Mindfulness Is Conscious Control…

How are you breathing?

Are you aware of how you are breathing? Are you aware of the children walking across the street? The balance and flow of the design of a beautiful garden?

For me, mindfulness is about being aware of your breath.
I am a Pilates instructor. Pilates is a practice where you learn how to move and breathe. It calms the peripheral nervous system. It does a lot of other things, but mostly it teaches conscious control — and it teaches how to be mindful. That’s the beauty of it.

How Mindfulness Helps Me

With Pilates, every full exhale stimulates the vagus nerve and shifts the body into parasympathetic calm — the rest and digest state. Over time, it becomes a habit to take a deep breath and slowly exhale with control from the belly.

That’s how mindfulness moves from theory into biology. The body learns calm first — the mind follows.

How I Practice Mindfulness

I believe you need a mindful practice to become self-aware and conscious — otherwise mindfulness is just an idea. For some people, that’s walking, journaling, swimming, dancing, or singing.

For me, it’s Pilates — though I’ve found it in many places. When I was in college waiting tables, I practiced mindfulness sweeping the restaurant floor: simply inhaling, exhaling, being present in the motion.

Riding horses is mindfulness too, because you must be fully present or you’ll fall. Walking the dog, being with pets — even those daily moments change body chemistry by releasing oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine.

My daily anchor is still Pilates. Inhaling for five, exhaling for five, moving from the powerhouse — the deep core, diaphragm, glutes, and inner thighs — creates a neurological reset. The full exhalation is key, wringing out the gut for enteric nervous system health and teaching the body how to calm the brain.

Tips for Building Mindfulness

• Start small: three mindful breaths before answering a call or entering a room.

• Choose a practice you enjoy and can repeat daily.

• Use the body as your doorway — Pilates, walking, Tai Chi, painting, even gardening.

• Always exhale fully. That’s what teaches the nervous system how to settle into calm and rest/digest mode.

Final Thought

Mindfulness isn’t about escaping life. It’s about giving the body a practice — breath, movement, and presence — so the nervous system can recalibrate and remain calm in daily life.

Pilates happens to be my method, but the principle is the same: when you train the body, the mind follows.

About Melody Morton-Buckleair

Melody Morton-Buckleair is a Master Instructor and founder of The Pilates Cowgirl®, operating two Peak Pilates® Education Centers — The Good Space Pilates in Houston and Elmwood Place Pilates & Retreats in East Texas. She leads fascia-based programs that combine science, faith, and somatic healing.

Her expertise has been featured in Fit & Well, Men’s Journal, Eat This Not That, NerdWallet, Best Life Online, and more.