Mindfulness in Everyday Life
August 13, 2019
By Kathy Salvo, Director of Chelsea Piers Evolve Yoga, Pilates & Barre
When you check out at the grocery store right now, along with your Glamour and cooking magazines are a slew of self help, health and well being magazines. The new buzz word is "mindfulness." It’s so important to place mindfulness and relaxation into your everyday life; your health and well-being just might depend on it.
Can you remember the last time you did nothing, and took 10 minutes to relax, aside from your vacation? Let’s see, there are 365 days in a year and we think we can get all the rest and rejuvenation our body needs in 5-10 days spread throughout the year. If we are fortunate enough, maybe a total of 20 or 25 days. How many of you work on those days and actually unplug? Enough so that one of the biggest health concerns now is to get people to relax and unwind. Be Mindful of all that you’re putting on your plate and start learning to make time for yourself.
Three Key Things you can do right now that can help you relax each day.
- 1. I tell my students all the time, don't just live for your two week vacations, try to incorporate what you love most about your vacations into every day and week! My personal everyday must is a quiet 3-5 minutes with my coffee every morning. I reflect on how grateful I am for the day and the people I will get to see, the things I will get to do and set a positive tone. I do not look at emails or get bogged down with electronics during these minutes...they are mine.
Key:
Be Mindful during the day of when your mood changes or your outlook and notice how that takes you down a different path. Pick happy and Positive and see the day unfold like a vacation day.
- 2. Take a look at your "to do list" and take at least two things off so you can make time for yourself.
- 3. Make sure you take time to soothe yourself with your senses!
- Sight: Make time to look at nature or the people around you (not on a computer)
- Smell: There is a reason for the saying "Take time to smell the Roses." I don't care what it is you love to smell to get you connected, smell something wonderful each day!
- Taste: Coffee & Wine are my favorites : )
- Touch: We don't do this much anymore, it's like a dying art. Reach out and really touch someone, notice things like warmth, texture, size and marvel. Touching and feeling are wonderful miracles we should experience each and every day.
- Hearing: Hearing laughter is my favorite thing...so I try to make sure that I can make someone laugh each and every day. It is the best medicine.
One of my all-time favorite relaxing things to do is cloud watching...listen to the below podcast and put it into your weekly rejuvenation routine.
"I find that sometimes by paying attention to something outside of yourself, it's just enough for you to find yourself centered again."
Gavin Pretor-Pinney