Five Senses Exercise

There are multiple mindfulness exercises that help ground us in the present, bring clarity to our experience, and calm our nervous systems simply by intentionally using the full range of our sense. The version below has been by crafted by author and organizational psychologist Courtney Ackerman. The link below includes a helpful accompanying worksheet.

Follow this order to practice the Five Senses Exercise:

1. Notice five things that you can see.
   Look around you and bring your attention to five things that you can see. Pick something that you don’t normally notice, like a shadow or a small crack in the concrete.
   
   
2. Notice four things that you can feel.
   Bring awareness to four things that you are currently feeling, like the texture of your pants, the feeling of the breeze on your skin, or the smooth surface of a table you are resting your hands on.
   
   
3. Notice three things you can hear.
   Take a moment to listen, and note three things that you hear in the background. This can be the chirp of a bird, the hum of the refrigerator, or the faint sounds of traffic from a nearby road.
   
   
4. Notice two things you can smell.
   Bring your awareness to smells that you usually filter out, whether they’re pleasant or unpleasant. Perhaps the breeze is carrying a whiff of pine trees if you’re outside, or the smell of a fast-food restaurant across the street.
   
   
5. Notice one thing you can taste.
   Focus on one thing that you can taste right now, at this moment. You can take a sip of a drink, chew a piece of gum, eat something, notice the current taste in your mouth, or even open your mouth to search the air for a taste.