Therapy Tuesday
Photo by: dcjohn
Indulge me. As author of today's blog post, I'm calling on all parents to create a "mindful moment" for himself or herself. A moment is something that lacks strict definition in terms of a quantity of time. It can be a second; minutes, hours...I will leave the time allotment completely up to you.
So what is a "mindful moment"? After all, shouldn't you understand what I'm asking you to do? That is another beauty in this concept: it's whatever you think it can be. For some, it might be getting a chance to read the paper without doing a hundred other things. For others, it might be all out bliss in a yoga class. It could be a hot bath, time alone, driving and listening to the music YOU want to. There is no strict parameter for how you define how you spend your moment.
Why am I even asking this of you? Well, for your health. Part of your health includes your sanity. More and more studies are confirming what yoga enthusiasts intuitively know: yoga makes them feel better. The ability to be present and perform a task (whether it is a yoga pose or breathing rhythmically) shows positive effects on mood. Additionally, meditation (of which yoga is a type of) can actually increase your brain's gray matter. Anyone with children knows that they can take their toll on your level of patience. Hence, my call for a "mindful moment."
Still not sure how to accomplish this task? Here's a quick suggestion. Sit in a quiet place and allow yourself to get comfortable. Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Inhale while slowly (and silently) counting to 3. Hold that inhalation for 3 counts. Then exhale for a count of 3. Repeat this cycle at least 5 times.
There, that was a mindful moment. Not so hard!
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