I wonder what you are thinking after having a few seconds to think about the above illustration.
Interesting isn’t it or do you think your mind is a little more like this illustration?
So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. It is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
The life most of us tend to maintain is fast, busy and for some full of pressure and stress. We are quickly learning that some of our decisions that were made years ago may not be working out to plan and now we are living with the consequences.
How are you dealing with stress? What are you doing to manage your stress levels? How are you resting your body and mind? What are you doing or planning to do to allow yourself to repose and relax? How much time do you factor into relaxing and being still?
Mindfulness recognises and slows down our habitual reactions. When practising mindfulness you respond more effectively to complex or difficult situations. It allows you to see clearly and be a lot more creative with your actions and decisions.
For me, I started carrying out mindful activities from 20 minutes to 60 minutes every day for the last eight weeks. I have been very surprised at how quickly you can adapt and how helpful it really is.
Mindfulness is for everyone. Anyone can do it. By doing the mindfulness exercises it stops you from focusing too much on the future and brings you back to focusing on the now and removes a lot of stress and thoughts from inside your mind. When you practise mindfulness use all your 5 senses and throw yourself into it. Feel it, smell it, touch it, hear it and taste it. A perfect place for you to practice these senses and being more mindful, if only for a few minutes is when you shower.
The 7 useful tips for stress management:
1. Water – drink at least 1 litre per 22 kgs of your total weight. We need water to keep refreshed and keep our brain saturated.
2. Eating – Eat well. Eat less processed food and sugar. Eat fresh foods and avoid eating foods with many additives.
3. Movement – move daily, walk and complete resistant training. No need to do a premature aging exercise. Walking daily or every second day and completing resistant training three times per week is excellent.
4. Sleep – make sure you get 8 hours sleep if not more. It is important to be in bed by 11pm to enable your built in liver detoxification process to begin.
5. Sun – allow at least 20 mins per day to sit out in the sun. Especially during the warmer weather. The sun is very healthy and keeps us healthy.
6. Breathing – don’t forget to breathe every day. Deep breathing and breathing from your stomach helps you deal with stress much better.
7. Mindful/meditate – complete your mindful or meditation exercises every day for 20 minutes. This is ideal however if you can only manage 5 minutes this will help make a difference. Focus on trees, flowers, sky or birds. Anything you desire or you can sit in silence on a chair and clear your mind with no noise or voices. You can use a cd to help you along.
Try to make time to complete all or some of the above 7 key points to create a happier and less stressed life. Live in the now and be happier and healthier.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the key points mentioned above please call me on 0401 700 391 or via email dijana.green@elevatingfoodsafety.com
Yours in peacefulness, Dijana Green – Founder and CEO Elevating Food Safety Pty Ltd
www.elevatingfoodsafety.com.au
- Dijana Green
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