This is what happens when you practice mindfulness through change

A mindfulness practice serves to help ground us amidst the chaos, stress, overwhelm, and just downright busyness we may be enduring. When life is changing around us – whether an expected change like the seasons or an anticipated one like moving – the regularity of our days may get thrown off. We, humans, like consistency and patterns. So, when this happens, especially out of the blue, it’s no wonder we feel out of alignment. Unfortunately, there isn’t a chiropractor for this adjustment, but there is mindfulness.

When life is evolving (as it so naturally does), we might find ourselves in our heads about all of the things on our to-do list, or we might feel anxious about something unknown. In other words, a lot of the time we get caught in “what if” (What if I can’t get it all done? What if I can’t prepare for that? What if the worst possible scenario happens?). What mindfulness does is helps untether us from “what if” and helps latch us onto “what is.” When we pull away from the hypothetical into the actual, we succumb to the grounding and calming power of mindfulness.

Sometimes when our lives are in flux, our mindfulness practice is the only steady and reliable part of our days. Clinging to mindfulness during these times may serve as a reminder that not everything is in disorder. Maintaining some familiarity in our day (i.e. using mindfulness during a skincare routine or setting an alarm at 11:00am to engage in 2 minutes deep breathing) may be the pause you need to manage all of the change.

Whether you already have a kickass mindfulness practice or you haven’t found one just yet, note that with the changes in our lives may also mean a change in how we seek out mindfulness. If our schedules are drastically shifting, then we may not be able to stick with that morning walking meditation or that afternoon yoga class. When we’re rigid about our mindfulness habits then we may feel like beating ourselves up when they don’t happen. Not helpful.

Simply put, if what’s going on around us is changing, it may mean we need to switch up how we stay mindful. Think about both what you’re capable of and what you’ll benefit from on any given day. If a 30-minute nature walk is something you regularly prioritize, but time won’t allow it then modifying it could look like five minutes of standing outside exploring your five senses. Or, instead, maybe you apply mindful eating at one or all of your meals.

Stay Well,
Catherine at Revive