Do you want to know how to be less stressed and anxious by introducing a mindfulness practice into your life? Mindfulness has become a desired mental state, and the theory that mindfulness alleviates anxiety and stress is backed by science.
As soon as we get out of mindfulness, our nervous system takes a hit. We can feel that change in our temperament, and anxiousness. Maybe our blood pressure rises temporarily while we fret about something we feel obligated to focus on which causes conflict in our minds.
Mindfulness: A Real-Life Example and Comparison
Think about spending time with your pet. Which of the below two scenarios is better?
Scenario 1: Being Mindful While Walking Your Dog
Getting out on a beautiful day to walk your dog and looking at the world through the eye of his doggy mind? Taking time to observe his meanderings? Imagining what he might be picking up on through his olfactory senses, pondering his insistence to urinate on every object in passing?
What a delight, what a joy, to stay in the moment that our dog lives and breathes for and waits for you to join him in celebration of life’s pleasures every day.
Scenario 2: Scrolling Your Phone While Your Dog Waits and Waits
Or, scrolling your phone while seated in the driver seat, parked in your car, with your dog, ever patient, tongue hanging out slightly, staring intently at you while you pore through confusing jumbles of words on your phone, thinking about how you really don’t have time to walk the dog today and wanting to get through the task as quickly as possible.
Then, almost dragging the dog down the street in your need to hasten the excursion so you can get back to more scrolling and confused, hurried, impulsive communication on your phone.
So again, which is better? Scenario one or two? Of course the first — the mindful, relaxed sojourn with your furry friend, the friend you picked out at the animal shelter to rescue into having a better life. You were going to give him your best moments, faithfully walk your dog every day, and let the experience transport you to simpler times.
That’s an example of what it feels like to let stress detract from the peaceful, carefree moments of your life, like taking that stroll with your pup on a warm day.
- What happens when we let go of our need to always be connected?
- What happens when we free ourselves of the need to always be available to the clamoring masses that come through to us on technology and continue to demand the next best thing?
- What happens when we instead surrender and do the thing that our dog, our kid, our elderly mom, is so patiently waiting for us to do, come into the moment and enter the blissful presence of your time together?
Mindfulness in Practice: Give Yourself Permission to Let Go
Do you give yourself permission to take a leisurely wander down the roads of life? Do you take a moment to inhale the beauty and wonder of simple, ordinary yet remarkable things? When that happens, something amazing yet commonplace occurs and we don’t even realize it.
We breathe into relaxation to fully settle into space – physical and mental space. Time slows, because our thoughts slowed. And that is what feels so soothing and satisfying to our soul. To be in that ultra-present state of mind, the mental place that matches the physical space of where we are right now.
No worries. No obsessive thoughts. No impatient feeling of wanting this to be over so we can check the next thing off our list.
Instead, a deep proverbial sigh of relief, maybe even a literal sigh, and just saying to ourself: “there’s no place I’d rather be than where I am now.”
That’s mindfulness. It’s one of the healthiest things you can do for you, and it’s one of the simplest ways to give yourself a break from the daily stress that takes its toll and steals away your joy without you even knowing.
Practice Mindfulness at Home. We Have Created a Beautiful, Mindfulness Journaling E-Guide for You to Download.
Want to hear more about other self-coaching tools from Coach Me Friend? Sign up for our mailing list.
