Mindfulness and morning ritual

Every so often we get caught in the hustle and bustle of daily life. We wake up in the morning and rush to fix ourselves, get coffee and commute to work. But in the flow of accomplishing these tasks, we sometimes find ourselves losing contact in the present moment resulting in being unaware of our feelings, emotional, mental and physical well-being.

One thing I’ve learned as I grow older is by being mindful of the things around. The color of the sky, the smell of the food, being in touch with our senses and most importantly, paying attention to our thoughts and feelings.

Here are some readings about mindfulness from Mindfulnet.org

The ABC of mindfulness:

A is for awareness – Becoming more aware of what you are thinking and doing – what’s going on in your mind and body.

B is for “just Being” with your experience.  Avoiding the tendency to respond on auto-pilot and feed problems by creating your own story.

C is for seeing things and responding more wisely.  By creating a gap between the experience and our reaction to, we can make wiser choices.

Juliet Adams, Founder of Mindfulnet.org & Director, A Head for Work

The benefits of Mindfulness include

• Recognise, slow down or stop automatic and habitual reactions.

• Respond more effectively to complex or difficult situations.

• See situations more clearly

• Become more creative

• Achieve balance and resilience at work and at home

 

So what do I do to achieve mindfulness?

Ever since I tried yoga through a brief class with a yoga master during summer, I was hooked! Though the class ended too soon, online videos were my go-to teachers when I practice at home. It could be much better if there’s a professional to help and correct me in doing the right positions and posture nonetheless, the essence of it all is attaining the right mindset through breathing, meditation, philosophy, and discipline.

Mornings are a great start in achieving mindfulness though it’s a struggle for me to get into that zone because it’s not every day that your mind commands you to move first before laziness sinks in. Hehe! But I get by, and when I successfully put myself into that zone, I feel a certain calm within myself. Which I can attest to because I used to think and question my thoughts and feel really exhausted after a round of loaded episodes in the workplace.

Here is a morning routine that I similarly do:

Keeps you energized and relaxed for the whole day!

Plus a good cup of coffee ftw!