How to be busy and mindful.

 New job is now a couple of weeks in and I am getting used ( slowly) to being the newbie at work. Plenty of opportunities to practice mindfulness!

I'd be lying if I said I was feeling on top of everything; and why would I be anyway?! So many things to take in. But taking a mindful approach and, perhaps most importantly, catching myself when I start to overthink/overplan is what I have been, and intend to carry on doing.

The standing posture when waiting for the photocopier or in the staffroom waiting to get to the coffee, the walking from one classroom to another, the time between, before and after the lessons. Coming home and really enjoying the cup of tea in the garden ( thank you late summer sun) or inside are all times to stop and just be. All of these are manageable during the busy day. Why is there so much emphasis on being busy all the time. I have gone down that road. I choose the path of taking more time to notice and act, to think and reflect, to respond not react - and when I take an unexpected turning I'll go with it and see what occurs and deal with it at the time. 

Back to the title- how to be busy and mindful; be a little less busy and a little more aware of the taste of the cup of coffee/tea, take time in a queue to breathe and just be in the moment, go outside ( even in the rain- have a coat!) and be kind to yourself and those around you.

This is one of my favourite quotes and I will unashamedly keep sharing it. 

Sleep tight

 Since the post about anxiety dreams I haven't had another one. 

I have been reading this from 'Calm' . Sleep habits are certainly a fascinating topic and I have several friends and close family members who really struggle with sleep so I like to think I have an element of understanding.

It could be somewhat disingenuous to credit mindfulness practice to stopping anxiety dreams, but I definitely believe that breathing and meditation can be exctremely beneficial. I woudl go as far as to suggest seeking medical support should sleeplessness/disturbed sleep patterns become problematic.  As a female going through menopause with hormones doing their own thing there are things that my body is doing that I have little control over. I have seen so many benefits and improvements to my sense of wellbeing as a result of embedding practices into my everyday life .

So, try breathing exercises before going to bed, try a body scan  or other meditation either in bed or just before going to bed. It will help to build routines and develop practice and might even allow for a longer and deeper sleep.

This article from mindful,org has lots more tips and suggestions.

August Wordcloud

 This is the wordcloud for this month. I will be interested to see how these change moving forward...

Coping with our busy lives using mindfulness

 In our busy lives it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of doing, worrying about what’s still to do, more doing and so on. Distractions from all around can add to the stresses of daily life and an overload of information can leave us feeling drained.  Add in artificial lighting, pinging emails, sitting at desks and so on and life can be a big rush from one thing to another.

I wrote a blog post last week about being too busy to be mindful as I realise that the act of suggesting trying something new can in itself be a stressful thing! These blog posts intend to bust some of the more common misconceptions around mindfulness and show how mindfulness is different for each and every person. There will be things that resonate and others that don't. 

I’d like to share some examples of activities that can be practised to help with stressful/challenging situations. Research has shown that regular mindfulness practices can help during times of intense stress which can trigger panic attacks; very intense and frightening experiences.   Mindfulness practices can help us to 'zoom out' and see the bigger picture—like watching the whole theatre, not just what is on the cinema screen. When we do this, we realise  the stressful situation is part of our experience, it is not 'who we are'. That’s easier said than done, but any perspective we can get during times of stress is likely to help ease the intensity and duration. 

As meditation offers relief from stress and challenge, the more you meditate, the better you’ll become at grounding yourself and observing your thoughts from a distance, like watching storm clouds pass by. With time and practice, you can train your mind to acknowledge these feelings without being overwhelmed. Each time you practice mindfulness during challenging moments, you strengthen your mental muscles. And the more you train, the better you can handle future panic attacks or any other challenges.

These are some strategies that can be helpful to use in daily life during times of stress:

3-3-3 rule : name three things you can see, three sounds you can hear and move three different body parts ( can be as simple as wiggling a finger/tapping foot/stretching hand)

5-5-5 rule: breathe in for 5, hold for five, release for five then identify five things you can see, 5 sounds you hear and five objects around you that you can touch.

However, if you are in an intensely stressful situation, being super aware of everything could make you feel even more panicked. During a time like this, controlled breathing or other mindfulness practices might be a better fit for you in that intense moment.

Deep, measured breathing can be one of the most effective ways to regain composure during a panic attack. Techniques like the 4-7-8 breathing method, where you inhale for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds, can help reset your nervous system.

 Another popular method is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which makes you identify 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste.  

Nasal breathing is often used in endurance activities and alternating nostril breathing can be very effiective at reducing stress ( see here ) 

 As stated previously, mindfulness can help with stress reduction and there are Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction courses  (MBSR) which focus more on this.

For me I have found the STOP approach the easiest one to remember (stop, take a breath, observe and proceed with caution and compassion) along with visualisation techniques that I came across whilst taking part in a PQ course a few years ago (https://www.positiveintelligence.com/ ) During a challenging conversation I try to visualise the other person as a child and this can help reduce feelings of anxiety, stress or anger ( and for me works better than the old standard imagine them naked) The thinking behind this is that when one thinks of a happy childhood memory it brings a sense of wellbeing and calm, so by thinking of that person as a child who was happy and carefree it can give the time to respond in a more measured and compassionate way.

Or to walk away! Assertiveness is a good thing and can be done in a non- aggressive way 😉

 

 There really is no one fits all approach.

Did you know we breathe more than 600million times in a lifetime. It's something that we do without giving it a second thought for most of the time. But breathing exercises can heip in so many ways.

More to be written on this for sure...