Editors Note: After months of living through a very stressful election- let’s just breathe:
Taking just 5 to 10 minutes in the morning before rushing into your day can make a huge difference in your mental health. I was always the one who would “snooze” and go through what can I eliminate from my process of getting ready so that I could go back to sleep. But would I really sleep, or would I lie in my own thoughts until it beeped again?
Why was I so afraid to start my day early?
So I started using that time to just be still. Before everyone else was awake. Before the bathroom lights went on, the shower running, the dog, and the kids getting ready for their day.
To…. just…. breathe….
Mindfulness or meditation can have such a “commitment” meaning to it. As if you need to put on comfy clothes, pull your hair back, grab a floor pillow or mat. What it really has to do with is your mind. Putting comfy clothes on your brain. Relaxing your brain. It doesn’t matter what preparation you take.
Mine is to grab a cup of coffee, sit outside if it’s nice or in a quiet room and just listen to my breathing. My thoughts pop in and I take them and breathe in then breathe them out again as if to send them into the air around me.
When I was living with depression my thoughts were like a rubber ball in a padded room. Bouncing everywhere and solving nothing!! Now, I just let them float in and float out. Similar to taking control of a situation at work or in your personal life, mindfulness is taking control of your mental thoughts.
Try it…. It’s worth the extra 5-10minutes. With time you’ll see that you feel more focused, sharp and ready for the day!