I don’t know about you but sometimes my energy shifts from the weekend to the start of the week. How about you?⁣
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Worry, stress, anxiety from news, what to dos, need to dos, battling peak hour traffic or crowds in public transport?⁣
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Stress often descends when you are either thinking about past or worrying about the future BUT it often dissipates when you are fully present..in the moment.⁣
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If you find yourself getting wound up, take a breath, a deep one filling through your nose and all the way down to your abdomen. 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out for anywhere between 2-5 minutes. Fully connecting to it.⁣
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Next thing you can do is first, put your phone aside and incorporate some of these activities..
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1. Mindful showering - See the suds, the spray of water from the shower head, feel the cool water running down your body, the sound of drops hitting the ground.⁣
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2. Mindful dishwashing - The smell of the detergent, the slow bubbling of the suds, the water running down your wrists, witnessing the white foamy liquid sucked down the drain pipe.⁣
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3. Mindful eating - Each bite, chew, taste..look at the textures, colours of the platter in front of you. The feel of the cutlery under your thumb an index finger.
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4. Mindful cooking - The bubbling aroma, the warm wooden ladle submerged in the stew you are making, the spiciness, the graininess, the sound of of the background jazz playlist you put on.⁣
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5. Mindful sitting - The wisp of the wind on your cheeks, the smell of blades of grass, the rustle of the leaves, the planks of the park bench beneath your bum.⁣
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6. Mindful walking - Your gait, softly landing on the balls of your feet with each step, the dense cloud, shapes above you, the smell of the rain sizzling on the hot tarmac, the pitter patter.⁣
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Use all your senses…I challenge you to feel stressed when you are lost in the present.⁣
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The technique I always come back to when my mind chatters during quiet sits in nature is 5,4,3,2,1.

What are..

5 things you can see

4 things you can feel

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste

Finding presence in the present.