Practicing Stillness
Taking a moment out of your day to simply be in the moment.
How often do you take a moment out of your day to simply be in the moment and do absolutely nothing? No thoughts, no movement, just to say still? I am certain most of you can answer ‘I don’t’ to this.
I am a type A personality; which means I fall under the category of having the personalities that are more competitive, highly organised, ambitious, impatient, highly aware of time management and/or aggressive. Though over the years I have toned down a little a lot of these personalities still reside in me. What does that mean? It is often difficult for me to practice stillness as my mind is often thinking and planning what is happening in the next hour, day, week and even month! Though I practice yoga to live, be and breathe in the moment; there are days on the mat that does not happen. That project, deadline or email to work on pops in my head. But I have learnt ways of working on it over the years.
Stillness is filtering out all the noise that exists in our lives. Just like a tree that stands tall, still and grounded not to be swayed by the wind; we need stillness in our lives so that we are able to really connect with ourselves, finding that peace and not feeling emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted. Giving you perspective on what is important. What you can be grateful for and not to demand more out of your own life.
Here are a few tips that I find useful in being able to practice stillness in your lives:
Make time to be and not do anything. Usually doing it first thing in the morning is the best. It could be as you get up, sitting on your bed and hold there for 5-10 minutes. Just focus on your breathe if that helps. Quite often the first thing we do is check or even play with our phones. Or jump out in a rush to get to work. Make time to try this and it could make a difference to your day!
Mix things up a little and find a place close to nature and be near nature to chill for a while. It could even be at your own backyard. You feel good when around nature and also a sense of lightness. Nature has that healing effect.
Engage in activities that activate your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS); the rest and digest for your body. These can include lighter forms of yoga (Yin and Restorative) and meditation (while lying down or seated with eyes closed). By doing so we are bringing cortisol levels (the stress hormone in your body) down and help nourish your mind and body. Doing so allows you to also quieten your mind. Use this time to control and collect your thoughts and be in the moment instead of thinking of the future or what happened before in the past.
Make sure you have some alone time. That is time to yourself; no social media, no catching up with people and no gossiping.
By practicing stillness in your lives, even for 5 minutes a day will improve your happiness, well-being and for those type A like myself productivity. We will be constantly connecting to ourselves, taking the time out to nourish ourselves from the inside but most importantly live.
“Make sure to set some you-time. Alone time to yourself. To reset, refresh and refocus.”