MINDFULNESS MONDAY
Today’s mindfulness activity is giving your self the gift of rest. Life is a balancing act, we make time for work, play, we need to have time with other people and time alone. In the same respect, with all of the activities of daily life, we need to schedule rest time.
Ignoring your body’s need for rest not only leads to fatigue, it can also contribute to physical ailments, it can cause moodiness and irritability, dull your memory, and increase your risk for hypertension. Doing nothing allows you body to rest and rejuvenate.
Some suggestions are to unplug from electronic devices, take a nap, relax in a chair and put your feet up, or spend the afternoon outdoors and enjoy nature. Mindful meditation is also a great choice to help rejuvenate your body as it helps you to focus on your needs, you can release the tension throughout your body with it to relax as well.
A suggestion for the week:
Schedule time to give yourself the gift of rest, focusing on your needs. You can follow a suggestion from above or something else that is enjoyable for you.
If you need a little help, then here is some guidance-
· Come to a comfortable position (seated or laying). You can have your eyes open or closed. Set a timer for about 5 minutes.
· Focus on your breath to settle into the restful position.
· Perform a body scan, beginning at your head and slowly traveling down through your body touching on each region and checking the status there.
· Do you notice tension in that region? If so breathe into that area and focus on relaxing the muscles there with a simple contract and relax. Make your way down to your feet and then just be present in your body feeling the heartbeat, the breaths, etcetera until your timer goes off.
We all tend to overdo it at times but we owe it to ourselves to take a break sometimes too- the world will not crumble without us for a few hours 😉.
Heave a great week!
