Need support for your new year’s wellness goals? Try MSU Extension’s new mindfulness resources
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EmailMSU Extension’s newly launched Mindfulness for Better Living website features a wealth of information on stress reduction and mindfulness.
As the new year begins, many of us turn our focus toward fresh starts and healthier habits. Whether it’s prioritizing self-care, managing stress more effectively, or simply carving out time to breathe amidst the chaos of daily life, mindfulness can be a powerful tool to support overall well-being.
Research shows that mindfulness practices can help reduce stress, improve focus, and even support better sleep — all of which are key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
To kick off the new year, Michigan State University Extension completed a revamp of its Mindfulness for Better Living website to serve as a comprehensive resource that makes mindfulness practices accessible, engaging and practical for everyone.
“Mindfulness is a powerful skill that can have a profound impact on mental and physical health,” said MSU Extension health educator Nicole Wethington. “Anyone can practice mindfulness, and we wanted to provide tools to help people develop their mindfulness practice and feel the benefits.”
The updated website offers a user-friendly interface to help people integrate mindfulness into their daily routines. Visitors can explore a wide variety of content, including guided meditations, stress management tips, and more.
Site content is separated into these topic areas:
- Basics: This section offers a quick introduction to the concept of mindfulness with some easy resources to practice mindful grounding and follow along with an introductory, Michigan-themed guided imagery meditation.
- Breath: This section highlights how breathwork can help regulate our parasympathetic nervous system. Educational videos on this page demonstrate techniques such as “box breathing,” “star breathing,” and “4-7-8 breathing.”
- Body: This section teaches visitors how the body’s stress response and cortisol affect it, and how body scan practices can help relieve pain, stress, anxiety and depression.
- Thoughts: This section teaches people to reduce stress and reactivity through skills such as decentering and thought surfing.
- Emotions: This section offers articles to understand the emotional benefit of mindfulness and a guided imagery emotion meditation.
- Practice: This section offers information and suggestions on how to build an individual mindfulness practice.
The site also features a collection of mindfulness articles authored by MSU Extension’s health educators, a calendar listing of the wide variety of classes that MSU Extension offers under its Mindfulness for Better Living suite of programs.
“The mindfulness programs we teach at MSU Extension can have such a profound impact,” said MSU Extension health educator Tanner Derror. “We’ve seen participants in our programs transform their mindsets, reduce stress, navigate daily life more effectively and enhance their overall well-being. That’s why we’re so excited to make these resources available to everyone.”
To explore these resources and start your journey toward mindfulness, visit canr.msu.edu/mindfulnessforbetterliving today.
To see a complete library of mindfulness videos available to you, visit the new Mindfulness for Better Living YouTube channel at youtube.com/@MindfulnessForBetterLiving. Be sure to subscribe to stay up to date as new practices get added regularly.
