Within this episode we're going to revisit a topic that I discussed in relation to mindfulness.
Over the years of sharing with students the importance of mindfulness I thought that it might be helpful in these busy times as we lead up to Christmas to help you with relation to the beauty that mindfulness can create in your world.
Often when I'm discussing or being asked about meditation usually most people find that it is too hard for them in the sense that their mind is too busy,
That they can't switch it off.
Another thing is that people often are unsure about how long to spend in meditation and I know for myself when I had my young family meditation could be quite a challenge because it could actually set me up for frustrations because I'd be trying to have my quiet time and then of course the children would wake in the morning or something else would happen.
And so I begun the practice of mini meditations and these were literally you know 10 to 20,
30 seconds where I would just really stop and truly come into the moment.
It didn't take long till I realized how incredibly powerful that was and it became an expanded conscious way of living.
It also helped me to go deeper in the meditation practice itself where I would actually find that time to sit and meditate.
And one of the things that I developed to help people understand why mindfulness is so important,
I call it the school zone for the mind.
Now we all understand that when we're around school zones we drive at a slower pace and this is so that we can ensure that there is safety around the school and we know that should we have to stop quickly that we're able to do so and it alleviates and stops any aspects of accidents happening.
So when we are with mindfulness we are literally slowing the speed of our mind.
So what happens is is if you are able to live with mindfulness you are able to slow the thought processes of your mind.
Now even the same way that we have the school zone and we know that driving at that slower speed is going to help if we need to stop.
Think about if you're on the highway and you're going at a hundred kilometers an hour.
When you try to stop it's going to be very difficult.
In fact it will take you quite a while to be able to pull the car up.
And so when we spend our days with this really fast paced life and a mind that is so full and jumping from one thing to the next it's like driving down the highway at a hundred kilometers an hour.
So if all of a sudden you try to stop and meditate it's really challenging and the mind just goes crazy.
So if you can learn to bring a little bit of mindfulness into your day it won't take too long till you'll feel the benefits and then you will expand that practice until it becomes a more natural way of being.
When we are practicing mindfulness it basically is a mind full of the now.
So it's stopping that multitasking in the mind where we're you know jumping from one thing to the next.
And it is so important if we truly want expanded health.
When we are constantly jumping from one thought to another it speeds our nervous system up and within the Vedic way we know that this also dries the nervous system.
And so this causes us to have that heightened feeling in our body that fight-or-flight.
This of course sets us up for so many other aspects of illness where we see that stress can cause hormonal imbalances,
It also affects our sleep,
Digestion and also can send the cortisol levels up in the body and cause inflammation.
So having a mindfulness approach to your day does not mean that you need more time.
You don't need to sit down,
You don't need to do any of that.
It is about being fully present in whatever you are doing at the moment.
If it's driving the car fully present of doing that.
If it is you know hanging out the washing it is doing that.
If it is working at work and on the computer you're not multitasking half finishing one job and then another.
Whatever it is that you are doing,
Even on exercise if you're on a walk,
Not walking and thinking about all the things you have to do when you get back home.
It's about noticing nature.
It's about being fully present in the now.
A mind full of the now.
So next time you are you know driving past a school zone and you see those flashing lights and it reminds you you know to slow down so that there's safety around.
Perhaps think about how that school zone could reflect to you about the safety and the improved health that you'll receive through being able to have a school zone in your mind.
It doesn't take long before it truly does become a natural way of living and that in itself can be life-changing.
Always remember if you have any questions or anything you are unsure of in relation to mindfulness meditation or anything else that I offer and talk about then please reach out via the website.
I hope that this short podcast has been able to help you to understand how we can see the different aspects of our life and understand that it helps us to really know what we're doing in our day rather than letting our mind run away with us.
It truly does bring a sweetness to life when you truly are present in whatever it is that you are doing.
Thank you for sharing sacred space with me.
Take care.
