Reduce stress, find more energy and feel the joy of your life…Sounds like pie in the sky to you? Or only something that might be possible if you were to dump the kids, run off to Mexico, or start on some pretty serious drugs? These possibilities sounded impossible when I first heard about some benefits of mindfulness. Really?!? I was going to take an 8-week course and learn how to reduce stress and be all happy on the other side. Come on… I’m a realist here.
But what did I have to lose. I had 2 small kids, a busy architecture and exhibit design practice I was running with my spouse… and some very serious anxiety still lingering even 2 years after 911.
8 weeks later, I still had my kids, husband and job. Same house. Same life conditions. But somehow it had all shifted. I could relax and have fun again. I had time in my daily mediation to sit with my own sadness and just cry through it. And find a way through to the other side. Everything had changed.
Now don’t get me wrong that did not solve everything in my life and now I hum zip-a-dee-doo-da every day. Far from it. But what it did was give me a tool to use in my life to get through the yearly, weekly and even daily challenges, sadness and change.
It’s made me unafraid to really let what’s underneath it all come up to the surface so I can see what’s really there. I’m getting more comfortable with my discomfort and learning to stop judging myself. It’s about shifting my energy from avoidance and judgment to curiosity and reflection so I can learn something about myself. Then I can act in ways that reflect what’s important to me and avoid reacting in ways that just make it all worse.
It’s the times when the stress starts to build that really trip me up. Stress is a powerful force. It’s like a red dye being dropped into the crystal clear fish bowl of your life. A few drops every day or so dissipate. Large amounts dumped in or smaller amounts constantly accumulating can have the same affect. The water gets red and life starts to look different, we make decisions. We act before we consider the implications for others and ourselves.
Mindfulness is about so many things. At deliver me wellness, we want to help share mindfulness as a practice to help make life a little simpler and richer for you as you navigate work and life.
Managing everything you’ve got going on isn’t easy. Learning mindfulness is.
How? A few different ways… join us this Tuesday for our 4-Week OnLIVE Mindfulness™ Program to get you well on your way.
Or maybe even the thought of sitting still is unimaginable for you? Join our OnLIVE Yoga™ program and get your body moving, relaxed and calm as your first step.
Every day, I get calls or email or review one of our program surveys. I hear stories about struggle and resistance to giving these practices a try. And then they share about that moment that everything shifted with a few stretches, a couple of breaths, some time sitting still.
Are you ready to give it a try? Hoping to connect with you in one of our programs.
Be well…it’s a state of mind.
Alice Dommert