Think Your Brain is Too 'Busy' for Meditation? Try Using Your Feet Instead.
You can’t miss the focus on mindfulness in the media these days. Maybe you’ve been wondering how to ‘do’ mindfulness.
if you’re reading this during the pandemic I’m at a point where the mere thought of learning a new skill right now is exhausting. If you’re feeling like that skip right to the end of this article and mindfully eat a HobNob with your toddler).
Hopefully you haven’t been told that you need to ‘empty your mind’ or stop yourself thinking (not sure where that information originated but it’s not what mindfulness is) Maybe you think meditation is not an option for you because your brain is as active as a golden retriever puppy on caffeine. Add a new baby and a cranky toddler into the mix and that’s hardly a recipe for navel gazing (toddler with Lego stuck in their navel is more like it). So allow me to help. No cushions, incense or chanting required.
The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, said, “walking is man’s best medicine”. It’s easy gentle exercise for pregnancy and beyond with benefits for body and brain. However recent studies suggest that we are walking at a faster pace – one that isn’t good for our health. Chronic fast walking (not competitive speed walking) is associated with eating quicker, speaking faster and experiencing more impatience than those who walk a little more leisurely.
As a new parent I had that chronic fast walking T-shirt. I used to find walking with a toddler incredibly frustrating - they want to stop and look at EVERYTHING…….a twig here…….a dead insect there…I was firmly focused on the destination and all of the things my brain was telling me I ‘should’ be doing, whereas my son was enjoying every step of the journey (no doubt who the wise one was). A visit to the supermarket took twice as long…and I’d hear myself muttering….”keep up…..come on in exasperation”. When I was busy I would find that even walking the dog was frustrating - I found myself tugging at the leash to keep moving and thinking “get your ‘business’ done so I can get back to being busy” as I thought of all of the emails I had to answer. Many of us can feel like we’re on invisible leashes too…..the leash extending from your laptop or your smartphone……….always tugging to get our attention and that dreaded FOMO.
Mindful walking is the exact opposite to what I’ve just described.
Mindful walking means you purposefully walk a little slower and pay attention to all of your senses. It gets you out of your head and in to your body in a way that’s good for your mental and physical wellbeing.
It’s like pretending you’ve just arrived from Mars (beginners mind instead of monkey mind). It’s something that you can do several times a day – walking through the door to work…..walking through the door of your home after work. Walking in the park with your toddler. In pregnancy the bathroom is a frequent haunt so why not use those few moments to take your attention away from the worries of tomorrow. It’s also a great opportunity to call time on the reliving of yesterday’s argument with your partner over who’s doing more around the house and just be present in your body for a few moments. Simple moments like these can reduce stress significantly because if your mind is wandering in ten different directions like that puppy off leash it’s so much easier for it to ‘get into trouble’.
You probably haven’t paid as much attention to putting one foot in front of the other since walking home after that Xmas party a few years ago so as you walk notice how your body feels as your hips move…the way your knee bends and your foot makes contact with the ground and the other foot lifts.
Mindful walking in the summertime on a sandy beach is divine but for now the gravel parking lot must do (or if it’s dry take off your shoes and feel the cool grass).
Notice how your arms swing by your side. If you’re pregnant - is your baby moving too? What else do you notice physically? Sometimes as we notice our growing pregnant bodies thoughts will bubble up “I wonder if I’m going to get any bigger”……”my back hurts”…..and can take us off into a train of thought about the discomforts of pregnancy (usually stressful thoughts follow). Can you also notice any areas of your body that feel soft…..areas that feel good? When you notice that you’ve gotten distracted by your wandering mind return your attention to what’s happening with your body. If you’re doing this with a toddler let them lead the pace. Notice how their little body moves….the way their hair moves in the breeze….how their tiny hand feels in yours. Allow yourself to feel gratitude for having the ability to see these often unnoticed ordinary miracles that we often miss when we are always in a hurry (or elsewhere). As your mind jumps from thought to thought simply bring it back to what you’re noticing right now. The worries of tomorrow and the regrets of yesterday will still be there in 10 minutes.
Seeing
Be like that toddler who sees the world as an adventure waiting to be experienced. Look up at the trees – the clouds – the upstairs windows of the houses as you walk. What do you see that you never noticed before (maybe you were on your phone or miles away in your thoughts).
Listening
As you walk what sounds do you notice? Exercising with music is always a great motivator but every now and then taking the time out to listen to the world around you keeps you in the present and turns down that stress response. As your mind wanders (and it will) you’ll bring it back to noticing those sounds again. Many of us don’t have the luxury of gracefully skipping through sunlit woods listening to birdsong like in those Disney movies so if noticing the sound of the traffic on the street and gossiping neighbors is what you have to work with so be it!
Try it tomorrow even if it’s a stroll down your hallway during quarantine - slow down your pace a little, pay attention to your body and allow thoughts and emotions to come and go as you connect with the present moment even if it’s only briefly. Take a moment to stop and smell the roses if you are starting to venture outside - even if they are in a bucket outside of the supermarket.
*On a rainy day toddlers love mindful walking around the house – which can give you a few moments to enjoy a few moments of mindful tea drinking and meditate on a chocolate HobNob* . Or better still sit with your toddler and lick every bit of chocolate off that Hobnob and relish every lick (I’m more of a chocolate digestive fan myself) - I bet your toddler is already an expert in this kind of mindful eating.
Enjoy!
Tracy