This is one of my favourite questions to ask myself daily! It’s something I was introduced to some time ago and it has been a fantastic way to really help myself to detach from my ‘thinking mind’ and to move more into my ‘being mind’ or my ‘doing mode’.
Sometimes, we can feel so overwhelmed by the general pace of life, trying to keep up, our work/life/family balance and all we can hear is that little voice inside our mind telling us how exhausted we are, how we will never catch up, that our situation and related experience will never change, that we are not good enough, that we will never be good enough, what’s the point in even trying?
But when we learn to be more kind and compassionate towards ourselves, towards these thoughts, emotions and feelings, we start to realise that maybe we are entitled to feel this way, maybe it is ok to feel and experience these things but we then also realise that maybe there is a better, more productive, more caring approach to dealing with and experiencing these thoughts, emotions and feelings, while getting through our day and feeling calm and happy in our mind and body.
So now, when I am feeling tired, sickly, overwhelmed, annoyed, confused, like there is no breathing space, I ask myself ‘what does my body NEED right now’? I ask my mind to move over and to let my body truly tell me what it needs in order to process how it is feeling and to start to feel more comfortable, balanced and stable.
Most of time my body will scream to me, “you need to go to bed early tonight, you need to get out for a walk and breathe in the fresh air, you need to ground yourself outside with Mother Earth, you need to do your yoga, you need to take an Epson salt bath with relaxing essential oils, you need to inhale a nice essential oil diffuser blend to clear away that sinus pressure, you need some quiet time in your mind so you can clear the internal storm, you need to take 5/10/15/20 mins out to listen to a relaxing meditation or to just sit in your own presence and use your breath as your anchor point to your present moment, you need to drink more water to re-hydrate, you need a nice hot cup of tea and maybe a little square or two of chocolate, you need apply your essential oils to your temples and the back of your neck for that headache or to your lower back for that constant back ache or have a relaxing massage, you need to get a hug from someone, you need to give a hug to someone, you need to play and get silly with your children until you can’t breathe from laughing, you need to hold your cat on your knee and feel the gentle rhythm of her breath and listen to the hum of her purring, you need to brush your dog, you need a call a friend, you need to turn off your phone, you need to disconnect from social media for a bit, you need to clean out some of the clutter that’s been driving you crazy in your home/office”!!! So many things our body may need to help us to feel better but most of the time, we can’t connect or hear these signals or clues from our bodies as our minds are in full swing, in over drive, telling us that nothing will help us feel better or demotivating us.
The interesting thing about this is that most of us already know the things we ‘want’ or ‘need’ to do to help us to feel energised, happy, motivated, to enjoy life, but when we listen more to the constant chatter, downgrading, anxiety, second guessing that our minds love to invade us with, this is when we can fail to see just exactly what it is that our bodies need in any particular moment.
This is how Mindfulness, Meditation and a general overall Wellness approach to your daily living can help to calm the constant storm of thoughts, emotions and subsequent feelings that you experience. Mindfulness and Meditation can help you to live in an increased state of pleasant awareness to your present moment and it gives you the coping tools and techniques to deal with whatever challenges or difficulties your present moment may give rise to.
Please have a look at my website www.leonamcdonnell.com for further information and guidance on how you can adopt a more mindful approach to your everyday living! For information on courses, classes, workshops etc, please give me a call on 087-4161842 or email me leona@leonamcdonnell.com
Leona McDonnell
Leona McDonnell Mindfulness and Wellness
