By Tania
Recently I’ve been taking a deep dive into mindfulness. Mindfulness can mean different things for different people, but for me it means tuning into what my body is telling me and pausing more often to notice what is going on around me.
Interestingly, I am finding mindfulness to be a learned activity, and it was a little overwhelming to begin with. Let’s be frank, being calm and still isn’t always an easy state to achieve!
Once I decided to do mindfulness in my own way, it became a lot easier to navigate. For me, this looks like starting the day with something that feels like I’m prioritising me. Some days this includes brewing a yummy decaf coffee and sitting snuggled up in a blanket, and other days I have a gentle movement routine that brings me joy. During this “me” time, I focus on any thoughts that keep coming up and I sit with these thoughts for a little while. Sometimes my mind is blissfully silent so I sit as quietly as I can and hope no big thoughts come crashing in.
I guess what I’m realising is that it’s just good to start somewhere, it doesn’t need to be a big grandiose thing – I can build up to that eventually! Taking a little bit of time for me, each morning, has been a game changer. For you it might feel better to do this later in the day. Or you might find an activity that brings you stillness and calm such as colouring in, knitting, crocheting, meditation. I would encourage you to dive deep just as I have and see if you can find a pocket of time each day to really focus on you. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be so pleased you did.