Read time: 2 minutes
Let me explain how I understand mindfulness. To me, it’s when the body, heart and mind are in the same space at the same time. Being fully present to the moment we are in.
How often are we driving through traffic, thinking about the next errand on our to-do list, while also replaying a stressful conversation we had before we left the house? This scenario plays out all the time. Our bodies go on autopilot, our brains are looking ahead planning our next task, while our hearts may be processing a difficult emotion (worry, guilt, frustration, etc.) we experienced earlier that day.
Somewhere along the way we forget to check in with ourselves.
- What are we doing?
- Why are we doing?
- How are we feeling?
These questions tend to get overlooked with our busyness…or what we like to call “productiveness”.
What if we don’t want to stop into stillness because we are scared of what we might find? What happens if we acknowledge how we really feel about our life at this moment? Who are we if we aren’t always on-the-go, always doing? Who are we without our job title?
How do we let go of this societal obsessiveness and find our genuine selves?
First, we need to hit the pause button on the human doing and put more focus on the human being.
Here are a few of my favorite ways to do that:
- Meditate – There are so many ways to meditate now days. Whether it’s an app on your phone guiding you through a meditation or simply sitting still in silence…the idea is to let go of the doing and become the being again.
- 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding – I love this one because you can do it anywhere and it only takes a few minutes. Whether you’re sitting in your car, standing in line at the grocery store or waiting to pick up your kids from school, here’s what you do:
- 5 – Look at five things with your eyes.
- 4 – Feel four things with your body (maybe you notice the texture of your shirt, the chair under your legs, the wind on your face…)
- 3 – Listen to three different sounds (I like to close my eyes)
- 2 – Smell two different aromas
- 1 – BE. Now ask yourself what emotion you are feeling right now. Just sit with that feeling for a minute or so without trying to change anything.
- Embodiment Breathing – This takes one minute to do and again you can do it anywhere, without anyone knowing what you’re doing. Close your eyes and breath in and out through your nose. On the inhale breathe into your belly as if your belly were a balloon you’re trying to inflate. On the exhale imagine you are melting from the top of your head. On the next exhale, relax your face. The next exhale, relax your shoulders. Work your way all the way down to your toes on each exhale. By the time you’re done you should feel amazingly calm and relaxed. For kids I like to tell them to imagine they are an ice cream come slowly melting. Whatever visual works for you, the goal is to fully surrender to the moment.
Now it’s your turn!
Pick one or more of these mindfulness practices and commit to doing them twice a day for the next week. Notice how you feel. Remember…the goal of the game is to collect experiences. Pay attention to what you feel during and after each practice. And most importantly, enjoy the game! Feel free to get your family involved too. Kids are great at this! Maybe play it together at the dinner table or before bed.
May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be present.