5 Easy ways to create mindfulness....
NO TIME to meditate? 5 Easy ways to create mindfulness throughout the day…
Meditation and mindfulness are buzzwords that are used ALL over social media, news outlets and even your doctor & therapist will recommend it for all the benefits. We agree AND it can feel daunting when you see photos of a perfectly placed human seated on a mountain top relaxed with eyes closed and hands at ease in their lap.
Let me start by sharing my journey with meditation. First, I hated it. Even throughout yoga teacher training I would get sweaty, itchy and ALL uncomfortable when it was “time” to meditate and guys I paid money for someone to create time for me to sit on a mat and meditate. So, what was the blockage I was experiencing? A few things and the simplest way to describe it is that I thought meditation was that picture; I thought my mind is supposed to be clear and I should feel like a gazelle running through the forest effortlessly in my attempt to be seated upright and just breathe. I mean, that is what I was required to do, right? Sit in silence and clear my mind and breathe… the answer is, yes and no. While seated mediation is wonderful it is the elite athlete of mediation, it takes time, discipline, and dedication to get to that seat and I did not know nor was taught how to honor that – probably on purpose so I could figure it out myself. The journey of our practice, right?
Real talk, mindfulness and mediation are about awareness. Awareness if your breath is strained when you are about to present in a meeting. Awareness that your fresh brewed cup of coffee, smells delicious before you taste it. Your meditation can be on your walk to work; notice how the trees look or count the cracks in the pavement.
Try on one (or all...:) of these 5 easy tips to bring mindfulness to your day:
1. When you wake in the morning sit up and with eyes closed take 5 deep breathes in an out.
2. When you hop into the shower, see what you notice about the water. I.e. If you were explaining water to someone that couldn’t see and has never felt water, what words would you use to describe water?
3. Before you drink or eat anything throughout the day smell the food/drink and take a moment to notice the scent, texture, and response in the body.
4. On your typical commute to work or the grocery store, what new discovery can you make? A street you never noticed, a tree etc.
5. Before bed, can you close your eyes and name three things you are grateful for from today?
These are small things to add into your day and the impact of anything great romances us over time. When you first start you may feel silly, and the mind might say, let’s get on with it already. If we remind ourselves that we are bombarded ALL day and night with texts, notifications, and noise the practice of taking even one minute a day is possible. Adding one or all these things will create a spark that will light up and over time the benefits will enhance your life in the way of presence. Being present in the present is the best gift we can give to ourselves to then share with others.
Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it. - “Horace Mann”