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There’s so much happening around us these days. Things move and change so quickly.
Situations are fluid – positive one moment, negative the next. Indeed, some days it’s hard to stop one’s head from spinning.
This constant franticness can be exhausting – both physically and mentally – and is without a doubt the thief of the experience of living and feeling well.
The good news, however, is that there is an affirmative action we can take each day to help ourselves feel a little bit less hurried. It is, thankfully, both simple and effective: we can remind ourselves to be present, both now and long after Christmas has passed.
A couple of tools to help us are outlined below.
Physical exercise
I’m all for deliberate, concentrated, strength-building movement such as yoga, but that may not be accessible to everyone. However, with a new year on the horizon this might be the perfect time for us to consider a fresh start at increasing our physical activity levels in 2022.
Physical activity has many benefits, not least of all in improving heart health and promoting positive mental health. Additionally, physical activity is something positive we can do with friends or is something that can help us make new friends and connections. Therefore, I recommend checking out your local sports partnership website. Sports partnerships are tailor-made to help people in their locality to get active.
They are very inclusive, so there is something for everyone as they aim to remove barriers to sport and physical activity for everyone within their catchment area.
Click here and you’ll find a starting point – you could be very pleasantly surprised at all the opportunities that are available to you on your doorstep.
Mindfulness exercise
We have to be a little bit firm with ourselves this month by adamantly and persistently carving out a few moments every day to pause and watch our breath. I usually say just before or after breakfast, lunch and dinner are the perfect times to pause and watch your breath. I know watching the breath is a familiar theme of mine but that’s because it so beneficial, so simple and so accessible to each and every one of us.
We don’t need any special tools or to be in any special space, we have all we need available to us in any place and at any time.
Did you know that as soon as we begin to breathe a little bit more deeply, our bodies automatically switch from fight or flight to rest and digest? Rest and digest, with its lower heart rate (among other things) is an altogether much more pleasant, easeful and healthy way to hold ourselves in the world.
Presence is not just for Christmas. Indeed, being present is a gift we can give ourselves each day. It not only benefits ourselves but also those we share our lives with, for it only takes one person in a family or household to help make the entire household or family more present. Presence is the gift that keeps on giving. It gives you ease, space to think, feel and act and, ultimately, it unveils contentment. What more could anyone wish for?
Nollaig shona, everyone.
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