The practice of Mindfulness.

The practice of mindfulness is a therapeutic technique that supports our overall health by lessening rumination and worry, so we can inhabit our bodies and our lives more fully.

Mindfulness can be defined as paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally. Each thought, feeling and sensation that arises is accepted just as it is. In part, it is about raising awareness and noticing when we are dreaming or being judgemental.

We are ‘hard wired’ for survival and that our keeps our Ego busy, looking out for perceived dangers. We have a negativity bias in the brain, ultimately to protect us but often it is working in overdrive.

When a random thought enters our mind, we usually create a narrative around it and often one that is not true. We get lost in these thoughts forgetting to be present in each moment.

We have at least 6200 thoughts per day! That is a staggering number.

Our practice of mindfulness is working when we become aware that we’ve been in a trance or on auto pilot. The first step is awareness waking up from the trance and beginning to observe these thoughts, watching them come and go.

If we can put a little bit of distance between ourselves and our thoughts we begin to cultivate a relationship of getting to know and understand ourselves.

A common mistake people make in the beginning is to assume they need to empty their mind completely of thoughts, but that is not the aim and is actually pretty impossible!

You may have heard the term ‘monkey mind’ to describe where our heads are at most of the time. Like a butterfly we tend to flit from thought to thought, latching on to these ‘mind events/pictures’ as if they are reality. Research shows that it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to concentrate for long periods of time.

Mindfulness practice has formal and informal components for example, in a formal practice you might sit quietly, connecting to your physical presence and your breath. While sitting you notice thoughts arise and thoughts go and so on. We begin to cultivate a ‘sky like mind’ where we notice the, but let them pass on by like clouds in the sky. We stay detached; we avoid getting embroiled by each one. When we feel distracted we use the breath as an anchor, gently bringing ourselves back into the present moment. It is in this way that the space between our thoughts can grow. We learn to slow everything down starting with our breath and then the mind can follow.

Similarly, when we do get caught up in a story we can also choose to ‘unhook’ from the thought.
The stories that we tend to get caught up in are often inaccurate and negative and the cause of unnecessary stress and suffering. We view things the way we want them to be rather than the way they are.
The lens we use to view situations is often distorted by our skewered core beliefs and inner dialogue that we might be totally unaware of.

The good news is we have a wonderfully neuro plastic brain that can be restructured which is a very exciting thought. So what we think is what we get and what we put our attention on grows. If we get out of our own way we free up time for other things we can enjoy in our lives. Mindfulness can help us find clarity insight and intuition guiding us to be a better version of ourselves.

I have included a mindfulness meditation here for you to use anytime you need…

I am available to work online one to one for breath work, meditation and yoga.

I offer corporate services so if your workplace needs support get in touch with me.

I offer support to both teachers and pupils if you know of a school that might be needing help to move through these times.

P.S. I need your help! I am looking for reviews for my Flow with Grace Facebook page (link to page) so I am asking for anyone who has taken a class with me to leave me a review. Perhaps you could say why you came to the class or series of classes, how you felt before, how you felt after and why you would recommend the class and me to someone. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.

Zoom classes… These are slow flow restorative yoga classes for deep relaxation and stress relief.
They can be booked individually or in blocks of five.

Weekly drop in

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5 week block

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If you, or your workplace do need any further support please get in touch. We are here to help you.

Blessings…

Grace