Mindfulness Beyond Meditation

Create a greater sense of grounding, presence, and nervous system calm through simple mindfulness practices that engage the senses. Brenda Carey shares gentle yet practical ways highly sensitive people can reconnect with their inner wisdom through their senses. Listeners are invited to explore a softer, more embodied approach to mindfulness that can be woven naturally into everyday life.

Transcript

Mindfulness for a highly sensitive person is not just a nice idea or a lofty term we hope to aspire to someday. I actually think it is vital for calming an overstimulated nervous system. Even when your mind feels super busy or emotions are running high, You can return to that inner stillness and calm. And it really doesn't take that much time. I'll share with you my three gentle mindfulness practices, Great for beginners, That are simple yet really effective for reconnecting to your own inner wisdom. Blessings, My name is Brenda Cary and I'm a holistic healer for highly sensitive souls. Allow this time to be a sanctuary for you to awaken your sensitivity where you can soften, Heal, And reconnect to your own inner wisdom. I am so grateful that you are here with me today. Let's be honest, The word mindfulness is everywhere in wellness circles right now. And for the highly sensitive person like myself, Sometimes it just feels like another buzzword or lofty idea that doesn't quite fit in with a deeply lived experience. But here's what I've learned over the years with myself and with working with highly sensitive clients, That mindfulness isn't just a trend, It is a lifeline. Especially in a world that is really loud and chaotic. And when practiced in a way that honors our sensitivity, It is such a powerful way to regulate your nervous system and also to calm any emotional reactivity and possibly prevent sensory overload that could lead to exhaustion or burnout. It can also help create space between our emotions that we deeply feel and our identity. Because ultimately, We are not our emotions or feelings. We are infinitely more. Most importantly, When we realize this separation between ourselves and our emotions, We can then begin to reconnect with that part of ourselves that innately already knows how to heal and knows how to feel safe with being who we are. So in this episode, I'm going to share with you three of my favorite and simple beginner-friendly mindfulness practices, Each designed to work with our senses. So let's begin with the first one. For this one, I call it texture tracing. So this is going to use our sense of touch. So for example, I like to use gemstones for a smooth texture tracing. This is a peach moonstone. You can use really any object that has a very smooth feel to it. And many times, I will hold this if I have a meeting that I need to be on where they won't see my hand. I will just hold my peach moonstone or rose quartz or clear quartz, But something that has a smooth texture. Then I will also find something that has a little bit more ridges and textures to it. I love this piece of coral that I picked up on a beach in Hawaii. And I will also run my fingers over this beautiful piece of coral that has all of its bumps and ridges. So I would encourage you to find pieces possibly from nature. That's what I prefer. But maybe it's a piece of art that you have created that has a smooth texture and maybe something that has like bumps and ridges to it. And you can place these in your hand, Rub your fingers over them, And just breathe and feel into the presence of your sense of touch. You can do this for like a minute, And it really brings you back to center. The second mindfulness practice uses our hearing sense. I call it sacred sound. You can do this one of two ways. You can either use your own voice as the sound like humming or singing. I mean, That's how we soothe babies is with gentle lullabies. So what if you did that for yourself? Oftentimes, As I am cleaning my house or doing some type of busy work, I will hum or sing along to beautiful music, And it's really powerful to hear your own voice. Doesn't matter what it sounds like, But that can also help bring you back into this moment. Another way that you can use sound is by using outside sound. You could listen to calming music. I also like to use, I have tuning forks, I have singing bowls, Like Tibetan metal bowls that I will use throughout my day, And I'll just strike the tuning fork or the metal bowl. But find sounds that you really love, And you can just close your eyes for a moment and just really allow your ears to open. Because when we are able to listen deeply to the sounds around us, Also the sounds within us, It could be as simple as listening to your own deep breathing, Or maybe placing a hand on your heart and really listening to the rhythm of your heart beating. And that moment, You, With sound, Come back to this present time. And then finally, Using our sense of smell and taste is one of my favorite ways to practice mindfulness. Every morning, I grab my cup of hot tea, And I place it in my hand. I have different mugs. One of them, Like this one, Is really smooth, Kind of like the gemstone. Another one I have has ridges on it, So that's blending in some of the texture tracing. But as I am sitting with my hot mug of, You can use tea, Coffee, Anything that has a rich aroma that you love, And I will just hold it, Feel the warmth on my hands. I will breathe that smell in and just savor it. So I'll take a sip of my hot tea, Let it just sit in my mouth for a little while before I swallow. And I just relish every sip. You can do this really with any type of whole food. You can use this by looking at your plate of food, Being present with it, Smelling it before you eat it. And then that first bite just enters in this beautiful state of presence. So those are my favorite three mindfulness practices. I like to use our four other senses, So texture tracing with our sense of touch. Highly sensitives are very in tune with touch. And also with sound. Many of us, Like myself, Are very auditory. Use your own voice. Use beautiful sounds from outside, Like nature even. And then our sense of smell and taste as well. So you can become more present in your everyday activities. Now you might be thinking, Well, What about visualization? What about our eyesight? Absolutely. However, I will say we are a very visual culture as a whole. And sometimes I think we need to rest our eyesight and really tap in to those other four senses. But I'm curious, What is it for you? What type of mindfulness practices have worked really well for you? Because the benefits are innumerable. When I am more present with myself, I can more naturally be more present with the people in front of me, Which helps me to cultivate deeper relationships. And I know as a sensitive soul, We all desire that. To have a rich relationship with ourselves and then to be able to extend that out to other people in our circles. So please share with me in the comments what mindfulness practices work really well for you or which one of these three are you going to give a try? Blessings on your healing journey.