The Happier Life Project

This is a meditation for productivity and focus that will help you calm down, clear your mind and be more productive. Guided by mindfulness practitioner and founder of Mynd Andrew Swiney. 

Start your day off in the best possible way by incorporating mindfulness into your morning routine. In today’s challenge host Gabby shares two short simple mindful exercises for the morning. If your day has already started then remember to do them the next day instead. 

Acceptance means perceiving your experience and simply acknowledging it rather than judging it as good or bad.  We all have a tendency to want to “become” something. We’re raised with the belief that we need to achieve something and become something or someone new. We need to make something of ourselves.  These expectations might not be verbally stated, but they’re still there. They drive many of...

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a stress-management mindfulness technique. The idea behind PMR is that there is a relationship between a person's mind and body. PMR can help relieve the physical symptoms of stress and anxiety, such as tight, aching muscles, by systematically tensing and releasing certain muscle groups in your body. Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a two-step process. First,...

Mindful eating is a technique to help you slow down, increase your awareness of your food, and promote healthy eating behaviors, while building a healthy relationship with food.  In the second part of 2 episodes in the month of mindfulness challenge Gabby shares some ways to turn mindless eating into mindful eating and then guides you through an exercise to put this into practice. You will need a...

Mindful eating is all about being aware of how we feel when we eat. The benefits of being mindful of the food you eat can encourage better digestion, keep you full with less food, and influence wiser choices about what you eat in the future. It can also help you free yourself from unhealthy habits around food and eating. In todays challenge Gabby shares some simple, practical ways you can set your...

Non-striving is one of the fundamental principles of mindfulness. It is a conscious decision to allow things in your life or in the world to be as they are, rather than always reacting to try to change things in the moment.  With the mindfulness attitude, non-striving, there is no goal other than to be yourself. Non-striving is trying less and being more. So today's challenge is an invitation to s...

The five C's of self-esteem are: Competence, Confidence, Character, Connection, and Caring. Day 20 in the month of mindfulness challenge give you the opportunity to check in and make note where you are and what you can do to improve your own scores for the five C's of self esteem.  For this challenge you will need a pen and paper (or access to your laptop or notes on your device). 

A basic part of learning to meditate is learning to trust yourself and your feelings. In mindfulness, we say that our bodies carry even more wisdom than our minds. In practicing the mindful attitude of trust, you are practicing taking responsibility for being yourself, learning to listen to and trust your own being.

Host Gabby guides you through a meditation to examine your mindset, boost your mood and create and welcome in positive energy. 

A Beginner's Mind is an aspect of mindfulness that is very important. To have the beginner's mind is to look at things as if you were seeing them for the first time. A Beginner's mind can help us to see things in a new light, rather than automatically respond to them with the same old patterns of behavior—this is because we are “letting go” of and not using our automatic, everyday interpretations...

The Eye of the Hurricane meditation offers a way for you to disengage from the hectic world around you (the hurricane) and turn inward toward peace (the eye). The use of a hurricane as a metaphor guides you to explore inner peace by using your breath to become like the eye of the hurricane; the silent part of yourself that can become aware of challenges but not get caught up in them and get carrie...

Too many people suffer from low-self esteem and low confidence. Why? Because of negative thoughts. We can overcome negative thoughts by using meditation for self-confidence. Confidence means being clear-headed and feeling positive about your goals. Mindfulness can increase self-confidence as it allows you to become self-aware of your thoughts and how they impact your feelings and behavior. Consequ...

The body scan is one of the most effective ways to begin a mindfulness meditation. The purpose is to tune in to your body—to reconnect to your physical self—and notice any sensations you're feeling without judgment. While many people find the body scan relaxing, done correctly, the body scan will build your ability to focus and be fully present in your life.

Not everyone has time to incorporate hours of mindfulness into their daily life. But you can reap the benefits of meditation, even in short bursts. Host Gabby guides you through a quick mindful meditation exercise for when you feel uneasy; specifically to help to reduce and relieve symptoms of anxiety in the belly. Feeling like that sinking feeling, butterflies, tightness, nausea, digestive proble...

There are many different causes of negative thoughts, including stress, worry and upsetting life events. Mindfulness is a useful tool for noticing and extracting yourself from the cycle of unhelpful thoughts. In fact, research and science continue to point toward mindfulness leading to positive physical, mental and emotional changes in the brain and behavior. Dr Elisha Goldstein shares three simpl...

When we meditate, we experiment with how to increase or develop patience each and every time we notice that the mind has wandered. In Day 11 of the Month of mindfulness Challenge, host Gabby offer's two mindful patience exercises for you to try. The first is simple practice you can do to build patience and help prepare for high-frustration moments called the bell exercise. The second takes a littl...

Mindful walking has the benefits of both exercising and incorporating mindfulness, which can in turn promote both your mental and physical well-being. Rather than trying to hurry to get from one location to another, a mindful walk allows you to pay attention to the sensations of your body, and use these sensations to note and appreciate your surroundings. The benefits of adding mindful walking int...

“Dropping Anchor” is a way of keeping yourself safe and steady in the midst of an emotional storm. You can use it for handling difficult thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories, urges and sensations more effectively. Based on ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) principles, as taught and narrated by therapist, trainer of health professionals, and author of The Happiness Trap (plus eight other bo...

Water is involved in just about everything our body does, but often we can take it for granted. Mindful hydration exercise provides the benefits of meditation and hydration in a single action, and it only takes a couple of minutes or less to perform. Some of the benefits of Mindful hydration include: Calms and grounds your mental state Improves gut health Improves sleep quality Reduces stress leve...

Scientists have found evidence that practicing gratitude may have powerful health benefits making you happier, reducing anxiety, and boosting your immune system. There is also evidence that it increases our optimism, relieves depression, improves sleep, lowers blood pressure and strengthens our relationships. Practicing gratitude involves recognizing the positive aspects of your life. By doing thi...

This is a simple mindful meditation to get you ready for your work day written and narrated by Jade Langridge. Jade is the owner of Blossom Therapies, a holistic practice offering Counseling, Hypnotherapy, Reiki / Intuitive energy healing, and Light Language. 

This mindfulness practice is about pointing our attention towards different senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and our thoughts. 

Leaves on a stream is a technique used in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to cope with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. This technique uses a concept called cognitive defusion, which works by creating distance and disconnecting from thoughts and feelings, as a way to reduce the power they have over us.  During leaves on a stream, you will practice cognitive defusion by clearing your mi...

Psychologist and founder of the mindful living collective, Dr Elisha Goldstein, shares an anxiety hack when you notice you’re bracing to help you to recognize, release and refocus. Then for the last minute, Dr Elisha will guide into some Diaphragmatic Breathing.