What does mindfulness mean to you?
To me, I think of mindfulness as being present in the moment and not worrying about the past or the future. I think about slowing down my mind from the never-ending to-do list and pay attention to the little things in life.
Earlier this month, I was dropping my 5 year old to school and we were a bit late after unwraping gifts and having a morning celebration for her 5th birthday. My 3 year old stopped on the stairs and said "look at those beautiful cockatoos!" And they were beautiful. A flock of white and yellow flying overhead. My children teach me to stop, slow down and live in the moment. They also drive me nuts and are the reason why my mind goes a million miles an hour!
I recently read The Miracle Morning and it set out steps to create a great day. Those of you that know me understand that I'm not a morning person. My kids sleep till 7/7.30am (don't hate me) so the rest of the house follows suit. But this month, I have been trying something a bit different. I'm trying to wake up a little earlier and do the 3 Ms.
MOVE, MEDITATE, MAKE A JOURNAL ENTRY
Moving can be as simple as stretching. I like to use the equipment in the studio and do dynamic stretching. What does that mean? It means I'm not holding a stretch - I might use the reformer to stretch my hip flexors and I move in and out of the stretch. Or a standing hamstring stretch on the end of the trapeze table. Stretches feel better to me when I can come in and out (plus it's less painful than holding it). Post COVID I'm not getting my heart rate up like I used to. But I will get back into that slowly as my energy is returning more and more each week.
Meditate. Also not one for me naturally but I've heard practice makes perfect. I prefer to use a Mediation app like Insight Timer (it's free) and do a 5 minute guided mediation. I really focus on my breath - just like Pilates - deeply breathing in through the nose into the stomach and slowly out through the mouth.
Make a journal entry. This has been my weakest New Year's resolution. For those who were reading this blog in December, I made a great post about my plans for the year. Blog | Wellspring Pilates
Journalling is something that I don't mind but I never carve out time for it. I do it haphazardly and quickly when I find a minute. But that's not the goal. I need to sit, clear my mind and express gratitude. I have so much to be grateful for. And some of the things I think about are "what worries me now that won't be important in 6 months time?" It puts things in perspective and then I feel at ease. So May has been a great month for me to focus on journalling.
Let's hope I can turn Mindful May into Journalling June!
I'm not perfect and some rainy days I prefer to stay in bed (which has been a few this month!). But consistency is key (just like with exercise) so I vow to work harder on creating this beautiful way to start the morning and set myself up for the day.
Till next time Wellspringers,
Holly
xx
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