mindfulness and misty
I’ve actually completed the series of daily tasks that made up the Positive Psychology Project… I’m still processing all of the ideas/skills/tools that each task both introduced to me, and reminded me of. I’ll recap little bits and pieces as my brain regurgitates them… if you are interested in doing something positive for yourself, check out this lady’s blog/programmes.
Sometimes you just need to be reminded of a skill that you already possess. Sometimes you just need to work on and hone that skill.
Mindfulness is one of those things. If you get out of the habit of practising it, is slips away from you somewhat.
I’ve actually managed to start going to an actual yoga class, after 2 years of solid at-home-with-Misty-climbing-all-over-me-as-I-try-to-stay-in-crow practice. It makes a world of difference to have an hour just to myself to really focus on my breath and my body…. knowing that Misty is being well looked after in the creche (read: climbing all over somebody ELSE).
Yoga and mindfulness go hand in hand…. being aware of your body, mind and spirit as a whole – it’s the ultimate in both physical and mental exercise.
Yoga has been such a positive influence on my life… and not just as an “exercise.” If you fence yoga in as just something for your physical body, you are kind of missing the whole point. Yoga has made me be positively mindful of my body… it’s strengths, it’s limitations, what it can do, and what it can learn to do over time. As any Yogini will tell you, yoga is a journey… I have been practising for over 7 years, yet I still feel I am a beginner. A toddler, if you will – just like Misty I am finding my balance in the yoga realm… I get frustrated, elated, I fall over, I try again, I fall over – learning is a slow, yet rewarding process.
Both Misty and yoga have taught me flexibility in all facets of life. When there is not enough Creamy Coconut Chai Spread left for the both of us (and both of us hungry and wanting it) I call upon these skills. With the last 3/4C of yesterday’s concoction, we added in another cup load of cooked aduzki beans, 2T raw cacao, 1T raw lucuma, 5 medjool dates and a splash more coconut milk. Chocolate coconut chai spread/dip/pudding/thing? Why not?
The crackers were a thought-to-be-disaster… which came good in the end; utilising leftover almond pulp from milk-making, raw buckwheat, cinnamon and prunes. 8 hours in a dehydrator and we had appropriate vehicles for our new dippy- creation.
Surprisingly, Misty really loved these cracker. I’ll just have to start calling him Buckwheat Boy or something. I’ll get round to posting the recipe at some stage.
Today, I’m all about being mindful of those basic, small pleasures.
Sometimes it’s all about focusing on the simple things, and doing them properly. Breathing for example. Something that comes so naturally, yet none of us really do it correctly. How GOOD does deep breathing make you feel!? Enjoying the sensation of floating in the ocean. Feeling the sun on your face, the grass between your toes, crunching on a beautiful apple.
Focus, appreciate, enjoy, be thankful. So simple, yet do we do it often enough? I think not.
