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4 Mindful Hobbies to Help Your Mental Health
Having a hobby is a great thing for a number of reasons, but when you are living a busy life, taking some time out for a hobby can actually be part of your self-care routine. As the old saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup, so you do need to take time out occasionally and do something that gives you joy and a break from the norm.
Hobbies that are mindful can be an extra help, especially when you are feeling stressed, anxious, and even depressed. The reason why a hobby that is mindful can make a difference is because you don’t have the time to think about other things; you are only focused on the activity at hand. A mindful hobby can also help with feelings of happiness, and depending on what the hobby is, you can feel a great sense of achievement when you’ve accomplished something through it. If you are wondering what to do and what mindful hobby could help you, then here are some things to think about.
Arts, crafts, and coloring
If you enjoy being creative or want to give it a try, then why not branch out into arts and crafts as a way to be more mindful? It could be sewing, knitting, card making, scrapbooking, or anything else entirely. In fact, coloring in and painting by numbers are great hobbies for adults, and can be a wonderful thing for your mind and give you such a sense of achievement afterwards.
Cooking and baking
We all have to cook day in and day out, so how about making it more of a mindful hobby so that you enjoy it and see it as less of a chore. Following a recipe, perfecting a bake, and decorating a cake, are all things that can be great for mindfulness. It can be a good hobby to do alone as it can be relaxing, but it can also give you the end product of a great meal or something sweet to eat. If you find cooking more of a burden at the moment, then on some occasions, allow yourself more time to prepare and plan, and you could enjoy it much more.
Gardening
Gardening is something that is calming to do but there is a physical element too if you like to keep busy. If you don’t have the space for this yourself, you could look into an allotment garden to rent, or look at a garden indoors, using the space that you have. For example, you could get a Bonsai tree from Love My Bonsai as it can be kept indoors. There can be a real sense of accomplishment with this kind of hobby.
Exercise
Exercise can be something that can feel like a bit of a chore sometimes, but it can be such a good thing for your physical health, as well as your mental health. Something like yoga, Pilates, cycling, and running can be the most mindful exercises to do, as they allow you to only focus on what you are doing and can be a great way to destress. With exercise, you get the added benefit of having a release of happy hormones post-exercise, which can help you to feel great. Who doesn’t want to experience that?
