“Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
One of my favorite benefits of practicing mindfulness is to feel how it balances body, mind, spirit and emotions. When I engage in mindfulness I feel an inner calm, serenity and harmony sweeping over me. Sometimes that only happens for short periods of time, when I am fully present with who I am and what I am doing. But even these short times feel amazing and encourage me to remind myself to come back into the present moment and stay with what is happening right now. I have been multitasking most of my life and have come to realize how the thought of the task ahead makes me feel agitated, distracted and scattered.
It is easy to get caught up in our every day lives, tasks, to do’s and endless thoughts, mostly about the past or the future.
That is why we can all use a gentle reminder to be kind to ourselves and to come back to the present moment.
If you have a few minutes, try it out right now.
Take a deep breath in to the count of four, pause for four, and then exhale slowly to the count of four, pause for four at the end of your exhale….
and now inhale again, counting to five, slow steady breath, pause for five, then breathe out for five, hold for five…
and we’ll do one more round…ready?
Inhale as you count to five, hold for five, exhale for five and pause for five…
It is time to return to your natural breath. Gently close your eyes for a few moments and see how you feel.
This simple breathing practice (or pranayama) shifts the attention to our breath. Instead of following random thoughts we become consciously aware of our breathing as we diligently count the length of each breath.
Please come back to this pranayama practice whenever you would like to release stress, tension and increase your concentration, inner balance and harmony.
As always I would love to hear from you! You can reply to this blog on my website, Facebook, or by email.
In next week’s blog we will look at ways to bring moments of mindfulness into your own daily life.
Have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous week ahead!
