Mental wellbeing – being present

What does “being present,” mean?
Being present is just about taking some time out of your day to look after yourself. It’s about being kind to yourself. It’s taking a minute to connect with your senses and ground yourself for the day or week. You might think it’s to do with yoga and being all “zen”, but it doesn’t have to be. If yoga works for you, then great. There are lots of other ways that you can be mindful and present though.

54321 technique
The 54321 technique uses your hand. Hold one hand out with your fingers outstretched. Then go through the following, using your fingers to keep track and closing a finger for each action to help you count down, one after the other:

• Count five things that you can see
• Count four things that you can feel
• Count three things that you can hear
• Count two things that you can smell (if you can’t smell anything then perhaps find a drink or something like that to sniff)
• Count one thing that you can taste

Doing this is really good for bringing your attention back to the present moment and calming yourself down. No matter how out of control you may feel, the 54321 technique brings you back to focus on your senses and regain control.