Now, having done a formal mindfulness exercise focused on compassion towards yourself, the next mindfulness exercise you can do is an informal one. This is incorporated during an activity that you do every day. This can be brushing your teeth, driving your car or eating lunch. Start your lunch as an informal mindful exercise. You can slowly incorporate this into other day-to-day activities. During your lunchtime, take your lunch to a quiet place. Refrain from eating at your desk. You can inform your colleagues that you are a little busy during lunchtime so that you can eat your food with complete mindful attention. Put off your mobile phones and other distracting activities, including watching television or reading the newspaper. Sit for a few moments with your eyes closed so that you bring yourself to the present moment. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the table and the food on it.
Remember that the next 20 minutes is your time to enjoy your meal. Start with your visual sense. You can even note the descriptions of the place around you, your meal, the colour of your food and any other visual descriptions that might have escaped your attention. Next, use your sense of smell. Can you smell the different flavours of the food on your plate? What are the smells that you can sense? Is it more than one? Can you sense any scent apart from the food, such as your perfume or the array of the place? Next, concentrate on your sense of touch and feel. Can you feel your feet on the floor and seated on the chair? Now, try and wash your hands and eat with your hands. That way, you can experience the texture of the food and experience it further. Feel the different textures of the various foods on your plate.
Observe if the food is hot or cold. Does the temperature of the food bother you? If so, do you recognise this as a judgement? Do you like or dislike the food? Is this a judgement? Can you be thankful for the food in front of you? Delineate the different tastes. If you do not like the food, consider why. If you like the food, consider why you want the food. Chew mindfully and slowly. As you chew and swallow the food, imagine that the food is going into your body and how it is being absorbed as nutrition inside the body. Feel the different nutritional aspects of the food enter your body through your digestive system and visualise how well this will be utilised to provide energy and how this can sustain your energy and your nutritional needs. Imagine how well the nutrition will be used in the body and how well you will function during the day thanks to the nutrition. Imagine that it will also help you relax in the evenings and sleep well. These formal and informal practices will help you with your insomnia problems. Treatment of insomnia is easy with these practices.
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