By Dr Sammy Goulter
Chiropractor at The Chiropractic Works and Yoga teacher
B.Health.Sci(Chiro) M.Clin.Chiro
Nowadays we hear everyone talking about mindfulness, meditation and bringing a sense of calm to our lives. But what are they really talking about? In this blog we will explore what mindfulness and meditation are and go through some easy steps on how to incorporate it into your day-to-day lives.
So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is simply the act of being present in any given moment. It is all about checking in with your five senses and being aware of what you can feel, hear, taste, see and smell. The great thing about mindfulness is you can literally do it anywhere whilst doing anything. All it requires is you giving yourself the time and headspace to take in what’s happening around you.
Meditation involves focusing your mind on one single thought, image, object or feeling. Particularly at the beginning of practicing meditation it is best to have little to no distraction and use something simple to turn your focus to. Many people will use the breath as their focus and then expand and grow from there.
So now we know what they are, how do we put them into practice? Here are my 3 top tips…
1) Get started with an app
Headspace and Smiling Mind are my two favourite apps to help get people started with meditation and mindfulness. They both have guided sessions running from a few minutes through to 20-60 minute sessions, so there’s bound to be something that you can fit into your day.
2) Make it a regular practice
Setting yourself the time and space each day to practice your meditation and mindfulness is key. You might choose an everyday task like brushing your teeth, cooking dinner or driving in your car to practice mindfulness and check in with those 5 senses.
3) Start doing yoga
Timothy McCall, an MD at Yoga Journal, explains the 38 benefits of yoga including increased awareness for transformation, increased self-esteem and giving you peace of mind, perfect to compliment your meditation and mindfulness. Other benefits of yoga also include improved flexibility, increased muscle strength, improved posture, greater happiness and improved focus, balance and immune function. All of these things go hand-in-hand with helping you to live a healthier and happier life. Our up and coming yoga workshop will help you to achieve this where we will teach you 2 short yoga series to practice in your own home making it easier and more affordable for you to find some calm.
As a Chiropractor I love yoga, mindfulness and meditation as it compliments my work in practice in allowing peoples bodies to function at the most optimum level. I love nothing more than working with people to help them achieve their health goals and supporting them to live an extraordinary life, and adding these few things in your day-to-day lives will help you achieve that goal.
Happy thinking and moving!
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