After going through an 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) last year when I was pregnant I have struggled of late to integrate formal mindfulness practice into my routine.
I can come up with all sorts of excuses of being a new mum, iron wife, pursing multiple projects etc - but instead, I've decided to take ownership for its demise. I haven’t made it a priority and as a result have started to feel more tired, less attentive and less motivated to do physical activity.
So being an action oriented kind of gal I thought: what am I going to do about it? A recent walk created the space I needed for this insight to emerge: why do I setup a training schedule when training for a triathlon, but not one for my on mental wellbeing?
The accountability of a training program helps keep me motivated and focused. I also like keeping things varied with different lengths of activity, indoor/outdoor settings etc. Here’s an example of a week’s program I have pulled together to start with. To me, this to be looks achievable whilst being mum, ironwife, managing some mumpreneur projects and wanting to build up my physical training again:
Throughout a weekly schedule, daily informal mindful moments like incidental exercise definitely will help too. For people who participate in events like a day of mindfulness or even the 10 day Vipassana you could design a program to build towards the event.
I hear a lot of people struggle after going through a mindfulness program like MBSR. From anecdotes, I think a lot of that is to do with the course structure and accountability having gone. So, why not try and set yourself a weekly schedule mixing up the different activities to keep it varied and even do some sessions with a buddy/small group?
Think about it, a lot of us have training programs for our bodies but what about our brains?
This may seem foreign for people who haven’t trained in mindfulness practice. If you’re curious or even skeptical and don’t know where to start, a couple of suggestions:
Through experience I believe a healthy mind, body connection is the ultimate step towards happiness. To finish I’ll leave you with a thought:
If you’re physically very fit, are you consistently mentally in a good place to be present, accepting and non-judgemental to enjoy the benefits of a fit body? If not what will you do about it?
*Some mindfulness practices taken from the MBSR Openground training material