Mindfulness and why you should do it everyday!

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

While mindfulness is something we all naturally possess, it’s more readily available to us when we practice on a daily basis.

Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodeling the physical structure of your brain.

5 key benefits of mindfulness

1. Mindfulness helps us to experience life in all its fullness

Mindfulness isn’t some new age hippy theory and it isn’t just for those who practise yoga. It’s an important practice for everyone, no matter who you are. Mindfulness is actually very simple; it’s just about paying attention to life. Mindfulness doesn’t mean wandering around in a trance-like state, analysing every minute action and floating through life. It’s very much about experiencing life in its entirety – because more often than not, we tend to miss most of it…

Alan Watts equates life to music in one of his lectures, and it couldn’t be more true:

“In music one doesn’t make the end of a composition the point of the composition.  If that were so the best conductors would be those who played fastest, and there would be composers who wrote only finales. People would go to concerts just to hear one crashing chord; because that’s the end!

[And so with life]. We thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage which had a serious purpose at the end and the thing was to get to that end. Success or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you’re dead.

But we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and we were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played.”

2. Mindfulness improves the mind’s efficiency

When your mind is ‘full’, what is it usually full of? Indeed, sometimes our minds are full of ideas, inspiration, contentment and passion.. For much of the day, the mind is also full of worry, anxiety, frustration, jealousy and discontentment. And it continues to ruminate for hours. Instead of ‘getting on’ with life, we often let thoughts about life – whether they’re accurate or not – control our attention.  

Mindfulness can make the mind a whole lot more efficient. It can help us get to the point of what we’re doing or thinking about, rather than allowing a cycle of constant worry to take over.

Many Yogic texts speak of cultivating Eka-Grata, meaning ‘one-pointedness’ or ‘one-pointed focus’. This is where our mind is utterly focused on the action we’re engaged with. You may instinctively feel yourself being (as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls it) “in the flow” – which incidentally, is also thought to be ‘the secret to happiness’.  

3. Mindfulness gets us in the ‘flow’

Skiing, snowboarding or skateboarding, along with more common sports like swimming and running are often where people feel they’re ‘in the flow’. Totally focussed on and absorbed with the action they’re engaging with and no intermittent thoughts or distractions*. Because of this, we often enjoy what we’re doing and are likely to improve each time we practise it.

Mindfulness is a little like this: if we choose to be utterly immersed in what we’re doing (whether it’s skiing or mopping the floor), we actively choose to be more ‘alive’ in that moment. We’re also more likely to enjoy what we’re doing and become better at it too.

We may not feel as though mopping the floor, washing dishes or any other day-to-day tasks are worth paying attention to, but they’re all part of the music of life….

*For more on this, read ‘The flow state and how to get there‘

4. Mindfulness leads us to absorption

Mindfulness can be equated to two of the steps towards meditation, and a part of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga, known as Dharana and Dhyana.

Dharana is translated as ‘holding’ or ‘holding steady’. It relates to holding something in our attention whilst practising the steps towards meditation, whether that thing is an object, a deity, the breath or a mantra. Many Tantric practices use a specific mantra or a yantra (a geometrical diagram, or any object, used as an aid to meditation in tantric worship) to focus on as a point of meditation. Each mantra or yantra represents a certain power or quality to be imbibed.

Dhyana is the action of becoming absorbed into the object of focus. Thought to be the penultimate stage of yoga, translating as ‘contemplation’ or ‘reflection’, this is the part where all other thoughts and distractions cease, and we are really truly there in that moment. 

5. Mindfulness teaches us to appreciate the Now

Mindfulnessis not a practice intended to take us away from the world and render us useless, it’s not something to ‘do’ for an hour each day and forget about. What mindfulness is, is a way to teach us about ourselves and the world around us, and to help us become kinder, stronger, more compassionate and useful human beings. 

By practising mindfulness within everyday tasks, we can begin to bring the mind into a habit – since the mind and physical brain are so malleable and ‘plastic’ – of being more mindful in each situation we meet. The first step is to practise mindfulness with something simple, such as washing the dishes.

In Thich Nhat Hanh’s book The Miracle of Mindfulness’, he tells us one simple phrase which I have always remembered since reading it: “Wash the dishes to wash the dishes”….

How often do we hurry a task or duty, just to get it out of the way? How often do we do everyday things whilst thinking and planning the rest of life? To quote John Lennon; “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

Breathwork: Taking a deep breath into calm.

In the yoga tradition, the individual soul is called “Atman.” From the Sanskrit root “at,” meaning “to breathe,” a soul is defined as “That Which Breathes.”

Our life begins with a breath. We know that a baby has been born successfully when we hear a loud cry. Our life ends with a breath. When a body exhales then no longer inhales, we know the soul is gone. If breath is what defines life, breath IS life energy. In yoga, we call this “prana,” which simultaneously means both “breath” and “life-force energy.” The two are seen as virtually the same thing. It follows that there is no quicker way to transform your energy than to alter your breathing pattern.

Like training our bodies or training our minds, our breath can also be trained. Not because it’s bad and needs to be fixed, but so that it can be harnessed to work more effectively for us. We are made up of body, mind, and breath, and the breath for many of us is the last frontier. If you’ve been doing practices for the mind and body, but are still struggling with stress or your mood, you may be skipping yoga’s “secret sauce.” Breathwork is the most effective practice for your vibe, otherwise known as your feeling tone or how you show up in the world. 

One of the quickest ways to determine if someone is healthy is to examine their breathing pattern. If the breath is slow or shallow, rapid or irregular, you know that something is off. While doing breathwork cannot replace seeking medical help, it can be used to shift your energy and state of mind. For example, when someone is having a panic attack, we’ve all been taught to have them breathe into a paper bag. The idea is that if a person is panicking, they are usually also hyperventilating. The panic alters the breath cycle and the altered breath cycle creates more panic. This can quickly become a downward spiral.

The wise, old method of breathing into a paper bag does two things. First, it makes the person breathe in more carbon dioxide, which they’ve been losing through their quickened breath. Second, because the bag creates a sort of drag, it slows the breathing down. When the breath is slowed, the body takes the cue and thinks there is nothing to worry about. The act of slowing down your breathing is incredibly potent. Think of it like lifting weights with your lungs. It can be done by anyone, at any time, through techniques that are thousands of years old. It doesn’t require you to be spiritually elevated or psychologically evolved. On the contrary – it costs nothing and is simple to learn.

YOGA AND BREATH

Just like yoga and meditation, breathwork has a variety of styles and techniques with corresponding benefits. it can leave you feeling uplifted, focused, calm, or ready for sleep—depending on what type you do. There are energizing practices that require quick, short breaths and those that lengthen the breath for a more relaxing effect. Some techniques retain the breath at certain times or direct you to breathe out of just one nostril. 

While some of it can seem a bit unusual at first, just like embarking on your first downward dog, have an open mind and a sense of adventure. However, remember that no matter what the teacher says, you are in charge of you. If a teacher says “Twenty more like this,” and you feel that you need a break—take it! If nothing else, you are practicing to have a better sense of yourself.

While it may appear simple on the surface, in the yoga tradition, breathwork was often taught as one of the most advanced practices. Introduced to students after they had mastered physical yoga, breathwork is essentially the synergy, the alchemy, the powerful combination of all yogic practices. 

Why building a yoga community is to important

Community is about union and connection. The actual definition of community according to Webster’s Dictionary is, “A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” It can be created because of a work culture, a commonality such as having a baby, or an interest a group of people shares such as yoga. Community requires a little something of each person as well. For example, if you’re going to be a part of a community, then you’ll have some responsibility to create a positive energy around the other people. By bringing positivity and a desire to impact others via new connections, a community can grow and be a safe area for expression.

Building a yoga community is a beneficial step to bringing every yogi together to increase positivity and health.

YOUR YOGA COMMUNITY

A practice community, sometimes known as a sangha in Buddhist circles, is a group of people that support you in your chosen lifestyle. Most often this support comes as a result of a shared set of values or ethics that need not be spoken about, but that you have all decided on for yourselves as a beneficial or healthy way of life, for example the Yoga Sutras. A practice community doesn’t have to be formally affiliated, and sometimes you even find yourself within such a network without having had the intention of joining or being part such a group.

Living ‘on the path’ of consciousness, towards enlightenment or awakening or even just with the intention of putting health and wellbeing before money and materialistic goals isn’t always easy. In many ways it feels as if you are swimming against the tide. Modern society has been built, to a large extent, on the premise that we all want to make a lot of money and spend it, while still thinking anxiously about what comes next. So if this isn’t your goal, if you’re working on a life of contentment, of being present and accepting of each moment as it shows up, then inevitably there will be times that you find yourself at odds with people around you or with processes that you are expected to participate in. This is when it helps to have other people that have similar goals or intentions to you that can help you remember what works for you, what is authentic for you, what helps you find happiness and health.

Humans, by nature, are social animals. From birth we rely on others to validate and confirm our existence. We watch the behavior of others to learn and seek out the support and comfort of others when we are sick or hurt. But we don’t always make the best choices for ourselves. And, just like with food, ‘we are what we eat’, or in this case, who we hang out with. This doesn’t mean we judge or look down upon those who live a different lifestyle than we do, but just begin to think about who you spend your time with and what you do when you are together. We have limited time here in this body, a finite period in which to experience life as a human being. If each minute were a dollar, how much would you pay to spend time with the people you choose to be around? Are these people your friends?

When you actively join a practice community, such as a yoga class or meditation group, you not only gain support for your lifestyle but you also take on responsibility for supporting others. Be considerate in the way you interact with those in your practice community. Remember to give what you would like to receive, share love and happiness rather than gossip and negative attitudes. Practice being happy and joyful for others, compassionate, grateful, non-judgmental and above all else, be a good friend to those in your practice community. Know when to set your ego aside and be present for others.

Harnessing the energy of the full moon

Glancing up at the night sky and noticing a full moon allows you to take a moment and admire the true beauty of the universe. But this monthly event in the lunar calendar is much more than light in the sky. There are ancient theories that suggest a deep link between the lunar cycle, the moon’s energy and our emotions and spirituality. And there are simple rituals you can perform to harness the powerful energy of the full moon, which promote genuine self-reflection, setting new intentions and letting go of what no longer serves you.

A full moon is the lunar phase when we can see it fully illuminated. This occurs when it aligns with the sun on the opposite side of the Earth, so the moon’s full face is lit up by the sun’s rays.

As the full moon marks the completion of what is called the waxing cycle (growing with light), it can also be seen as the growth cycle of our own intentions. This is when the moon’s energy is said to be at its peak and offers a great time to reflect on what has or hasn’t come to fruition in your life just yet. It prepares us for the waning cycle (light shrinking), toward the phase of a new moon.

Fill your cup with a full moon ritual

Whether you’re familiar with the power of the moon or just starting to explore the practice, the benefits can be illuminating.

Many people experience feeling overly emotional and disconnected at the peak of the full moon phase. But by utilising the moon’s energy through a thoughtful ritual, you may be able to uncover underlying, or even unconscious reasons for these emotions. A ritual allows you to dismiss old stagnant energies and thought patterns and replace any darkness or negativity with bright energy. It also gives you the time to make space for the new things you’re inviting into your life.

Rituals can be simple and quick – just focus on the intention and commitment to being present.

Try these easy rituals to connect with yourself and the power of the full moon.

1. Cleanse your space – both mental and physical

Light and dark energy are both at a peak during the full moon, so it’s a great time to cleanse your space, body and mind – clearing out any energy you no longer want to hold onto. Consider a smudging ceremony by lighting sage or palo santo to cleanse your home or workspace. Take a relaxing bath or go for a swim in the ocean, or simply change your bed sheets and declutter your space to cleanse your soul. It could be the fresh start and clean slate you need this month. You can combine this with affirmations or meditation if that feels authentic to you.

2. Charge your crystals

Many people believe the full moon is the optimum time to charge and cleanse your crystals for healing. Here is a basic guide to cleansing your crystals during a full moon.

1. Take your crystals outside and lay them out somewhere where they can be bathed in moonlight. Don’t worry about cloudy nights – it’s not the light that cleanses, but the moon’s energy as it passes over.

2. Place them on a natural surface like the earth, your lawn or a wooden plate. You can also use a crystal grid or your windowsill.

3. Leave your crystals out overnight if you can and collect them in the morning.

This process recharges the natural properties of your crystals, but what about your own intentions? This is a good time to set some intentions on how you would like your crystals to support you for the month. Write them down or say them aloud – whatever feels right for you. Now give thanks and express gratitude, taking the opportunity to connect with your inner self and the natural world that surrounds you.

3. Letting go

There are a few ways you can release energy during a full moon. You could light a candle, take some time to meditate or quietly reflect. You can also write down anything you want to let go or move on from, then burn the paper (in a safe place) before returning the ashes to the earth. You can also dance it out. Move your body alone or with some friends and release any stagnant energy by getting into your body and feeling free enough to let things go.

4. Reflect on your to-do list

If you’re a list person, the full moon is a good time to reflect on both short and long-term goals. Honestly check-in with yourself on your progress. Are you any closer to completing them? If not, why? Be proactive and set yourself a plan for getting there. You may also notice that some of these goals no longer resonate with you. That is ok, and is what the full moon is all about. Let go or modify your goals and accept yourself as you are right now.

This time of the month is a reminder to check in with yourself regularly and spend some time gazing inward. It is important that we take the time for ourselves to promote our own spiritual, mental and physical health and happiness and welcome new, positive opportunities into our lives.

Are emotions stored in the hips?

How many times have you heard the phrase “emotions are stored in the hips” during a yoga class? I’m willing to bet: a lot! You may have even experienced a release of sadness, fear, frustration, anxiety, anger … yourself during a long-held Pigeon or Cow face pose.

But why? What is it about the hips in particular that amass such deep reserves of emotion? First, we’ll take a look at how hips can become ‘tight’ and why…

What are ‘tight’ hips and what causes them?

‘Tight hips’ is a term often used to describe tension or even pain down the top, front or the sides of the legs that feels as though whatever’s in there is so short it will never loosen or lengthen.

In Western cultures, tight hips are common. This is partly due to our excessive sitting, rather than squatting regularly like many Eastern and indigenous cultures do. But whether we’re sitting, standing, walking or running, our legs are always working to support our upper bodies and this constant effort can make hip muscles chronically tight.

Physical tightness in the hips has become normal. And along with it is the increased potential for emotion to become trapped inside.

A word on ‘hip-opening’

Before we dive deeper, I’d like to clarify what we mean by ‘hip opening’ – another term you’ve probably heard a lot in yoga. ‘Hip-opening’ is confusing; it implies that our hips open like a door or book, which suggests that our range of motion is limited to how wide we can open our legs. In fact, hips are ball and socket joints, which means they are able to do circumduction, i.e. move in a circle. So ‘opening our hips’ actually means creating mobility in all directions.

What affects our range of motion?

There are two physical factors which can limit our range of motion, or how ‘open’ our hips are:

• Flexibility – of the muscles, tendons and fascia in and around the joint. Yoga poses can, to some degree, increase this.

• Skeletal differences – a non-negotiable limit to our range of motion in all poses. Bone will not move past bone no matter how much yoga we do.

People’s skeletons vary hugely in terms of the width and angles of pelvis and femur, and how they unite. Deep external rotation for one person is shallow for the next. Your Pigeon pose looks completely different to mine – and so it should. Our bodies are also asymmetrical – think of how often one side often feels ‘easier’ in a pose than the other. 

How emotion gets trapped

When we’re angry, stressed, threatened, scared or even surprised, we often – unconsciously – clench our jaw or fists. We mobilise our hips to take flight (run away) or fight, or we bend forward and raise our knees to protect our core. This clenching and crunching is even our natural response even when someone launches a tickle attack!

Watch any toddler; when they’re sad, mad or frustrated, they curl up and cry. Adults do the same (though we may not do it as loudly or publicly) when we receive bad news. Activating the hip flexors to get foetal is an inherent reflex action.

No matter how real or serious (or not) the threat or perceived drama, drawing the knees in starts at the hips. And when the muscles clench, they shorten. If the tension is never fully released, not only is muscular tension trapped – so too is deep, cognitive emotion.

During the event that causes the hips to physically tense, our brain launches its custom cocktail of chemistry to inform the nervous system. The residue of this is emotion is stored – you’ve guessed it – in the hips.

Releasing physical and emotional tension

Working on the deep tissues in hip-focused postures such as Single and Double Pigeon asanas can release both physical and emotional tension. On a physical level, this can help free the spine and legs, increase mobility and improve overall health.

Stretching the hip muscles causes a release; pent-up emotions may resurface, suppressed memories may arise, unconscious tension still held onto from a traumatic event may bubble up. All of which may unleash a seemingly inexplicable barrage of tears. So along with ‘opening the hips’, it can seem as if we’re opening Pandora’s Box. 

Yin teachers say that one of the primary purposes of the practice is to teach us to become comfortable with discomfort. Practicing hip-focused poses may indeed feel like we’re opening Pandora’s box. But if we approach them with acceptance, presence and softness, the benefits of doing so far outweigh any short-lived discomfort we may experience.

Changing up your yoga practice, lifestyle and props for Autumn

Whilst a regular daily routine is one of the keys to a more balanced, calm, productive and healthy lifestyle, we benefit from changing things up from season-to-season. We humans are animals, just like the birds and squirrels outside, and before we shifted to living domesticated indoor lives, we would have been deeply connected to the subtle changes from season-to-season, and adjusted our lives accordingly. Today however, we need to be a little more purposeful in living seasonally, and make more conscious decisions when it comes to changing how we live, what we eat, and the way we practice yoga throughout the year.

Think of your daily routine as your anchor point – perhaps you always drink a large glass of water when you wake up; maybe you always practice a few minutes of yoga in the morning. Maybe you always pause to eat lunch, or always take a moment to cultivate calmness when you arrive home with yoga nidra, or a few moments of meditation before bed. If you’ve found a daily routine that serves you well, keep that as your anchor, but allow the season to influence a change in how you go about your day. For the tips on changing up your yoga practice, props, lifestyle and foods as we move from Summer to Autumn, read on!

How to refresh your yoga practice

Summer and Autumn are two very different seasons in an energetic sense. Whilst summer is the peak of ‘yang’ energy in the year, Autumn sees us swiftly moving towards a distinctly more ‘yin’ feeling, and our practice benefits from mirroring this change. As Dallas Hartwig writes in the 4 Season Solution, Summer is very conducive to leading a ‘yang’ lifestyle, where we socialise more, stay up a little later, engage in lots of fun activities, and navigate the world in a more extroverted way. As you can imagine, living life in Summer mode can be tiring, so when Autumn arrives, it’s important to recognise this as a signal to slow down. Try changing your sun salutations to moon salutations, switch up one of your vigorous vinyasa flow classes for a slow and stretchy yin session, or give yourself more stillness by choosing meditation instead of a sweaty hot yoga class. Restorative yoga is one of the best choices we can make when choosing a yoga practice to support us through the ‘yin’ seasons of the year, and when we give ourselves this time to recover and restore, we’re more able to literally ‘spring’ back into action when the warmer months return.

How to make more mindful food choices

When we consume local, seasonal foods, we give our bodies the exact nutrients they need in that very moment. Take blackberries for example, which are ready to pick at the beginning of September; these delicious berries are full of antioxidants, which help our cells recover from the natural oxidative damage that happens when we’re exposed to lots of sunshine, stress or exercise during Summer. Blackberries are also very high in vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system in preparation for Autumn and Winter. As well as eating seasonally, we can turn to the wisdom of Ayurveda (yoga’s ‘sister science’ and an ancient health system) for guidance. Ayurveda reasons that Autumn is a season comprising more of the qualities of coldness, dryness in the form of drier air, irregularity in the changeable weather, and lightness in the way the plants and trees lose their leaves and pause their growth. When we’re exposed to too much of these cold, dry, irregular and light qualities, we can become imbalanced and unwell. Because of this, we benefit by bringing the opposite qualities of warmth, oiliness, heaviness and regularity into our lives. Try consuming more cooked foods, use coconut or sesame oil in cooking (and oil on your body too!), use ghee in recipes, enjoy warming spices like cinnamon and ginger, and ensure you’re eating regular meals at regular times – your digestive system will thank you!

How to upgrade your yoga props

Whilst Summer may have been all about grippy yoga mat towels, cork mats that work better the more you sweat, and eco yoga shorts, it’s time to introduce more cosiness to your practice as we head into Autumn, especially if you’re going to be practicing a different style of yoga such as yin or restorative. Try the Yogamatters Wellness Pilates mat, which is super cushiony at 8mm thick. For your restorative practice, use the Yogamatters Organic Relaxation Kit. To really relax your nervous system, a sandbag and lavender-scented eye pillow are wonderful additions, and well worth adding to your home yoga practice kit.

How to refresh your lifestyle and home décor

After the extroverted nature of Summer, Autumn invites us to rest and nest, and start living in a more introverted way that allows us to make deeper connections to friends and family. Instead of frolicking with acquaintances, Autumn is about strengthening the relationships we already have, and getting to know ourselves a little better. Is there a friend you haven’t seen in a while? A family member who would love you to call them? As opposed to the expansive energy of Summer, think of Autumn as a time to contract inwards a little more – wind up projects and resist making lots of new plans until the Spring. Focus on finishing tasks you’ve been working on throughout the year, and get yourself organised with The Positive Bullet Diary. A regular practice of journaling is a great way to allow your mind to process thoughts and emotions, and to wind down at the end of a long day, treat yourself to a bath with Epsom Salts.