When cultivating a mindful mentality, we must understand that this is a practice. It takes time and a desire to grow. One of the core strategies in stress management is our ability to change our relationship to stress. This is one of the goals of mindfulness: to shift the relationship that we have with an object of focus. This object of our attention tends to be thoughts and emotions, and mindfulness can help cultivate a healthy distance from the object we are identifying with using present moment awareness, and non-judgmental awareness.

Imagine you have an approaching deadline and you are not as prepared as you would like to be. In this scenario, mindfulness can be utilized to manage stress by shifting our relationship to the stress. By practicing calmly coming back to the breath, we can be more aware of stress that arises in the body. We can then create space within by bringing the light of our own accepting awareness which allows us to let go of stress. Simply noticing the way stress takes on different shapes in the body is an act of mindfulness. Simultaneously, this practice can also help us be more aware of our body and live a more embodied life. When our experience of life is more embodied, we have the capacity to notice stress when it is present. From there, we have greater power to make a change. With this embodied awareness, we can intentionally notice what is in our control and practice mindfulness to manage stress when it is present. From there, we have greater power to make a change. With this embodied awareness, we can intentionally notice what is in our control and practice mindfulness to manage stress.

‍