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Sunday 12 May 2013

How to be still


I will admit, it has been a very stressful weekend! As I have been packing in preparation for moving house, I have had very little time to relax. Or even time just to be still, without my mind whirring away thinking of the next task that needs to be completed. I haven't slept well, as my mind just won't switch off and be quiet. I feel exhausted today. People around me tell me to" relax", but that is easier said than done. Boxes aren't going to pack themselves, so how can I reduce the stress?

The way I see it now. my body is trying to tell me it has had enough and it would like a break! I've recently discovered meditation, and the art of being still. Being still goes against all my natural tendencies, I'm the type of person who is always doing something. But as I've discovered, my mind needs some stillness for its well-being.

When I talk about meditation, I'm not talking about sitting cross legged on the floor and"ohmming"for hours. There are many different types of mediation out there, but I've found guided meditation audios available on iTunes, as apps or directly over the internet to be quite helpful. One of my favourites are the guided meditations at Meditation Oasis. I find these to be extremely useful at helping me to relax and switch off the traffic in my mind.

In our switched on world it's easy to  feel like we constantly need to be connected and doing something. But in the long run, this will do us more harm than good. This is certainly what it feels like for me - what are your thoughts?  Taking a small amount of time out each day to just be still seems so easy, yet so few of us do it.
I'm going to practice being still. I know my body and my mind will thank me for it!

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