) and walk off, feeling great. Sometimes I have two apples, and it goes crazy when I pull the second one out. I’m at the point now where it fully trusts me and I just wave it over. Gives me more enjoyment than any pair of trainers have…
I’d recommend exercise to you, even if that is a long walk. I walk and do a small weights programme every other day. Mindfulness is being in the moment. You can do that for every part of your life - listening to music, eating food, watching telly. Just tell your brain to switch on and really feel the thing you are doing.
We miss so much of what we do, by whizzing through them. Quieten your internal chatter by focusing on what you are doing.