“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” – Thich Nhat Hanh (1991, p. 21)
Myth: Mindfulness takes years of practice to make a difference.
Fact: Practicing mindfulness for a few minutes daily can calm the mind and improve focus. Consistency is more important than duration.
The growing popularity of mindfulness is supported by countless studies showing how beneficial it is to our health and wellbeing.
Everyone has the capacity for mindfulness. It’s a natural, basic human state, and as such, it’s something anyone can achieve with a little practice.
But what exactly are mindfulness exercises, and how do they work?
In this post, we’ll explore those questions and provide a few popular mindfulness exercises for you to try.
Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our five positive psychology tools for free. These engaging, science-based exercises will help you effectively deal with difficult circumstances and give you the tools to improve the resilience of your clients, students, or employees.
Mindfulness exercises are techniques that involve focusing on the present moment without judgment.
By using a focus point, such as the breath, a physical sensation, or an object, you bring and keep your attention to your immediate experience.
A key aspect of mindfulness is nonjudgmental awareness, meaning you’re open to what you’re experiencing, rather than judging it as good or bad.
You’re not emptying your mind but observing whatever you’re experiencing internally and externally.
How Mindfulness Exercises Work
Mindfulness exercises develop your attention, awareness, and acceptance, which reshape how your brain and body respond to stress, emotions, and thoughts (Bartlett et al., 2021).
But how?
Contrary to earlier assumptions, the brain can make new connections and cull old ones (a process known as “neuroplasticity”), but it takes regular, concentrated effort at first.
That means, similarly to training muscles at the gym, mindfulness is a form of exercise for the brain that can change the way we think and respond.
Here’s how that works:
Attention regulation
Mindfulness can improve the brain’s ability to focus and shift attention on purpose, giving you more control over your thoughts and feelings (Tang et al., 2015).
Emotion regulation and mood balance
It can reduce amygdala activation, the fear center of the brain, which reduces emotional reactivity and helps you handle emotions in healthier, more flexible ways (Guendelman et al., 2017).
Decentering effect
It can help you step back from distressing mental events and see them more objectively, which reduces their emotional impact (Lebois et al., 2015).
Stress-response changes
It can increase parasympathetic nervous system activation, which has a calming effect on the mind and body and lowers blood pressure and heart rate (Pascoe et al., 2017).
Acceptance and compassion
Reduced reactivity to thoughts and emotions allows you to approach these with more acceptance, curiosity, and compassion (Centeno & Fernandez, 2020).
Consequently, research has shown the beneficial effects of practicing mindfulness consistently:
Better mood (Galante et al., 2023)
Higher self-esteem and self-concept (Sweta et al., 2020)
Improved resilience and sleep quality (Dou et al., 2025)
Reduced depression, anxiety, and stress (Sharma & Kumra, 2022)
Wellbeing is a skill rather than a static state of being, meaning it can be changed and strengthened through intentional effort, such as regular mindfulness practice.
Therefore, the benefits of mindfulness are best achieved by making mindfulness exercises a habit in your daily routine. And how do we make it a habit?
Here’s what Miles et al. (2023) recommend:
1. Start small and be consistent
It’s best to start with short sessions. Even five minutes daily can work, as frequency matters more than duration. The more often you do something, the more automatic it becomes.
2. Link mindfulness to existing routines
Create an association between mindfulness and something you already do, like walking, eating, listening, or cooking. This is called “piggybacking” and helps trigger mindful awareness automatically over time, normalizing it as a way of being rather than a special activity. Mindful walking is an excellent example.
3. Use rewards and positive reinforcement
When the brain’s reward system is activated, it motivates you to repeat the behavior. That could mean simply thanking or congratulating yourself for having done the practice or noticing the positive effects or meaning of practicing.
4. Track progress
Keeping track of your practice supports accountability and awareness, both of which are key to forming habits. You can keep a physical log or use mindfulness apps designed to track your progress.
5. Join a community
Being part of a community, such as a group, app, or guided program, provides structure and reminders, which increase long-term commitment.
Popular Mindfulness Exercises
To truly understand what mindfulness is, it’s best to experience it. So here are some popular mindfulness exercises that anyone can try.
Note, if you’re entirely new to mindfulness, this article shares beginner mindfulness exercises.
Mindful breathing
For this exercise, simply follow the natural rhythm of your breath for one minute or longer. You can close your eyes if that feels OK for you.
Notice the inhale and exhale, how your chest and abdomen move, and the sensations around your nostrils.
It’s entirely normal for your mind to wander and thoughts to arise. When you notice this happening, gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Body scan
It’s best to lie down or sit comfortably to do a mindful body scan exercise.
Bring your awareness to the top of your head and work your way all the way down to your feet, or vice versa.
Moving at a slow pace, observe any sensations you experience in each body part without changing or judging them. If you don’t feel anything, observe that.
Five senses
Choose any object you like and notice: What does it look like? Does it make any sounds? How does it feel? What does it smell like? Can you taste it? For a few minutes, allow your focus to be entirely on the object, including any emotions that might come up.
A Take-Home Message
Mindfulness exercises are evidence-based techniques that train your ability to pay attention to the present moment without judgment. With regular practice, they can reshape how the mind and body respond to thoughts, emotions, and experiences.
As with any exercise, the key lies in consistency: Small, frequent moments of nonjudgmental awareness will train your brain’s natural capacity to be mindful.
Over time, many people report feeling calmer, clearer, and more emotionally balanced, and relate to the internal and external world with greater curiosity and compassion.
What’s next?
If you’re new to mindfulness, you’ll be interested to find beginner mindfulness exercises and practical tips to overcome common challenges in the next post.
While mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist contemplative traditions (Jankowski & Holas, 2014), mindfulness exercises taught in psychological treatments and healthcare are secular — they don’t involve any religious beliefs or rituals as such. People of any faith (or none) can use mindfulness to reduce stress and improve focus and wellbeing.
Can mindfulness exercises really reduce anxiety?
Yes, there’s mounting research that’s shown how mindfulness exercises can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress (Khoury et al., 2015). By calming the body’s stress response and strengthening brain regions involved in attention and emotion regulation, you can respond to experiences, thoughts, and emotions with greater balance. Even short daily practices have been found to lower anxiety levels and promote lasting wellbeing.
References
Bartlett, L., Buscot, M. J., Bindoff, A., Chambers, R., & Hassed, C. (2021). Mindfulness is associated with lower stress and higher work engagement in a large sample of MOOC participants. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 724126. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.724126
Centeno, R. P. R., & Fernandez, K. T. G. (2020). Effect of mindfulness on empathy and self-compassion: An adapted MBCT program on Filipino college students. Behavioral Sciences, 10(3), 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10030061
Dou, J., Lian, Y., Lin, L., Asmuri, S. N. B., Wang, P., & Rajen Durai, R. A. (2025). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on burnout, resilience and sleep quality among nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. BMC Nursing, 24(1), Article 739. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03101-0
Galante, J., Friedrich, C., Collaboration of Mindfulness Trials (CoMinT), Dalgleish, T., Jones, P. B., & White, I. R. (2023). Systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing mindfulness-based programs for mental health promotion. Nature Mental Health, 1, 462–476. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00081-5
Guendelman, S., Medeiros, S., & Rampes, H. (2017). Mindfulness and emotion regulation: Insights from neurobiological, psychological, and clinical studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 220. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00220
Hanh, T. N. (1991). Peace is every step: The path of mindfulness in everyday life. Bantam Books.
Khoury, B., Sharma, M., Rush, S. E., & Fournier, C. (2015). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 78(6), 519–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009
Lebois, L. A., Papies, E. K., Gopinath, K., Cabanban, R., Quigley, K. S., Krishnamurthy, V., Barrett, L. F., & Barsalou, L. W. (2015). A shift in perspective: Decentering through mindful attention to imagined stressful events. Neuropsychologia, 75, 505–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.05.030
Miles, L. W., Francis, A. J. P., & Flegal, K. E. (2023). Making mindfulness meditation a healthy habit: Integrating habit formation into mindfulness theory and practice. Mindfulness, 14, 2988–3005. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02258-6
Pascoe, M. C., Thompson, D. R., Jenkins, Z. M., & Ski, C. F. (2017). Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 95, 156–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.08.004
Sharma, P. K., & Kumra, R. (2022). Relationship between mindfulness, depression, anxiety and stress: Mediating role of self-efficacy. Personality and Individual Differences, 186 (Part B), Article 111363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111363
Sweta, S., Akanksha, T., & Rishipal, P. (2020). Effect of mindfulness on self-concept, self-esteem and growth mindset: Evidence from undergraduate students. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 15(1), 329–340. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPR.2020.15.01.28
Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3916
About the author
Anna Drescher, is a mental health writer and editor with a background in psychology and psychotherapy. In addition to her writing and editorial work, Anna is a certified hypnotherapist and meditation teacher. She has extensive experience working within the mental health sector in various roles including support work, managing a service user involvement and coproduction project, and working as an assistant psychologist within the NHS in England.
The growing popularity of mindfulness is supported by countless studies showing how beneficial it is to our health and wellbeing.
Mindfulness exercises develop your attention, awareness, and acceptance, which reshape how your brain and body respond to stress, emotions, and thoughts (Bartlett et al., 2021).
To truly understand what mindfulness is, it’s best to experience it. So here are some popular mindfulness exercises that anyone can try.
