The Art of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the act of being aware of one’s thoughts, their bodily sensations, while interacting in a kind and caring way within themselves and their environment. To learn this many will practice deep breathing, meditation, or simply becoming aware of the way they think and the impact it has on their physical body. A few tools to help you practice mindfulness.
4 Part Breathing:
Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, hold for a count of four, out through your mouth for a count of four, hold out for a count of four. Repeat four times, while focusing on a calming thought. I recommend trying to add this in to your day about 4 times. However, the moment I feel stressed, I practice my breathing.
Forgiveness:
Holding on to anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and disappointment will erode your emotional and mental state. While often these areas can be linked to childhood, your partner, those closest to you, or old wounds you think you’ve fixed - actively acknowledging the areas of pain and choosing to release them can give you deep freedom. This can be accomplished with a therapist, a life coach, through a journal, or by allowing the emotion to roll over you - identify your feelings, and choosing to rewrite the story, and picture them rolling off of you and away. Then choose positive emotions to take their place and practice bringing those feelings into the issue or memory.
Thankfulness:
Choosing gratitude in every day, even when you feel stress, anxiety, or fear can help neutralize negative emotions. Practicing a feeling of joy and gratitude from the moment you wake can help you pull those positive feelings in when you’re feeling the opposite. This can be accomplished by focusing on things that fill you with joy while you’re doing your deep breathing. When you feel upset about something, like when a person takes your parking spot at the grocery store - changing the anger to ‘I am so thankful I have a car to drive, legs to walk into the store, the ability to buy food to nourish my family, and that my positive energy will be a blessing to those around me’ - this has a marked impact on how you proceed through your day.
In many ways mindfulness is becoming in tune with your deep power. By choosing how you feel, determining the way other’s poor choices can impact you, and by not allowing yourself to be pulled in a vortex of another person’s control. You are the master of your own being and you practice this daily by releasing the things that are stressing your mind and therefore your body. Often what we hold as a focus in our mind is what we hold in our physical being. It is why I explain weight as a place of comfort. When you learn to be present with yourself and practice caring for your emotional state, your body no longer has to do the heavy work for you.
Meditation:
It is impossible to touch on mindfulness without highlighting the important part that meditation can play in getting in touch with your thought process. Meditation is the act of slowing your breathing, focusing on your thoughts, changing the pattern of belief, and releasing the negative energy from your body. While some circles may feel concerned about the act of emptying their thoughts, true holistic meditation is rather about emptying the energies that are clouding your peace. Another way to do this is through focused prayer or worship.
To create an atmosphere of peace you may want to practice this first thing in the morning or at night before bed. I am going to simply list a couple of apps and youtube channels that have meditations available. I like to slip in a headset and listen while I’m waking up or especially in the afternoon before I start dinner prep. I find that around 4, I’m completely fried. While not tired, I’m emotionally spent. This helps me to refresh my thoughts and center myself before I step back into my role of motherhood.
YouTube:
Louise Hay
Guided healing meditation on forgiveness
Guided Christian meditation: healing your mind
Mindfulness meditation: being still in the presence
Apps To Download:
