Day 4: A Week of Self-Care, Mindful Moments

As we're doing each day this week, start with a moment to consider yourself and the things that make you wonderful. Make an actual written list, 5 things you love about yourself. Notice how you feel as you write it. If you've been doing this for a few days, are you feeling different than you were the first day? Is it easier or harder, pleasant or unpleasant?

Today I want to share another small way to build self-care into your busy life. Here are five ways to practice mindfulness in the small moments, either in addition to your regular sitting practice or if you don't yet have a practice going. Consider trying each of them today. If there are one or two that you enjoy, build them into your daily routine. 

• Mindful bite. Dedicate yourself to eating the first bite (or more) of a meal mindfully. Use each sense--see and smell it, savor the flavor and texture. Enjoy eating each dessert mindfully. Share a mindful bite with your family at dinner!
  
• ​Belly Breathing. Feel your breath in your belly, noticing how the in-breath feels,and how the out-breath feels. Stay with the breath for a minute or a few breaths.
  
• Listening. Listen to the sounds around you, being aware of what you hear without thinking about it. Open your awareness to the sounds just as they are with no judgment. Spend a minute or two listening.
  
• Heart mudra. Put your right hand over your heart and your left hand on top of your right. Breathe and feel the gentle pressure from your hands for a minute or two.
  
• Body Awareness. Bring awareness to your body and notice how you feel. Tune in to a particular part of your body, your hands, belly, or chest and pay attention to the sensations. Sense the feeling of being alive in your body.

The trick for using these small moments of mindfulness is remembering to do them! It helps to choose a reminder that will bring you to mindfulness--stopping at a red light, closing your car door, hearing the sound that your phone makes when you get a text or an email, or a chime that you set on purpose on your phone or computer.

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