Alternative Mindfulness: For Those Who Don't Like Meditation
Mindfulness is so important for our mental and physical wellbeing - A healthy mind means a healthy heart. But there's too many techniques claiming to the best - where does a beginner even start?
😵💫 “I can’t sit still”
“I don’t have time”
“I tried it once—it’s just not for me”
If you’ve ever said any of these things about meditation, you’re not alone.
Meditation is constantly recommended for heart health, brain health, mental clarity and emotional resilience… but let’s be real: it’s hard - some people struggle more than others but almost everyone has no plan or way to know if they are doing it “right”.
So if you've tried and hated it—or never started—this issue is for you.
Because the benefits of meditation aren't locked behind hours of sitting in silence.
You can train your brain, calm your nervous system, and regulate your stress without ever sitting cross-legged on a cushion. This is just one cliché form of meditation which in itself is just one of many mindfulness techniques.
Let’s go through your most common reasons for not meditating—and offer heart-healthy alternatives that actually work.
🙅♂️ “I don’t have time to meditate.”
✅ Try: Active Meditations
There’s a quote we love:
“You should meditate for 30 minutes each day. If you can’t do 30 minutes you should do 10 minutes… and if you don’t have time to meditate for 10 minutes, you should meditate for 30 minutes.”
Why? Because meditation doesn't take time—it returns time by calming your stress response, improving focus, and lowering emotional reactivity. It saves the time you would’ve spent anxious, overwhelmed, or distracted.
But how do we initially find those 10 (or 30 minutes?) THE EASY WAY:
You don’t need to meditate in stillness.
Movement is meditation—if you do it mindfully.
This is where active meditations come in:
🚶♂️ Walking meditation: Go for a walk without music. Focus on the feeling of your feet, the air, the sounds. Just 10 minutes can significantly lower cortisol.
For the ultimate heart health routine - integrate a 10+ minute walk into your daily commute (perhaps getting off your bus one stop early or parking further away from the office). Its even better if you take a walk in a park! Mindfulness, exercise and maybe even some nature all before your first email of the day!
🧼 Chores with awareness: Doing dishes, laundry, or cleaning can be grounding. Focus on the sensory experience. It’s more calming than you’d think—and still gets your to-do list done.
🧘♀️ Yoga or stretching with breath awareness: Match movement to breath, even for 5 minutes. Research shows this calms the autonomic nervous system and can reduce blood pressure.
🎧 Wake Me Up on YouTube: This is a wonderful channel that blends mindfulness with affirmations—perfect for beginners or busy mornings. Try it whilst you get ready for work.
🧠 “My brain won’t stop thinking.”
✅ Try: Guided Affirmations & Focused Attention
Don’t worry: No one’s brain stops thinking. Even seasoned meditators still get distracted.
The trick is learning to guide your focus—not eliminate thought.
Two brilliant tools for this:
🧘♂️ Guided Affirmation Practices
We love the work of Bosque Neuroscience on YouTube. These are calm tracks of affirmations to help shift your mindset. Whether you're working, walking, or resting, just press play.
🧠 The Healthy Minds Program
This free app (from neuroscientists at the Centre for Healthy Minds) offers a science-backed meditation path that includes focus, kindness, insight and purpose. It’s designed for real people with everyday problems and even has active meditation versions of all of its practices!
This guidance is wonderful to help train beginners but even helps regular meditators gain new insights and reminders to stay mindful.
And over time, you’ll find your mind doesn’t fight you as hard when you slow down.
🪟 “Sitting still makes me anxious.”
✅ Try: Sensory Grounding Activities
Stillness can be scary. Especially if your nervous system has been on high alert for years. Start with grounding rather than silence.
Some favourites:
🧊 Cold water on the face or hands (even better after a walk)
💨 Box breathing (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4)
🖐️ 5-4-3-2-1 grounding: Name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, 1 you can taste.
This is meditation for the body—not just the mind. It tells your heart, “you’re safe.”
🧩 “I can’t just switch off my brain”
✅ Try: Puzzles and Creative Flow
Like we mentioned earlier, mediation isn’t about turning off your thoughts and having this as a goal will only end in a loss of motivation. But if you want a slightly gentler form of mindfulness that you’ve been practicing already for decades then lets answer this question:
Do puzzles count as mindfulness?
The short answer: They can.
Jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, even sudoku or Lego—all involve focused, present-moment attention.
They reduce rumination, boost dopamine, and create flow—a state linked to lower stress and improved emotional regulation.
🧩 Bonus tip: Add soft music or candlelight to your next puzzle session, and it might be the most calming part of your day.
So yes—puzzles are brainy mindfulness. Just remember to do them intentionally. Slow down. Breathe. Enjoy the process—not just the completion.
❤️ HeartGuard’s Take
Meditation is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
But calm, awareness, and intention—those are for everyone.
The goal isn’t to achieve an empty or perfectly disciplined mind.
It’s to develop a moment of stillness in your storm, wherever and however that happens for you.
Call it meditation. Call it grounding. Call it mental rest.
Just don’t call it impossible.
🔥 Challenge of the Week
Pick ONE form of “non-meditation meditation” and do it every day this week:
🎧 Play a 10-minute Wake Me Up guided meditation
🧩 Solve a puzzle or paint without music
🧘♀️ Try a Healthy Minds focus practice
🪣 Do one chore fully aware, no distractions.
Notice how you feel after. Then keep the one that works.
💬 Question of the Week:
What’s your version of meditation?
Is it your daily walk? A puzzle before bed? Guided audio on the train?
We have plenty of mindfulness techniques we want to share with you so let us know if you are interested in hearing more!
Reply and tell us—or message us at heartguardhealth@gmail.com.
🫶 Forward this to someone who says “I’m too busy to meditate.”
You might be giving them the tool that saves their brain, their mood—and their heart.
Louis & Toby
HeartGuard