Mindful Monday Activity for the 31^st of January: Origami

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding!

Origami is a form of a focused attention meditation, a category of meditation that trains the mind on an object. It is an activity that has been associated with mindfulness because it brings focus and awareness to shapes and the feelings of textures and creases – and slows us down.

For this week, I thought I would share my favourite origami piece to fold: a heart.

What you need:

• A square piece of paper!

If you do not have a square piece of paper, you can make it out of an A4 sheet using these instructions

I personally find origami to be really relaxing, though challenging (in a good way!). For those who have never done origami, it can definitely become a frustrating and confusing process.

The art of mindful origami is about how you approach the process of folding, taking thoughtful and careful steps, making sure you are aware of your own senses and feelings as you do it.

Here are some things to think about to be more mindful when you do origami:

• Slow down: it’s okay to pause and think about how to do the next fold before folding.
• Enjoy the paper: take time to listen to the sound of the paper moving (or the music in the video if you prefer!) and appreciate the feel of the paper as you fold it.
• Practice acceptance: it’s okay to make a mistake when folding, and for the final piece to look a bit different to the video. Mindfulness is all about taking the time out to be aware of what we are doing ‘in the moment’, without judgment or expectation.

There are so many other origami pieces to try if you enjoy this activity! Let me know how you go 😊

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