This is a blog post with a difference to my normal, and the start of a mini series. The quote below is taken from my About Zoe page and makes a great introduction to a talk I gave recently on how to instigate moments of mindfulness when you lead a busy everyday life.
"In this fast-paced world it is important to slow down, to take time to look around us and appreciate the small wonders in the world we find ourselves in"
It’s a busy noisy world and its easy to get swept through each day, week, year. Easy to lose touch with ourselves and to feel out of balance. Holistic living is a way of balancing our mind, our body, and our soul, it is also a term banded about on the internet alongside beautiful escapist photos of luscious greenery or white sand beaches, or shares of 5 am meditations followed by a scheduled day of yoga, health food, relaxation and apparent blissful living. And I really wanted to talk to you today in case that tiny snapshot of someone else’s journey makes you feel that a holistic lifestyle, when you have a real life with a busy schedule is not attainable, because it is. You just need to do it your way, to fit your life, and to make it realistic to you. When the only comparison is you, then you can relax and enjoy finding balance in the everyday madness!
I’m hoping to impart a few practical tips just focusing on the mindfulness aspect of mind, body, and soul. Mindfulness is about being fully present and engaging in the moment, without judgement, and practicing self recognised moments of mindfulness everyday will not only instil it as habit but it will help to reduce stress, improve focus, and help to enhance your emotional regulation. The more mindful you can be in the seemingly little moments then the easier unexpected stresses, other peoples dramas, and real life big events will be to handle.
First off I want to talk about breathing. It's such an important yet automated action that we can forget the importance this process has on our bodies. Take time in your day, everyday, to focus on your breathing. When you’re sat in the car wating in traffic or to pick up/drop off a child/partner/friend somewhere, when you’re having a stressful time with work, when you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, or stood in the supermarket queue, then practice a breathing exercise. There are many, you may use some already, I’ll show you two different ones I like to do;
- Head, Heart, Belly
- Finger Breathing
Head, Heart, Belly - take a deep breath in through your nose feeling as if all the air is filling up your head and upper chest, hold for a moment and then let it out in a slow controlled way through your mouth. Next take another deep breath in through your nose feeling your ribcage expand and filling up your heart space and whole chest, hold for a moment and then let it out in a slow controlled way through your mouth. Lastly take another deeper still breath in thorugh your nose filling your lungs and pushing your belly out, hold for a longer moment and then let it out in a slow controlled way through your mouth.
Finger Breathing - There are many variations of this one, the way I do it is to hold my left hand out infront of me and use my eyes to trace around my fingers as I breath in and hold and release and hold. I trace up and down my little finger as I breath in, hold as I trace up and down my ring finger, release as I trace up and down my middle finger, and hold as I trace up and down my index finger, then back along my fingers again, so I breath in as I trace up and down my index finger, hold as I trace up and down my middle finger, breath out as I trace up and down my ring finger, and hold as I trace up and down my little finger. Great for moments of anxiety, when you need to calm down, or just as a great regluating breathing exercise.