3 Tips on How to Be More Present in your life. "tackle your week with softness"
How can we "tackle" life with softness?
Let's imagine for a second, if every task you tackled this week, you did so from a place of softness & ease. What would that look like?
Imagine if you allowed yourself to flow & move from a place of relaxed awareness,
operating with the grace and fluidity we see in water... What might you be able to accomplish more quickly, more smoothly, and more efficiently?
We are like water; when we soften our structure, or unfreeze, we allow fluidity in all that we do. When we tense or freeze up, it's easier for us to crack, break, even shatter.
Mindful practices bring our awareness to the surface as we move about our day and lives. When we are relaxed, but aware of ourselves and tasks, the body and mind are able to operate and move with the most fluidity and ease. We become immersed in our experience, and in the present moment.
It takes practice to develop this awareness and relationship with ourselves and how we live.
Art, music, surfing, writing...are such tasks where we invite this soft awareness.
I know yoga has been a huge help in developing this relationship with myself. It's not just a workout with bendy strong poses, it's a mindful practice to nurture relationship to self on and off the mat.
Below are 3 TOOLS FOR BRINING SOFTNESS into whatever task you're tackling and invite in full body awareness.
#1 STOP & OBSERVE
Whether you're washing the dishes or doing your workout...take a moment to stop & obsevre...listening to the little messages within.
When we slow down and examine the present moment, ourselves, and allllll the components that are moving and contributing to the present moment, we invite SPACE into our lives. When space is present, we have room to allow for fresh, new, ALIGNED patterns.
So, let's say you're washing dishes, take a moment to stop and observe. What's happening in your body? Are both feet supporting you? Perhaps you're tensing your arm and hand doing the washing without knowing it? Are you shoulders hunched when they could relax?
Invite you mind to listen to the body. Our clever mind is constantly in a rush, saying "hey, I know better!" and is trained to ignore the body. When we take a moment to stop, observe, and listen to what's unfolding...we invite ourselves to soften into the moment and shift from a place of rigidity into a place of fluidity.
# CONNECT WITH & RIDE THE WAVE OF BREATH
It's quite probable that you've heard this analogy of the breath being a wave, and we the surfer "riding the wave".
If you haven't then-YOU'RE WELCOME! This is one of my favorite visualizations of the breath.
Our breath is meant to be a full body experience. We can literally drink in the breath up to the crown of our head down to the souls of our feet...however, very few of us do this.
The breath is part of the autonomic nervous system...meaning we do not have to think about it. YET we are still able to control and manipulate the breath (isn't the human body remarkable?!) Sadly, this "control" is usually not by our choice; the manipulation comes from life experiences or trauma that constricts the breath.
Whether it's a car crash, a scary experience, or a stressful period in life...the breath tends to get lost, constricted, and what in our infancy was a big beautiful wave of prank... ceases to be it's full nurturing self.
When we allow ourselves to dwell in the present moment, we can notice this constrictions and changes. By bringing our awareness to it, we then invite ourselves to shift, to heal, to reconnect.
#3 MOVE, SING, JOURNAL, RELEASE
Yes, when you're moving throughout your day, and feel yourself tense up, say while driving, cooking, or sitting at the computer. Stop, observe, listen, breathe, and invite in a release.
This could be turning on your current favorite song and singing along. This could be shaking your booty as you flip your grilled cheese. This may taking a quiet 5 minutes to sit down and write what you're feeling, thinking, witnessing.
This third tip is meant to bring joy AND presence together in one.
This act of slowing down, so you may observe, breathe, and invite in a task that frees your body and spirit is beautiful.
It doesn't have to take a lot of time, and the intention is to free yourself (stay relaxed) while staying with what's happening in your present body (alertness). Allow yourself to ride the wave of breath, invite in the body to move and send you messages of joy for moving and grooving, write down your heart and mind, and notice what the breath quality is and how your body may take shape while expressing via written word.
There are so many constant invitations to welcome in the softness of the present moment. In each moment, we are allowed an opportunity to connect to ourselves and better understand, and support, our existence.
I hope these tips serve you well as you tackle your week...
Until next time,
Brooke xo