I was able to attend an in person retreat this month for the first time in a few years. The focus of the retreat was mindful tools for living. I engaged in silent mindfulness practices with a focus on body sensations, thoughts, and emotions both in stillness and through movement practices. I also shared, reflected, engaged with, and listened to my fellow attendees using interpersonal mindfulness practices. Through this intentional time set aside for prolonged attention on the internal state of my own body/mind, I realized/was reminded of the importance and benefits of taking time to attend to my whole self. At the end of our time together, we reflected on the benefits of regular intentional healing intervals. I recognized that for me it’s self-compassion and awareness that sometimes interferes with me stopping, pausing and taking time to really engage in practices that attend to how I’m doing in the moment. If I don’t regularly stop and attend to the awareness that arises when I am able to attend to my thoughts, emotions, and sensations, it is more difficult to recognize what is called for when engaging in activities that promote my own health and well-being.
Kristin Neff describes Self Compassion as being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism. Through regular, formal mindfulness practice, I am recognizing that my suffering may come more often in the form of squeezing too many things into my week and experiencing fatigue and exhaustion. I admit that I’m good at forgetting to attend to my mental and emotional fatigue over the course of the week. I realized during the retreat that my most useful self-care practice comes in the form of formal meditation as well as finding moments throughout the day that allow me to check in with my thoughts, emotions, physical states and be more intentional about identifying what will create a bit of ease in the moment. That ease can come in several forms—compassionate self-talk, gentle stretching, prioritizing and tweaking my to-do list, connecting with others, pausing for a few moments to focus on my breath, etc.
I am encouraging you to accept the invitation to try regular mindful check ins. My proposal is that when we are stopping and checking in with ourselves with compassion, we can more readily identify what our needs are and those things that actually contribute to our health and well-being, our longevity. Self-Care practices are unique for each of us. For me, stopping and pausing on purpose facilitates healing intervals throughout the day. Mindful awareness practices assist in identifying what serves us well; determining what practices create ease, self-regulation, and healthy lifestyle measures. You might start with the brief practices on the resources tab of this Mindfulness and Motion website. Perhaps start asking yourself a few questions: How do I abandon myself throughout the day? How do I make space to see/observe myself too? Where might I pause and engage in healing intervals throughout the day?
In addition to the suggestions above, here are a few resources to assist in creating your own unique self-care practices. These resources give additional information about potential impact of stress on our health and wellbeing and reinforce the importance of paying attention to ourselves. The Greater Good Science Center link gives instructions for a self compassion break. Elisha Goldstein’s article provides a realistic way to begin to engage in meaningful self-care practices.
Best wishes as you get curious and explore what self-care looks like for you,
Karen
Comentários