How to fit mindfulness into your morning

As a Mum of two young boys, working full time, and fitting in all that life demands , I am sure I am not the only one to ask, “when can I possibly fit in time to practice mindfulness”.

I am a women who can’t sit still, always having to do something, or if I do sit for a moment, I feel guilty because of the never ending ‘to-do list’. It is for these reasons that I found yoga and mindfulness some time ago. The stress of work and life was creating an imbalance that I knew I could not sustain.

It was through my intrigue and love of learning that I studied yoga and mindfulness and am now teaching the craft that continues to enhance my life.

One thing I’ve learned and am such an advocate for, is that mindfulness can aid struggles that challenge us daily. Many believe mindfulness to be a mystic journey of long meditations, mantras and connecting with something larger than ourselves. In essence those assumptions somewhat are true. Reality has us fooled that having time for self-development is unrealistic in today’s world.

With homework, kids sport, work, study, friendships, partnerships, housework and the never-ending pile of washing (you know what I mean) we should think about mindfulness as less about self-development and more about self-care.

As I delved into the teachings of Patanjali and wisdom of Rumi through my studies, I learnt about the simplicity of just being in the moment. Finding beauty in the ordinary of everyday life and being able to appreciate all that we have and all that we are, right here and now. That is the beauty of self-care and the beauty of taking ordinary and appreciating it for the extraordinary that it really is.

No long meditation practice required or chanting from within to simply connect with what is right in front of you. Your morning coffee, the way you brush your hair, walking your children into school and the journey as you travel to work. All these things that we do in auto-pilot have the opportunity to turn your day from ‘mind-full’ to ‘mindful’.

These are many ordinary morning activities. The key is in the way we choose to engage the ordinary. Drinking our morning coffee is normally about what we think we need to sustain our body but in fact we can refocus these thoughts towards sustaining our mind. Taking the time to really taste the coffee, feel the warmth of the mug in our hands and smell the aroma. This simple practice is gold in slowing down the mind, regulating your heart rate and creating clarity for the day ahead.

As much as we would all be better off with weekly massages and spa treatments and hours to meditate, a simple task of brushing our hair can become a brief mindfulness practice that already makes up part of our day. Focusing on the moment, feeling the brush as it glides through the hair, the weight of the brush in your hand and that nothing is as important, in that moment, than you.

Slowing down the fluctuations of the mind is a mindfulness practice. It is exactly that....practice. The more we practice being in the moment and turning ordinary into extraordinary, builds upon our ‘inner toolbox’ to help us in times of dis-ease, stress or anxiety. It also builds upon our ability to be grateful, to see sunshine in times of shade.

A normal and ordinary task of walking your children into school is sometimes a daily battle of coordinating everything from breakfast, teeth brushing and odd socks to lunchboxes, homework and making drop off in record time. As seamless as some mornings are, the beauty lies within the accomplishment that you made another successful and safe delivery.

As you walk into school, feel the ground beneath your feet, hear the sound of the gravel or grass as you glide towards your child’s classroom. Finally and most of all importantly take another second, longer than normal, to hug your child. Really take in how amazing this little person is as they will grow up in the blink of an eye.

If you are like me, you find yourself travelling from A to B and sometimes not even mentally acknowledging the journey. We are preoccupied, planning or playing out our day in our head. Simply turn off the radio and as you drive, listen to the road beneath your wheels, feel the steering wheel as you maneuver with the winding road and feel the breeze from a wound-down window upon your skin. Probably something you forgotten you enjoyed from your younger years.

I learnt early on in my mindfulness journey the simple yet mighty teaching that there is ‘power in the pause’. Taking a moment, throughout your day, even for a minute or two, to simply inhale slow and exhale out to release whatever may be lurking, latching or leaning upon you. This natural, often forgotten, basic human function has remarkable mindfulness properties for life long resilience and wellbeing.

These insights into turning mind-less ordinary into mindfulness extraordinary are far less complicated than most perceive. Taking the time to be in the moment, embracing it into your already busy schedule. A form of self-care that is achievable, sustainable and a journey along the road to living your best life, mindfully.

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