Question: What are your top 3 tips in order to feel more connected with your head and body? So relying on gut feeling?
HOW TO STAY PRESENT: THREE KEY TECHNIQUES
“You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future.” Anonymous - Grace Mendez.
6000 thoughts pass through our heads per day and you’re not even aware of it. These thoughts come and go and are often about things that are yet to happen (the future) or that have already happened (the past). This can sometimes cause us to spend too much time and energy worrying about things that we have hardly any power over. How often has a situation panned out exactly as you had thought? The answer is probably never, that's why we have three strategies for you to become more present, take a load off!
REDUCE EXTERNAL STIMULI It is known that excess stimuli overloads your brain and in turn can cause stress, memory loss and fatigue. A small step to be more present is to reduce daily stimuli. Take scheduled breaks between meetings, go for a brisk walk, reduce your screen time before going to bed and focus on one task at a time.
WRITE IT DOWN By writing down positive thoughts and feelings, you can better visualize what is really important to you and what gives you satisfaction. This in turn has a measurable positive effect on your brain, evoking positive emotions sends a signal to your brain that you are doing well. This will lead to an increase in happiness hormones such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.
OBSERVE YOUR THINKING: STATE OF MIND Bummer! Flat tire! You probably recognize that one time you easily bring the bike to the bicycle repair shop while the other time you almost burst into tears. It’s your state of mind that’s telling you how you perceive the world at that particular moment. Our state of mind can fluctuate between a cloudy mind and a clear mind, this can always change. The decisions you make in these different states of mind are decisive. With a cloudy mind fewer good decisions are made, with a clear mind the most inventive or creative decisions emerge. Reflecting on which state of mind you currently in can help you to consider your thoughts and rationale, we recommend doing this before firing off decisions.
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Want to improve your short-term memory? Mindfulness. Want to be more present in the here and now? Mindfulness. Better coping strategies for stress and having more focus? Mindfulness. It turns out that mindfulness might just be the key to success, but where do you start if you’ve never tried it before? See below the three aspects are to nurture mindfulness and how to get started.
INTENTION Ask yourself what the intention is that you hope to get from mindfulness. This can be less stress, or, for example, be more emotionally balanced. When you fully understand the reason why you want to start, this will eventually enhance the effect of mindfulness.
ATTITUDE Your attitude can help you develop your capacity to be more mindful. Key attitudes for mindfulness are curiosity, acceptance, kindness, letting go, non-judging, non-striving, patience, trust or beginner’s mind. When you pay attention and proactively alter your attitude it can help you improve your mindful state.
ATTENTION Mindfulness is all about paying attention and living in the ‘here and now’. Think of paying attention to what you eat, the structure of the food, the taste, the smell and not being distracted with something else.
HOW TO GET STARTED? It might feel a little alien, but sitting in silence with your innermost thoughts and feelings is okay. People have been meditating for decades and it’s time we jump onboard. Start with once a week and progress into incorporation into your morning routine. Surprising or not… in order to get meditation, you need to practice it. Below you can find three easy mindful practices to get started with:
1. BE MINDFUL IN WHAT YOU DO Block out all other thoughts while you do everyday tasks such as; eating, taking a walk to work, listening to music, reading a book, or folding the laundry. It's not about what you do, but how you think while you're doing it.
2. FEEL YOUR BODY Zoom in on your breathing, your heart rate or how your feet are touching the ground. It sounds easy but to be aware of what you feel in the present moment and gratefulness will be a byproduct.
3. SLOW DOWN Don’t rush your tasks for once, do it slowly, step by step or over a couple of days. Actively take the pressure of deadlines we often put on ourselves to feel ‘productive’, take your time and focus on the quality of the end result. You got this.
We would love to hear your thoughts! Send us a DM on Instagram @peoplesplacegym.
