Give yourself a gift for the upcoming holidays…
Inspiration is difficult to come by these days, but it isn’t completely gone. I find myself to be in a constant pursuit of inspiration to enjoy life.
Experts say that the key to relieving stress is to tune in to what is happening in your body and calming your nervous system. The Mindful Movement is about making this possible. This is what the expression “put your own oxygen mask on first,” and the “buzzphrases” self-care and me time are about.
The Mindful Movement focuses on combining that tuning in process with gentle physical activity and breathing for full mind-body relaxation. It’s all about noticing how you feel when you are moving — being aware of the sensations in your body. This kind of moving is not about the outcome but to bring awareness to your body without judgement.
I’ve found this to be a lovely way to focus on my body and connect to my breath to lower stress levels. It is supported by research proving that the impact of mindfulness reduces stress and anxiety while increasing overall happiness.
I encourage you to give this a try during the during the emotional and physical demands of the upcoming holiday season. It only takes a few minutes a day and will make a big difference. During the rest of the year, you’ll find that it will help with stressful deadlines at work and the chaos of family schedules.
Why not make a new year goal to embrace mindfulness in your life and create a mindful movement routine for yourself? It only requires setting a separate time from your fitness routine to have a clear intention for the outcome.
Consistency is key here. Choose the length of time to devote to mindfulness each day. It can be 5 minutes or 30 minutes but try to do it every day.
It’s important to trust the process — a mindfulness routine takes practice and you will get used to it when you stick with it. The more you practice, the deeper the impact of your mindful movement will be.
The best way to calm your nervous system is to breathe. Be sure to do it slowly and with long exhales. Yoga aims at enhancing the energy that flows through the body with the benefits of breathing. I like to use 10 minute Yin Yoga from YouTube videos (free) to stretch and relieve tension and deeply move my shoulders, neck, hips and spine. These are areas where so many of us hold tension. Try to move with the quality of a yawn or early morning stretch. the goal of mindfulness is for one to focus on the present moment with a “quiet mind”.
At the end of the video, I let myself rest in gravity. This type of active rest allows me to feel a grounding sensation in my body. I take advantage of this “floating” feeling in my head to engage in a 10 minute guided meditation to set intentions for my day. I see it as a way to center myself and relax my mind, without a religious connection. There are literally thousands of videos available for free on YouTube for this as well. In less than an hour, I’ve centered myself physically and mentally before starting my day.
Over time, I can’t say enough about the benefits this brings to your life. It has brought me many positive effects -from health benefits to my outlook on life and a general sense of well-being. Recent studies have shown that practicing meditation daily can even help slow down unwanted side effects of aging.
The point is to try to move and breathe mindfully for a few minutes every day. It is a small price to pay to give yourself the tools you need to help you live better.
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