This “Five Senses” exercise is a quick and relatively easy exercise to bring you to a mindful state quickly. It can be applied to almost any situation and conducted anywhere. The goal is to shift your attention to your body and away from your thoughts and environment.
Five Senses Exercise
Follow the below guidelines to practice the exercise:
Notice five things that you can see. Look around and bring your attention to five things that you can see. Pick something that you don’t normally notice, like a small crack in the wall or a fallen leaf in the yard.
Notice four things that you can feel. Bring awareness to four things you are currently feeling, like the texture of your clothing, the feeling of the breeze on your skin, or the smooth surface of a table you are resting your hands on.
Notice three things you can hear. Take a moment to listen. Note three things that you hear in the background. Again, try to find things you don’t normally notice like the chirp of one specific bird, the faint sounds of nearby traffic, or the silent hum of an appliance in the next room.
Notice two things you can smell. Bring your awareness to smells that you usually filter out, whether they’re pleasant or unpleasant. This may be the smell of pine trees if you’re in nature, grease from a fast-food restaurant across the street, or body odor from a person sitting next to you on a train.
Notice one thing you can taste. Focus on one thing that you can taste at this moment. Sip a drink sitting in front of you, chew a piece of gum, or observe the taste left in your mouth from your last meal. You might eve try opening your mouth to taste the air.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is our ability to focus on the present moment with curiosity and without judgement. Practicing mindfulness has several benefits, including increased empathy and compassion, improved immune functioning, improved sleep, greater focus and concentration, and reduced anxiety and stress.
Mindfulness resources
For additional resources, check out our:
library of books on Mindfulness, all hand picked by our Sustainable Wellness team and clients
library of Grounding Tools with a variety of grounding and relaxation videos, skills, and exercises
blog posts about Mindfulness
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