5 Senses Mindfulness Tool
Increase your inner calm by engaging all your senses
The five senses mindfulness tool is often used as a grounding technique and offers a number of significant benefits, especially for managing anxiety, stress and overwhelming emotions. The core benefit is pulling your attention out of racing thoughts, rumination about the past, or worry about the future of anchoring it firmly in the “here and now” This sense of presence helps you feel softer and more in control. Give it a try!
1. Start by finding a spot to sit comfortably.
2.. Close your eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths. In through your nose
(count to 3) ...and out through your mouth (count to 3).
3. Now, open your eyes and look around you. Name out loud:
- 5 things you can see (look in the room or out of the window)
- 4 things you can feel (the softness of your skin, the texture of the material on your chair, what does your hair feel like? What is in front of you that you can touch?)
- 3 things you can hear (cars, birds chirping outside)
- 2 things you can smell (food cooking, hand lotion)
- 1 thing you can taste (You can leave your chair for this one and when you taste whatever it is that you have chosen, take a small bite or sip and leave it in your mouth for a couple of seconds, savor the flavor or enjoying the crispness of the water or warmth of your tea.)
4. Take a deep breath to end.