Mindfulness on the Move: Grounding Practices for Busy Clinicians

Mindfulness on the Move: Grounding Practices for Busy Clinicians 

You don’t need a yoga mat, incense, or a 30-minute gap in your schedule to practice mindfulness. In fact, some of the most effective techniques can be done between patients, during a handwash, or in the lift between floors. 

Mindfulness is the art of attention—the intentional, non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. For clinicians, this can be a lifeline. In the middle of chaos, it allows for clarity. Amid emotional turmoil, it fosters calm. And in a culture of speed and pressure, it helps us reconnect with purpose. 

Try starting your day with a 60-second breathing pause before opening your inbox. Ground yourself with a body scan while scrubbing in. Use each hand sanitiser moment as a signal to take one mindful breath. These small moments of presence have cumulative power. 

Even something as simple as mindfully sipping a cup of tea during your break—fully tasting it, feeling the warmth, pausing distractions—can become a reset button. 

Incorporating mindfulness doesn’t require extra time—it just needs intention. As we begin to tune in, we start to shift from reacting to responding, from depletion to resilience.

It isn’t about escaping the demands of medicine but meeting them with greater awareness and inner steadiness. 

Author - Prof Abbas Tejani, Honorary Associate Professor of Primary Care.