One day at a time mindfulness

Mindfulness.    Mindfulness is mentioned often in healthcare.   Mindfulness is mentioned often in therapy and in wellness and recovery circles.  But how do you get it in this stressful world?

 

 

Most of the time, I feel like this.   Squeezed, or under pressure.    I feel tired from worry and strain.   I feel tired from medication, or from early morning hours during the work week.    I feel tired just from the responsibilities of life and from the crap I carry with me each day in my mind.   Exhausted.   Stressed.

 

How can mindfulness help?     How can I fit it into my schedule?     What is mindfulness anyway?

 

Mindfulness can be many things.  It doesn't have to take up a lot of time.   It doesn't have to cost a lot of money.   It can be done anywhere and anytime.

 

 

My definition of mindfulness is being in the present moment and not trying engaging with the crap I carry with me each day.   What I mean by crap is the stuff that goes on in my head most of the time.   Thoughts or feelings like:   I wonder if I am working hard enough at work?    Do I look super fat in this outfit?    Does this person hate me?    Why don't things work out for me?   Why am I a failure?   Why can't I keep my house perfect?    Are you sure you should be eating this?    Blah, Blah, Blah.....on it goes, a nonstop tirade, sometimes full of worry and self-abuse.

 

So how do you get into the present moment?    One of the easiest and most simple ways is to breathe.   Focus on your breath as it goes in and out of your body.   I will either count up to 10 and back down, like: breathing in one, breathing out one - and so on.   Or, I will focus on words, like: breathe in here and breathe out now.     The key is to have something repetitive to focus on, so that when you mind drifts, and it will, you can pull it back to either the numbers or words you have chosen.  I usually sit upright in a chair, with my back straight, my feet flat on the floor, and my hands resting on my legs.    I need to close my eyes, but you can also find something in the room to focus on.  And then, I breathe.   And focus.   Meditate.

 

 

Another way to get into the present moment is to observe something.   Really observe it, using all of your senses.

 

 

I will often do this with nature.   I think about what I am looking at and describe it using my senses.  For those few minutes, no other thoughts come in, and if they do, I push them out and go back to the object I am contemplating. 

 



 

 

I have also petted my cats mindfully.    This is pretty easy for me to do, and is also soothing because I think of how their fur feels, I hear them purring.   If they are on my lap, I can feel the warmth and pressure of their bodies, and sometimes, I can feel them purring.

 

 

I sometimes, will also do common household chores mindfully.    Like vacuuming, folding laundry or washing the dishes.    Again, I super focus on each task, and describe or observe that task by using all of my senses.

 

 

Yoga, is another way to be in the present moment.    Yoga actually has a whole spiritual philosophy surrounding it.   The poses are just one part of that.    I have been getting more and more interested in Yoga lately.    I like it because of the fact that when I am in a difficult pose, and breathing, I am definitely in the present moment.    The other reason I am getting more interested in Yoga, is because of the concept of body love and Yoga.

 

 

 

I have spent the majority of my life hating my body.   At times, I starved my body, and would exercise as much as possible.    I used to even pound myself in the hips to walk faster.  

 

Sometimes, I feel so fat and disgusting that I give up, and binge on whatever is around.   I had my first binge experience when I was eleven years old.   I ate dried stuffing, peanut butter and sugar.   It wasn't about the food, it was about escaping from that critic in my head that is always there kicking my butt.    The body love part of Yoga, helps me to escape from that same critic.   I just am able to escape in a more positive way.    I found a website the other day, while being mean to myself.   I was thinking about looking into a local Yoga place.   Then I thought, 'you are too fat for yoga, and they won't even let you in the door.'    So, to prove to myself how horrible and gross I am, I googled  this phrase:   "Can fat people do Yoga?"

 

I was expecting to find all kinds of mocking stuff about fat people and Yoga.   I was expecting to use this information against myself.   But I found only positive.   Funny how that happens sometimes.

I found a website called Curvy Yoga.    I spent the next several hours reading a blog on that site that explains the concepts of Yoga, and how they apply to body acceptance and body love.    I was never more grateful in my life.   I am getting tired of hating my body.   I am getting tired of hating myself.   I want to put down my bag of crap.    I am tired of carrying it with me every day.

 

So I am going to try an experiment.     I am going to try being mindful in some way, every day.  I am going to attempt one day at a time mindfulness.

 

 

I will let you know how it goes in my blog.     I have this little stress tracker on my computer from the App store.    I have been tracking my stress for a couple of weeks now.    I want to see if mindfulness really works.     I want to see if it brings down my stress, and really increases my contentment and joy with life.    I believe it will, because I have seen it work when I remember to use it.

Want to try it with me?

 

And now for a message from our life coach cats:

 

 

 

Try being mindful.    See if it works.

It certainly seems to work for cats!