A couple of years ago I went to a hypnotherapist to help me de-stress. One of the remedies she suggested was to be mindful and to write about it in a journal. In all honesty I was quite skeptical at the time but something inside me nudged me to give it a shot. The first thing I did was go for a walk at the park. While I moved around I became aware of the sound of water gushing out of the sprinklers, the smell of freshly cut grass, the feeling of the coarse footpath below me and the humid tinge in the air. That day after my walk I felt very relaxed and those wondering thoughts in my mind quietened.
In the recent years there’s been a lot of focus on “Mindfulness”. Countless books have been written about it, therapists have been encouraging clients to adopt this practice and there are even colouring books based on this. So what exactly is mindfulness? Well, it can be described as “being present in the moment”.
In this day and age most of us have become multitaksers especially us women. Just think about something you did today, for example it could be something as simple as getting out of bed this morning. What are you guilty of doing first thing every morning…checking your phone or suddenly thinking about what you have to wear today or stressing about that meeting at work? What do these actions do? They create a depletion of energy first thing in the morning!
If instead you wake up and notice how the air around you feels – is it cold or warm? Do you hear any sounds like the chirping of the birds? Or perhaps how does it feel rubbing your hands together and then sliding them across the back of your neck and shoulders. Something simple is what’s best, for it is these small but effective actions that we tend to overlook the most. The morning need not be a dreaded moment of the day, through being mindful you can change that. And by all means please practice being mindful whenever it suits you.
Try it today. Try focusing on that cup of coffee or tea with no distractions. To take it a step further you could describe how it feels in a few words.
Written By Shruti Jaswal
Certified Health Coach Dip. HC. (London)
Wonderful article! Mindfulness beautifully explained.
Nice!