Self Care Sunday – July 2016
#selfcaresunday has been created to inspire you to take 5 minutes each Sunday to care for yourself. You can signup for the weekly emails HERE but I will also publish a month “review” blog post to ensure you can always find this inspiration again.
The #selfcaresunday theme for July was ‘Mindfulness’.
Week 1 – #gratitude
Expressing gratitude frequently is a beautiful and simple way to be more mindful of the wonderful things in your world, even on the tough days.
You might:
- choose to start or end your days this week by writing down 3 things you are grateful for
- invite each person at the dinner table tonight to share one thing they feel grateful for
- tell someone why you are grateful they are in your life
- close your eyes, breathe in deeply … as you exhale simply say in your mind “I am grateful for …” Repeat until you feel complete.
Week 2 – #slowdown
When I rush or juggle too many things it creates tension in my body. I don’t think clearly, my mind races all over the place and it is impossible to be mindful. When I feel myself in that swirl I know the first step towards being more mindful is to consciously #slowdown
You might:
- go back to bed when your baby sleeps today … read, sleep, or just daydream. Ignore the washing up.
- take 3 deep breathes before starting any new task in the day
- walk slowly … everywhere
- find a quiet space to sit for 5 minutes. Just sit
Week 3 – #keepbreathing
Awareness of the way you are breathing is a wonderful mindfulness practice. Right now, pay attention to your breathe. Is each breathe short or long, is your chest tight or open, are you breathing fast or slow?
Breathing mindfully has an instant impact on our nervous system and will help restore a sense of calm and balance.
You might:
- set a timer for 2 minutes and sit quietly to focus on your breathe for that time
- light a candle, sit and gaze at the candle and simply observe any changes in your breathe during this time
- take 10 breathes focusing on the breathe starting at your belly button, does this change how you feel?
- Close your eyes. Breathe in to the count of 4, and out for the count of 4. Repeat 5 times.
Week 4 – #lifeincolour
We saw a lot of rainbows this week while on our family road trip. As I was sitting in the passenger seat with nothing else to do (assuming the kids were not fighting) I was able to sit and enjoy them. I found it really calming to pay close attention to the colours – how bright, how clear or fuzzy were they. Was it a full rainbow or just a segment.
I realised I very rarely look at rainbows with such a sense of mindfulness.
The same could apply to many things we encounter in the natural word – flowers, leaves on a tree, clouds etc
Invite you to:
Find something in nature today that you find beautiful. Take a few minutes to really observe it. Colour, Texture, Shape. Don’t rush. Don’t judge any thought you have. Allow yourself to see all the little details one by one.
How does this make you feel?
Week 5 – #guidedmeditation
I enjoy meditation. It makes me feel so calm and centered. But I have always struggled to meditate unless I have someone guiding me so I have become a great fan of listening to guided meditations.
You might choose to:
- Find a guided meditation to try out. You might download an app on your phone such as Smiling Mind.
- Do a google search and see what inspires you.
- Listen to this special meditation I recorded just for Mums
