Life is challenging for young ones too and it is our duty to equip them with coping techniques they can use to reduce their stress and anxiety and function better and even enjoy life more. Here are just a few …
Want to go deeper? Check this class plan we made here – Yoga For Mental Health
3 Ways To Be Mindful Of Our Environment
We live in a beautiful world, but how often are we really here to experience and enjoy it? Usually, our mind is somewhere else… Let’s come to the here and now and enjoy the gift of being present and attentive. And we can take it so much farther… Look at the FEW environmental yoga class plans we made for you.
3 Ways To Be Mindful Of Our Body
Our bodies are a miracle and they do so much for us! Our legs allow us to walk, our bums to sit comfortably, our arms to carry stuff, our tummies to digest the food we eat, our eyes to see, our noses to smell, our ears to hear… Our body and every part of it deserves so much APPRECIATION!
Body awareness is also crucial to staying safe, keeping others safe, not breaking things… But more importantly, it is key for enjoying everything in life more AND for any change we want to affect in our lives.
When we are not aware of how the media works, or how our brain works, or emotions or thoughts, we are bound by them. It is only when we pay attention and educate ourselves about the way of things that we gain the power to be in charge of the direction our life takes us.
The body is a magical creation; it is absolutely AMAZING! Yes, many people, young ones included, struggle with low body image.
So body awareness it itself is not enough because we may be acutely focused on all of the little details that might not be like someone else or like the magazines and television and social media tells us it should be.
Awareness is one wing of this bird of loving ourselves or being happy, and compassion and appreciation is the other wing to help it take flight.
I don’t know how any science can really explain how so randomly our bodies evolved to be the truly magical creations that they are…. Religion is unreasonable too here… So all that is left is to be in awe and have plenty of appreciation for simply (and very complexly) being alive!
3 Ways To Be Mindful Of Our Thoughts
Watch your breath for a moment and make it calm and regular.
Now watch your thoughts and feelings… They come and go, rise and subside like waves.
But… Can you choose your thoughts?
Did you know that your thoughts and even your feelings are your own responsibility and it is up to you to choose them?
Really it is up to you… Stuff happens to everyone in life. You can’t really change people or events. Your freedom and power lie in how you choose to respond to those negative events or people.
It is not always easy, especially when those are deep-rooted thoughts. But with practice, it gets better.
Every action, word and even tendencies, addictions and character starts from a thought.
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny”
To be able to direct our lives where we want them to go, we need to start with our thoughts.
Thoughts become words, words become actions, actions when repeated become habits, our habits become our character, and our character becomes our destiny or how our life shapes up to be in the future.
It all starts with thoughts… So first, we need to be aware of the input we put into our minds.
When we go to the market and buy tomatoes, we only put the nice ones in our basket. The rotten tomatoes, even if they are cheap, we will not pick. But do we choose our thoughts like tomatoes? Or do we let the rotten thoughts come in too?
So, if we wish to be happy, positive, productive, loving… We need to be aware of what thoughts and environments we choose to accept and make ours.
There is a story about the Buddha who once was verbally abused by a person, but in reply only said: “I do not choose to accept your gifts.”
It takes a lot of awareness of our inner world to be able to stop being on an automated pilot accepting everything, but rather choose our thoughts.
It is easy to change thoughts when they are small like little weeds, and harder to uproot them when they have been there for a long time like big trees.
Sit for a moment and observe your mind… Let any thought float in. If it is a negative thought about yourself, someone else or anything else, see if you can change it right there and then to the opposite positive one.
3 Ways To Be Mindful Of Our Feelings
If we know what we are feeling we can stop being on an automated pilot with our reactions and take responsibility for our words and actions. Being aware of our feelings also helps us process them and move faster through their ups and downs.
If you’re struggling with a lot of emotions and challenges right now, know that you are definitely not alone. I know it can be hard to let big waves of feelings move all the way through to the place of peace, so.
The first thing to know about emotions is that they are always changing.
Sometimes it feels like we will be sad or upset forever, but the fact is that those feelings will pass and be replaced by other emotions.
When we resist what we are feeling, we mute not just our negative emotions but our positive ones too. Furthermore, in an attempt to control our feelings, we actually amplify them, which has a domino effect of making the urge to stuff our emotions even stronger.
Imagine trying shove a beach ball under the surface of the water. Even though you might expend enormous energy trying to keep it submerged, odds are that it will simply pop up anyway, an in unexpected places and at inappropriate times. This is how people end up yelling at a waiter when they’re actually very much trying not to feel how much they hate their job. This is why someone who hasn’t grieved the loss of a relationship fully and completely can end up in wracking sobs in the vegetable aisle over the price of avocados. (Yes, they can be very expensive, but they are also very delicious. I do understand.)
Quite simply, resisting our feelings causes more prolonged emotional pain.
“When a person has a reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90-second chemical process that happens in the body; after that, any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop.”
Jill Bolte Taylor, neuroscientist
This means that in just a minute and a half, an emotional state has a beginning, a middle, and, if you let it, an end. Note: This doesn’t mean you’ll never feel this emotion again. It just means that this particular episode has been felt, honoured, and released.
In theory at least…
Like an ocean wave, the feelings comes, but then it dissipates.
When we make those feelings bigger initially, they will most of the time become smaller in the end.
You feel more, but it’s shorter.
When feeling your feelings, the best thing you can do for yourself is trust that you can handle it, no matter what! I know you can.
Why? Because I’ve been there. I’ve ridden those waves, and I lived to tell the tale. Actually… Not just me. Everyone does.