100 Ways to Become More Mindful in 2025
Mindfulness is often championed as a pathway to healing, self-awareness, and presence. For those who’ve experienced trauma, mindfulness can be both a source of grounding and a challenge. It’s not a one-size-fits-all practice; instead, it should honor individual experiences and create a sense of safety. This guide explores 100 ways to cultivate mindfulness while recognizing the unique needs of trauma survivors.
Understanding Trauma and Mindfulness
Before diving into the practices, it’s important to understand why mindfulness may feel uncomfortable or triggering for trauma survivors. Trauma disrupts a sense of safety and can leave individuals feeling disconnected from their bodies or overwhelmed by their emotions. A trauma-informed approach to mindfulness emphasizes gentleness, choice, and pacing to ensure practices are healing, not harmful.
The Basics of Trauma-Informed Mindfulness
Here are foundational principles to keep in mind as you explore mindfulness practices:
Choice: Always feel empowered to skip or adapt practices that don’t feel right.
Pacing: Start small and give yourself permission to pause if needed.
Anchoring: Use external anchors like sights, sounds, or textures if internal focus feels unsafe.
Grounding: Prioritize practices that connect you to the present moment in a tangible way.
Support: Seek guidance from a trauma-informed coach or therapist if possible.
100 Ways to Become More Mindful in 2025
Below are 100 trauma-informed mindfulness practices, grouped into categories for ease of exploration:
1–39: Body Awareness Practices
Notice the sensation of your feet on the ground.
Take three deep breaths, focusing on the rise and fall of your chest.
Gently stretch your arms and notice how your body feels.
Place your hand over your heart and feel its rhythm.
Explore a somatic movement practice like yoga or pilates.
Play your favorite song and dance.
Use weighted blankets to anchor yourself in the present.
Take a mindful walk, noticing each step.
Squeeze a stress ball and focus on the texture.
Drink a glass of water slowly, observing the sensation.
Run your hands under cool or warm water to reset.
Tense (inhale) and release (exhale) muscle groups, moving from head to toe.
Pair your breath with body awareness, cautious of breath holding.
Scan the body head to toe.
Imagine holding your brain in the palm of your hand with the hand/brain model.
Place one hand over your belly and notice the rise and fall as you breath.
Imagine your hand is an emotion detector and notice where emotions are held.
Practice butterfly taps by tapping both hands on the chest, one at a time.
Practice a body meditation.
Place ice water in a bowl and place both hands in the bowl for 5-10 slow breaths.
Use your fingers, legs, arms, whole body to take up as much space as possible.
Notice all ten toes being supported by the ground beneath you.
Give yourself a massage.
Give yourself a brain hug.
Pet a cat or dog you love.
Practice alternate nostril breathing.
Practice lion's breath.
Drink a glass of lemon water.
Take your vitamins and visualize them going to work as they support your body.
Go for a morning walk.
Try to include and eat every color of the rainbow in a plant-based meal.
Try a new form of movement.
Stretch for 10 minutes in whatever way your body is telling you it needs.
Take a cold shower.
Stay hydrated throughout the day.
Sip a cold glass of water.
Apply a face mask.
Breath deeply and with intention for five minutes.
40-60: Engaging the Senses
Light a scented candle or diffuse essential oils.
Gaze at a candle and notice your breath when you blow it out.
Listen to calming music and focus on each note.
Sit outside and notice the sounds around you.
Observe a piece of art and describe what you see.
Taste a piece of chocolate slowly, savoring each bite.
Use tactile objects like smooth stones or soft fabrics.
Write a description of a comforting texture or scene.
Watch the clouds and describe their shapes.
Smell fresh flowers or herbs from a garden.
Close your eyes and count the sounds in your environment.
Practice visual meditation with printable finger labyrinths.
Notice your surroundings in the present moment via the five senses.
Listen to chimes or a singing bowl.
Practice outside-in mindful listening (moving from inner to outer awareness).
Practice mind-body connection by imagining biting into a lemon.
Listen to the rain if it is a rainy day or use a sound machine.
Use a feather to trace the skin of the face and the length of your arms.
Use a five senses meditation when eating a clementine.
Eat a peppermint lifesaver or sour warhead.
Establish your morning and evening ritual.
61-84: Emotional Grounding
Journal about a moment of gratitude.
Think of 3 things you are grateful for, express/create/write about those things.
Find five things you are grateful for in the last 24 hours every day (no repeats).
Practice naming your emotions without judgment.
Visualize a place where you feel safe.
Repeat a calming mantra or affirmation.
Engage in a creative activity like painting or knitting.
Write a letter to your future self.
Draw or sketch your emotions using colors.
Practice self-compassion meditation.
Write down three positive things that happened today.
Share a mindful moment with a friend or loved one.
Use a reflective card deck to help hold space for yourself.
Consider someone you care about or someone who challenges you.
Refocus, calm, and clear the mind using a mind jar (for kids AND adults).
Use an emotions wheel to put language to what you are feeling.
Use an emotions sensation wheel.
Create a vision board.
Identify and set an intention for the year, month, week, or day.
Notice how your heart is today on a scale of 1-10.
Honor your heritage or ancestors through meditation, cooking, or music.
Set a timer for 20 min and find 3 pictures in your phone per month for the last 12 months as a reminder of all that you've accomplished in the year.
Imagine your happy place and imagine all five senses.
Have a phone-free morning/night.
85-100: Nature-Based Mindfulness
Walk barefoot on grass or sand.
Watch the sunrise or sunset.
Plant a small garden and tend to it daily.
Smell a flower.
Sit under a tree and observe its textures.
Pick up a leaf and trace its veins with your fingers.
Observe birds or insects and their movements.
Stand in the rain and feel it on your skin.
Stargaze and focus on the vastness of the sky.
Listen to the wind rustling through trees.
Take a mindful hike in a forest or park.
Walk barefoot through water.
Walk an in-person physical labyrinth near you.
Look at the moon.
Place a part of your body against the Earth and notice how it's supported you.
Immerse yourself in the sunshine.
Adapting Mindfulness to Your Journey
Remember, mindfulness is not about achieving perfection or clearing your mind completely. It’s about creating moments of connection, no matter how brief. Some days, mindfulness might feel easy; other days, it might feel unreachable. Both are okay.
If any practice feels triggering or overwhelming, it’s a sign to pause and explore something else. Healing through mindfulness is about meeting yourself where you are, with compassion and curiosity.
By approaching mindfulness through a trauma-informed lens, we honor the unique needs of survivors and create pathways for safe and meaningful healing.
What’s one mindful moment you can create for yourself today? Let us know in the comments!