In Spring the whole world feels refreshed. Even if you are one that does not follow nature, you may notice the new breeze, your hair growing faster or your dog suddenly losing hair like crazy, all the little signs of the shift in seasons. Everything is shedding the last shell of winter and getting ready to blossom for the coming season. With all this revitalization in the air, it is only fair that you give your mind a spring cleaning as well. To aid with a spring cleaning of the mind we are going to detail for you a 3 day mindfulness exercise that will help you restart and reset as the world blooms anew. Each day will have a morning and evening practice that should take no more than 10 minutes, they can be done in bed or even at the office on break. As long as you clear yourself for 10 minutes free of distractions.
Day 1
Morning - Come Back to Nature
I realize that many people are not intune with nature. We are vaguely aware of what is happening around us, but often fail to see how these actions affect our well being. For me this awareness started with a change of my eating habits several years ago. I wanted to eat local and as much as possible, avoid eating produce that was out of season or required long shipments in order to get to me. When I started this practice I learned about growing seasons and when different produce is in season. It began an awareness in me of the cycles of the earth. While I know many are on restrictive diets that do not allow for you to, for example, eat berries in the spring and root vegetables in the fall but we still can tune into nature through our awareness.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Once you are ready to begin this practice start with your body scan. Start at the top of your head feeling your ears, eyes, nose and how the function. Swallow and feel your mouth and your tongue. Come to your neck and shoulders, breathe in and let your shoulders lift and exhale and allow them to drop down as low as they can go. Roll your shoulders forward and back and repeat letting the shoulders drop lower still. Come to your arms and wiggle your fingers and rotate your wrists. Come back to your chest and feel your breath moving your lungs. Down your body feel your hips and legs, wiggle your toes and roll your ankles. Feel your whole body. While you are moving down your body, take note of any areas of discomfort or pain. Give yourself several cleansing breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. When you are ready you can progress to the next step.
Picture in your mind a small seed, the smallest you can imagine. Let's say a strawberry seed. You know the tiny seeds on the surface of a strawberry? These are the actual seeds that the whole plant derives from. From this tiny seed the plant grows a full plant that yields many strawberries. In the fall and winter the plants can go dormant and even appear to die, but in the spring they start their blossoms again, producing endless berries. Think on the things in yourself you thought died in the fall or winter that you would like to bring back to life this spring. Some goal or plan. Perhaps, one from several years ago that has been dormant for years now. Find this goal and picture it as your seed. Hold this thought for a moment and then return to your breath, focusing on your body. Open your eyes and start your day.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Evening - Embrace Your Racing Mind
Have you ever experienced a thought that continues to bother you no matter how much you try to release it? Every time you let your guard down, there it is again, you can't escape the thought. Perhaps you do not have one you are currently thinking of, but with a little bit of time you can find one that punishes you throughout your life. Tonight, before bed, we are going to find one of these thoughts, they usually find us before sleep, and throw it away.
When you are ready to begin, start with your mindful breaths and body scan just as we did in the morning. When you get to your hips, feel your seat weigh itself down. Feel a chain extend from your spine and go deep into the earth, past the soil into the water table, find a sandy bottom and anchor yourself to the water's floor. Now dig up a thought that keeps you awake at night be it a rejection or failure and mistake you made in the past. See this thought like a rainfall, a really heavy rain. It fills up the earth around you. The water starts to rise, you are lost in a sea of emotion and regret as the water levels raise and create an ocean around you. But you are not swept away. The anchor you secured deep in the earth holds fast. The thought tosses and pulls at you but it can not take you away. Slowly, the rain stops. The thought dissipates, unable to move you. The sun comes out and dries out the earth. Soon you are back on the soft soil, still moist from the storm. You are yourself in this place. You could not be yourself had these unfortunate things not occurred. You are where you are supposed to be. Let yourself drift to sleep, ready for day 2.
Reach out to us with your comments or questions at info@bullionite.com and visit our blog at https://www.bullionite.com/blog-index for the next day in our series and other mindfulness exercises.