There is Nothing You Need to do to Find Your Joy Again
What if you didn’t have to do anything to feel happier? What if joy was someplace you haven’t looked yet?
Most of my clients tell me that they will literally loose it if they have to add another thing to their plate. They want to feel better, they don’t want to feel so stuck or anxious, sad or lonely… But the thought of bringing in a new practice is so overwhelming that just the thought of adding another thing to do puts them into a place of struggle and defeat.
Your mindfulness practice can look many different ways. Even though a more formal meditation practice has a ton of benefit, a more informal practice can be the first step to practicing mindfulness. You don’t have to carve out time for it. You don’t have to go anywhere to do it. You don’t have to prepare in anyway to practice. To me, mindfulness is one of the more relevant practices that we can all use throughout our life in our current time. Doing this practice will bring the connection and nourishment that we are all longing for.
The key to bringing this practice into your life is a mental awareness shift. You don’t have to add anything but you do need to do 3 things:
Shift your awareness
Remember to shift your awareness
Reflect on your experience
Here’s a 2 minute practice to begin:
As you are reading this… Start to notice where your feet are on the floor. Notice the weight and sensations in your feet.
Engage your senses by noticing any textures your finger tips are touching. Don’t analyze. Look to see if you can notice the physical tactile sensations that are happening in your hands and in your feet. Look for tingling, weight, texture, temperature.
Now observe your current natural breath. See if you can follow your breath as it is naturally moving in and out of your lungs. Stay aware of your finger tips and your feet.
Do this for as long as you like.
You can keep an awareness of these 3 things the entire time you’re reading this. You can still be doing it. If you forget or lose the awareness, the moment you notice that you’ve lost it, you can gently bring the awareness back. This is called a carrying practice. Because you are carrying it through your day. You are weaving it into your life.
Another important piece to this practice is to take some time in your day to either talk to someone or journal about what you notice the practice doing. Reflect. It’s always helpful to bring recognition to any work that you do in your life. It’s the same as if you take a class and don’t take notes, or if you read an article but don’t take the time to think about it afterwards. If you do something and never take the time to let it integrate into your mind and body…If you don’t take the time to reflect on it- very little benefit will come. “It will become out of sight out of mind” So I encourage you to share your experience with someone or take the time to reflect on your own.
Are you still noticing those fingertips?