The Future of It Is What It Is

The best way to predict your future is to create it.

Abraham Lincoln

My posting to this blog came to a screeching halt in July of last year. That was when my email subscribers no longer received an email announcing a new post. I knew this was coming but failed to determine a path forward. I decided to take time to consider this. And as time has a way from getting away from us, I am with no resolve. So, stepping back from not only posting but writing as well, I have determined the following:

• I miss writing and would like to continue one way or another.
• I miss instant blog publishing and could continue with a different hosting service meeting my needs.
• I would like to compile a book of curated posts from 12 plus years of blogging.
• I would like to compile a book of the travel blog posts from my 4 traveling years living houseless.

Without further ado, I am ending It Is What It Is as it exists now. It’s been a pleasure to share with you my take on life, and I look forward to inspiring you in one form or another in the future. Thank you for following me and sharing your insights as well.

I hope you will continue to learn from the circumstances of your life as I do each day. While no one knows what the future holds, I intend to create the space for mine.

Until next time...

With love,

Michelle

Quote illustration 227881941 © Rashmi Singh | Dreamstime.com

Cultivate to Radiate

With growth I radiate like the brilliant beams of the sun.

In garden lingo cultivating is what we are doing when caring for growth in our garden. I previously posted about cultivating joy, but here I am focusing the need to cultivate and give rise to growth in many directions in life.

In the first few months of the year, I was exploring tai chi martial arts as an additional part of my workout routines. The only thing is, to add something I have to stop doing something else. I’m already in the habit of changing my stretching, yoga, Pilates, and weightlifting on a regular basis within those practices, but adding something else has proven to be too much. So, while I initially gave my tai chi practice attention, I am no longer exploring it. Instead, I have found I have been able to adopt the slower focused pace of tai chi into my other practices. One could say I’ve refined some of my old routines and that has allowed me to branch out and radiate in new directions in my life garden.

Perhaps in the future I will revisit tai chi, but for now I’m cultivating the seeds. This cultivation has helped me grow in ways I hadn’t previously considered.

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Mythja | Dreamstime.com

Be Kind

“Ben’s Bells teaches individuals and communities about the positive impacts of intentional kindness and inspires people to practice kindness as a way of life.”

Ben’s Bells Project

I love things that surprise me, delight me, fill me with joy, and make me smile. Whenever I see a Be Kind mural, such as the one above, it makes me smile. It reminds me we could all use a little more kindness these days. Such a simple thing, be kind, but for some reason it seems to be so difficult to understand these days.

After seeing several murals around Arizona, I Googled Be Kind murals to see if I could find out about them. What started in a backyard art studio after the loss of the founder’s son, Ben, started a powerful ripple effect. Ben's Bells is now a growing non-profit organization and are currently celebrating their 20th year. I’d like to invite you to check them out and donate or purchase their hand made bells, stickers, coins, etc. to support this project and spread the love at www.bensbells.org. You may also find out how you can sponsor a mural and create a kindness ripple effect in your community, school, church, or an organization you know of.

Being kind is being considerate, helpful, thoughtful, compassionate, sympathetic, friendly, pleasant, nice ... you get the idea. And I know we could all use a lot more of what kindness can do. Join me and spread the love of being kind.

Take care,

Michelle

Be Kind photo courtesy of Ben's Bells Project

Inviting Silence

When I embarked on meditating about 18 years ago, I began to invite silence into my life. Ever since those remarkable building blocks of meditation, I’ve continued building silence into each day. I always used to have music playing in my car, home, yard, in my ear while doing other things, and even in my office at work. I was using music to drown out anything and everything around me to create a sense of quiet and peace. While there’s nothing wrong with listening to music, I do feel not inviting silence into any space of my life is not a good thing. I may not hear life whisper to me. I may not hear what the universe is telling me.  

Like many of you, my mind and my body tend to work overtime. It is something I am aware of and consciously work at when I begin to drift in that direction. Although, the more space I make for silence, the more silence I keep building into my life. Now days you won’t find me constantly listening to music. By inviting silence, I have found solitude. In that solitude I am aware, I am present, I am centered, I am focused, I am calm, I am moved, and I am strengthened. I have a deeper sense of my needs. I feel more aligned with who I am and the universe at hand.

I believe we are all craving solitude, but we don’t really know what it is or what solitude can do for us. Invite silence into your life today. Hear for the first time what it is you need and find the solitude you didn’t know you are craving.

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Jenn Miranda | Dreamstime.com

Cultivating Joy

I began this year by choosing the word theme of grow. With that in mind, I’m picturing my life as a garden. I cultivate joy by providing proper nourishment, light, and hefty amounts of love. One of the big challenges in any garden are weeds. The key here is not allowing them to hang around for very long in the first place. If my garden is healthy and well cared for, I have fewer problems with weeds taking hold. So I yank out anything that may cause problems for me and my garden along the way. After all, it’s up to me to weed out what I know is not good. It is up to me to cultivate joy.

It’s been difficult at best these last few years keeping all the weeds from taking over my garden and cultivating the so needed joy back into it. The reality of all that is happening in the world these days seems to feed on itself like tenacious deep-rooted weeds of doubt and fear - not what I want growing and thriving in my garden.

I’ve pulled back on many things I thought I might do and have taken on a much slower approach to my life. This pulling back has allowed me to consider what is going on and how various weeds affect my garden. I’ve focused on doing less and am now seeing more possibilities. I am taking care of my garden. I am focusing on the possibilities for cultivating joy as the seasons roll on. Isn’t that what gardeners do? One planting season isn’t over and we’re planning and planting with the focus on a better future.

I can’t wait to see how much joy I can cultivate into the days, weeks, and months ahead. If you haven’t thought of your life as a garden, maybe now is the time to start planting seeds of joy and see what comes up. So what if weeds start popping up. They’re going to do that anyway, so let’s give ‘em a yank before they become deeply rooted. Let’s cultivate healthy and well cared for gardens. Let’s cultivate joy.

Take care,

Michelle

Being a gardener, I can’t help but share deep gardening thoughts with you from time to time. In the past, I’ve including gardening in many posts. If you enjoyed this one, you may want to read or re-read these: Autumn Joy, Plucking Weeds, Growing Pains, Thriving and Growing. Enjoy!

Photo Cultivate © Romolo Tavani | Dreamstime.com

Positive Feedback

Last year I published 17 posts specifically around my word theme of mindfulness. It was a how-to guide breaking down many aspects of bringing mindfulness to the present. Mind you, pun intended, it was just a beginning, but it made a difference to several of my dear readers. Most often comments to me centered around realizing various things about themselves they had never thought about. Then there are comments such as these: 

 “I love this one, in fact after about the 6th one (breath) I felt like I was swinging back and forth. I have experienced this feeling often when I lay down and close my eyes totally relaxed. Thanks Michelle.” 2/4/21

“Thank you for this latest post. I have been doing the deep breathing every day and I believe it has helped a great deal. Since I have COPD I think my breathing is better and am able to do more walking, house work, gardening or carrying more than one item at a time. I feel more limber doing my exercises since my falling incident. I'll be doing these (breathing exercises) as long as I can.” 5/11/21

“Your postings have been on my mind during the past year and find myself really listening more and realizing what my friends and even family are going through during this pandemic and aging. We all need to talk to each other and feel that someone is listening and offering understanding and compassion. Thank you for opening my eyes to see what is going on around me in this offbeat nutty time. Send more and I will be reading and listening.” 9/22/21

“During the last 12 months of the year I have become more tolerant of things that used to bother me and have more peace of mind. I take things as they come because to me that is the way of things in my life. No stress, just accept the present as is. Let annoyances go, accept and deal with them as best I can.” 12/26/21

I value and appreciate all of your comments. Many times I simply hit the post button and away it goes off into the universe with the hope something I've said helps someone. It's nice to know you are listening. Thank you!

While my word this year is grow, all previous word themes have stayed with me and most of them are building blocks to mindfulness. Just know, I will continue to add a mindfulness post from time to time to expand our exploration of this powerful positive word.

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Wlad74 | Dreamstime.com

Begin Again in the New Year

George Bernard Shaw

Most of us seem to like the idea of a fresh start, a point in time we can mark as a chance to begin or begin again. While a fresh start can happen any time we choose, a new year seems to be a popular time for many of us to begin again.

Since 2005 I have chosen a word as a guidance point or theme for the entire year. It’s a word that brings me closer to being the best version of myself. It helps me create a better self. This year I have chosen the word grow. I intend to grow by planting new seeds, branching out in new directions, trimming, thinning out, and even pruning out that which is growing in my life garden. And as a gardener, I know I can promote more and even better growth by simply keeping my garden in check with a little snip-snip here, and a clip-clip there.

To begin with, I’m going to welcome the new year by taking classes in tai chi, a practice I have wanted to learn more about for a very long time. I first saw someone doing this in a park when I was in my mid-teens. I was mesmerized by it. Over the years, I have seen entire groups doing this and I am still mesmerized by it. In case you are not familiar with it, tai chi is a kind of meditation in motion. Think of it this way - gentle body exercises and stretches flowing into the next connecting the mind and body. After our mindfulness theme last year, tai chi will be the perfect thing for me to begin and grow on as the year progresses.

I’ll begin each day with my word theme in mind. At days end, I’ll consider my word and do a quick review to understand how my word might have woven its magic around me.

How about you? How will you begin again? What will your guidance point be? What word will help you be the best version of yourself and create a better self?

Stay safe, be well,

Michelle

Photo © Melissa King | Dreamstime.com

Have a Mindful Holiday

My gift to you this year has been to focus fully on mindfulness. I hope you have found some sense of peace and that it has opened the door for you to fully embrace mindfulness and explore on your own as you’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. 

Just because it’s the end of year holiday season doesn’t mean you need to allow the holidays to take over. Don’t forget about what it is you have learned to this point. Here’s a few mindful tips if it all gets to be too much thinking and doing...

• Breathe, then breathe again
• Ground yourself in your senses
• Find peace in nature
• Fill yourself with patience as it is a foundation of mindfulness
• Consider your thoughts, feelings, and actions by asking yourself why and learning something along the way
• Find the gaps and create more space
• Less is more so keep it simple
• Self-care first, and then be and do for others with more energy
• Hum your way through the days ahead
• Focus fully on whatever you are doing
• Observe and listen to others through your new lens of mindfulness
• Do everything with love and gratitude and it will come back to you in strange and mysterious ways

Cheers to a year of mindfulness! I am so proud of you!!!

Stay safe and be well,

Michelle

Update: So far posts continue to be sent your way via email. Although, my hosting service notes this will not continue. If I decide to take time off from posting or end this blog, I will let you know in a post. If you haven’t heard from me lately, you can always check http://www.mmclark.com

Photo  © Christa Eder | Dreamstime.com

Meditation Practice 2 Unlocking Gratitude

Approaching the holidays can bring on a mixture of feelings and emotions. A great way to deal with this emotional jumble is to unlock gratitude. Let’s get you started on your way to unlocking the gratitude within.

• Find a comfortable quiet space to be. If you are sitting, rest your hands on your lap, your knees, or on your stomach if you are lying down. Tuck your chin slightly, relax your jaw, and softly close your eyes.
• Take three or more deep breaths welcoming the natural feeling of your breath as your mind slowly begins to relax.
• When you are ready, slowly inhale deeply while thinking I am grateful for, pause, and think or say the first thing that comes to mind as you slowly exhale, pause, and repeat.
• Allow your mind to spontaneously choose the word(s) each time as you exhale. You may be surprised what comes to mind. Some things may be serious, and others seemingly inconsequential or silly, but it doesn't matter. This is you on gratitude.
• Keep it going with each breath until nothing more comes to mind, for now.
• This exercise is a great way to begin and end your day. The things you are grateful for will begin to change and evolve as you unlock your mindful gratitude. You may find it awkward to begin with, but you will find the more you do it, the more comfortable you will be while doing it. The more comfortable you are, the more you will want to return to this gratitude space.
• Remember, you are just showing up. No expectations. No right or wrong way. This is your time.

Holidays or whatever days, this is the perfect time to move from our recent ah practice to unlocking and releasing gratitude. This exercise will help you recognize the good in your life. Don’t be surprised by how wonderful you feel afterwards. 

With tremendous amounts of gratitude,

Michelle

Photo © Daniil Peshkov | Dreamstime.com

Meditation Practice 1 Say Ah

The word meditation means different things to different people. It can be a connection to a deeper faith or realm, but that may sound just too woo-woo for you. And that right there may stop you from even trying. So, let's just keep it simple! Look at meditation as a universal form of expression, an extension of your breathing/self-care practice, and a way to relax your mind and your body. Then see where that takes you. Don’t ask any more from it other than showing up and seeing what happens. Let it evolve for you and with you.

• As with your breathing practice, find a comfortable quiet space to be. I prefer sitting on a mat or rug and crossing my legs in what's called a lotus pose when doing my meditating. It allows more freedom of movement for the expansion of my lungs, and the leg crossing provides balance and a feeling of being grounded. But this is your practice so find your happy place and begin.
• If you are sitting, rest your hands on your lap, your knees, or on your stomach if you are lying down. We will discuss hand positioning techniques in another post. Tuck your chin slightly, relax your jaw, and allow your eyelids to lightly close. Take three or more deep breaths welcoming the natural flow of your breath and allow your mind to relax. If a thought flows by, allow it to do just that, flow by and come back to your breath.
• Remember breathing practice 6 and humming? When you are ready, inhale as deep as you can. Instead of humming as you exhale, say ah out loud slowly until you no longer have air to say ah with. Breathe slowly in and repeat ah for at least 10 minutes adding more time each day if you can. I find a soft, loud ah is best rather than a harsh, forced, loud AHHHHH!
• Focus on the ah sound during your entire practice. Feel it vibrate from your breath through your entire body the longer you continue this exercise. You will find there will be no mind-wandering ways as there will be no room because you are filling the void with pure ah.
• If you are familiar with singing, what note are you ah-ing in? I’m a C and I find I generally go back to that same sound each time. Play with the sound until you hit on the right one for you as it will be effortless, and satisfying.
• Continue to do this exercise at least once per day, preferably morning and evening if you can. You will find the more you do it, the more comfortable you will be while doing it. The more comfortable you are, the more you will want to return to this space. 
• Remember, you are just showing up. No expectations. No right or wrong way.

If you are having difficulty with this exercise or haven’t been following through with your breathing practice lately, I invite you to review breathing and mindfulness exercises for a few days then try this one again until it feels right for you.

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Haywiremedia | Dreamstime.com

Shining the Light on Mindfulness

The more you change how you see things, the more the things you see change.

Wayne Dyer

During our year of mindfulness, we have taken on many new ideas to expand our mindfulness thinking. This year's posts show the connectedness of mindfulness to many things in our lives. As you move through your mindfulness journey you will find it all connects.

When I began digging deeper into mindfulness and focused on awareness, I found I became quieter and listened more intently. While I was listening to my thoughts, words, and coming to understand my actions in a different way, I noticed that I began observing and listening more intently to others as well. While I considered myself a good listener, this type of mindfulness focused listening was nothing short of enlightening.

I began observing those around me on a whole different level. It helped me see them in a different light. I knew when these observations began it wasn’t my place to criticize. I understood it was my place to allow acceptance without judgement. I began to learn not only about others, but about myself.

Take your calm, quiet awareness and observe. Listen to the world around you without judgement, and you will begin to shine the light on a deeper way of living in mindfulness. It’s time to take the next step on your mindfulness journey. Prepare to be enlightened.

Take care, 

Michelle

If you are having trouble with focusing, make sure you continue with your daily breathing practice. Breathing practice is key to opening doors to mindfulness. It will help still your mind so that you can properly observe and move through the doors as they open. This allows mindfulness to unfold for you. I’ve mentioned that we will begin to step into the realm of meditation. You will need your breathing practice to fully find your space in meditation.

Photo © Cerrophotography | Dreamstime.com

Breathing Practice 6 Humming

While we’ve continued with our breathing practice throughout our mindfulness instructions, we’re going to add a different experience to our breathing. This is an easy one as it takes little thought to perform.

Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose. As you exhale, lightly press your lips together and hum as you slowly exhale through your nose. That’s it!

Why humming?

We are not engaging in just another breathing exercise; we are promoting self-care therapy. Humming creates a different focus and is a way to self-soothe, and quiet the mind and body.

Is there a particular humming method to use?

I mentioned the above example to introduce a new breathing experience into your daily practice. You may want to experiment with humming a different musical note until you find one that fits the mood of the moment, but other than that let’s keep it simple.

Personally, I love humming and use it beyond my breathing practice. I hum to calm my breathing pattern, heart rate, thoughts, and emotions. And sometimes I find myself humming while doing other things. When this happens, I know I’m bringing a sense of peace to the moment whatever it is.

Here are some examples of how I tap into humming:

• Instead of driving like a maniac to an appointment when I’m running late for one reason or another, I hum and calm myself the entire drive. It guides me to back off the accelerator and accept what is.
• I hum when driving in traffic or bad weather as it relaxes me and again helps me accept what is.
• I tune into peaceful humming to self soothe if I find myself anxious, tense, upset, angry, frightened...
• I hum a tune here and there and sometimes hum no tune at all just non-sensical sounds that seem to delight me.
• And I find myself humming without realizing I’m doing it when I’m focused on something I enjoy like cooking or gardening, and even while doing things I don’t particularly care to do like house cleaning.
• Humming has helped me focus during devastating times of my life.
• A hum here and a hum there has guided me to understanding my feelings and helped me find answers in the space between the notes.

What I’ve come to understand about humming is that it is a powerful tool in my mindfulness practice. You should know that you don’t have to be able to carry a tune to experience the wonders of humming. And you can hum in your head anytime and anyplace without making a sound. Just begin with your daily breathing practice and before you know it, you’ll find a hum here and a hum there when you least expect it. Shall we give it a go?  Hummmmmmmm

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Pop Nukoonrat | Dreamstime.com

Self Care

Living your life in a mindful manner is taking care of YOU! And that’s what self-care is all about. If we are trying to take care of everything and everyone else, there’s usually nothing left at the end of the day for our self. And, quite frankly, this is a recipe for disaster in terms of emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health.

We cannot be for others if we are not be-ing for our self.

Over this past year we’ve spent months on breathing and focus exercises, considered our five senses, immersed our senses in nature, created space, and asked why, why, and why again all for the benefit of bringing mindfulness or true awareness into our lives. Every exercise we have done this year is self-care. If that’s surprising to you then you need to begin to see the self-care picture beyond diet and exercise - with a little quiet time worked in, because it is so much more. Perhaps it would help you to consider self-care as enhanced well-being and bring mindfulness to more things in your life: as you eat, drive to work, grocery shop, meet with a friend, stand in line at the grocery store, brush your teeth, and on and on...

We just need to keep the momentum going and continue our mindful ways. This is not just a one-shot deal, it’s a present moment awareness mindset, a full-on lifestyle choice. It reminds me of the value I have in my emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health. My overall intention in my life is to be the best I can be. Focusing on a more mindful lifestyle guides me to achieving my best life.

And guess what? It’s never too late to start, re-start, or kick-start your intention to be mindful. If you haven’t been faithfully following along, just go back to the start of the posts for the year and begin again. See, that’s the thing about the choice of being mindful, it’s okay to begin again.

Take care,

Michelle

What’s next for our year of mindfulness? We’ll be building on our breathing and venture into meditation. Sounds like fun to me!

Photo © Airdone | Dreamstime.com

Creating Mindfulness Space

I’ve written about creating space many times over the years. As we explore mindfulness this year, it begs to be mentioned again. Why, you ask? Ah, nice to know you are asking why. It’s because mindfulness happens when there’s a space for it.

Basically, our brains are on overdrive - think of it as non-stop madness. So, it’s up to us to find mindfulness through observation/awareness/acceptance and create it for ourselves. It is in this created space that gaps open and allow a place for our minds to rest. You may have taken notice of this gap space during some of the breathing exercises this year. And I’m sure you’ve also noted I’ve talked about that’s when the magic happens - well, that magic happens for each of us in clever and mysterious ways. It’s that sense of voice in our heads guiding us to safety, it’s when answers to questions asked float through, it’s where one can find a sense of peace, quiet, and enlightenment. With practice, gaps open more often and allow you to be in this space for longer periods of time. Think of this phenomenon like this - you, the center of peace amidst turbulent times. I understand this space and you can too. Here’s a few simple ways of thinking and being to get the ball rolling on creating mindfulness space:

• I recently asked you to consider why you like and dislike something. The example was an outfit you see someone else wearing. Now we’re going to get more personal. Let’s look through your closet. Why do you like some clothes and not others? Then why do you have so many clothes in your closet you don’t like or wear anymore? I know, that’s a loaded question! Trust me on this, it’s simple sounding ways of living that will turn the tide for you on mindfulness. Less is more, less is more - your new mantra perhaps? If it helps, decide you are going to do this clothing exercise every few months. So, mark it on the calendar until you feel you have become one with your closet!!! Pull out a few items, try them on, load the ones you are getting rid of in your car then picture yourself feeling happy after you have donated these items to someone who could really use what you no longer wear. Spread the love and create space at the same time! With every attempt at cleansing your closet, you will feel lighter and on your way to making better decisions all the way around.
• It’s difficult to find space in your mind when you are surrounded by chaos. Take your less is more mantra to your home, office, vehicle one drawer, one room, one area at a time and get rid of the clutter. Don’t fill every space with furniture or every wall with something hanging on it. Allow places in your home for your mind to rest. When you have created space, feel the space when you open the organized drawer or your eye catches a cleared place, and feel good about the direction you are moving. There you go. Mindfulness begets good feelings. Magic!

Continue with earlier exercises from this year - breathing, touching base with your senses, asking why; and now, allow space, space, and more space to fill your life. These mindfulness exercises will come together at one time or another. And don’t be surprised if you find your own exercises for creating mindfulness. Pardon me as I mention this once again - that’s when the magic happens. Stop the madness and be the center of peace amidst turbulent times.

Take care,

Michelle

 

Photo © Melinda Nagy | Dreamstime.com

FYI Email Subscribers

Since my first It Is What It Is blog post in August, 2010, Google Blogger has been the content management system hosting service I’ve chosen to use. In July, email subscribers will no longer be supported through the web feed management service on Blogger known as Google Feedburner.

What this means to you - you will no longer receive an email notification when I publish new posts. While this has been convenient for my email subscribers, it does not mean the website will cease to exist. For now, email subscribers will need to log into It Is What It Is at http://www.mmclark.com from time to time to see if I have posted.

Currently, I'm looking at the future of It Is What It Is and alternative hosting services. Email subscriptions may be available once again at a later date. Stay tuned...

Take care,

Michelle

Photo 193045722 © Kaspri | Dreamstime.com

Thinking About What You Are Thinking

Mindfulness is thinking about what you are thinking!

As children we are naturally open to asking questions. But somewhere along the way we got sidetracked and stopped asking. With this exercise, let’s release that inner child and explore questions.

Consider your thoughts, your feelings, and ultimately your actions (behavior) by paying more attention and begin asking questions. A simple way to bring this to mind is anytime you have the thought, I like, or I don’t like, go beyond the thought or feeling and ask yourself WHY? Then keep asking why until you run out of answers. The more you do this, the more you will learn about yourself. This mindfulness practice will guide you to making better decisions. Trust me on this - this is huge!!!

Here are some examples to get the ball rolling and your mind used to the practice of asking questions:

• You see an outfit on someone you think looks really great. WHY do you think so? Is it the fit, color, fabric, or maybe the person looks really happy or confident? On the flip side of it – you see an outfit on someone and you notice it doesn’t look good at all. WHY? When you do this enough you not only end up with answers that help you make better decisions when you are buying your own clothes, you find yourself asking questions in all sorts of situations.
• You are thinking the sunset is beautiful. WHY do you think so? Remember our last two exercises when we focused on our five senses? Let’s put them into action. What do you see? What do you hear? Is there a scent you notice? Are you eating or drinking something that invokes a lovely flavor while you focus on the sunset? How do you feel? Do you feel happy or calm? If it’s a good feeling, perhaps you should be watching more sunsets. Being mindful will bring you more than just happy or calm. It will bring you understanding and a deeper peace.
• You just yelled at your child. WHY, and WHY, and WHY? But ultimately, was it about the child, or about you? Maybe you’re the one who needs the time out! Aha! See how this thinking about what you are thinking works?

I learned to do this exercise many years ago while taking design classes. It helped me see things in a new light. It’s fun and can be a very interesting and revealing. It’s an observational exercise that I continue to do as I explore my thoughts, feelings, and actions at any given time. With this exercise I have learned why I think, feel, and do. I have learned more about me by asking myself WHY. And I found that the why’s were just the beginning of the questions I asked myself.

Allow yourself to be open to the changes that are ahead. Changes? You can’t help but change when the answers reveal patterns and pieces you didn’t even know about. When you ask yourself enough questions you begin to put the puzzle of your life together through mindfulness thinking.

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Sumanaree Ratana-u-bol | Dreamstime.com

Breathing in Nature

A walk in nature walks the soul back home.
Mary Davis

For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring our five senses to better understand what we see, hear, smell, taste and feel. We checked with ourselves throughout the day and gave thought to these amazing senses in order to expand our mindfulness awareness. Now, let’s take it outside and breathe-in nature the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing - taking in the forest). This is not just a walk in the woods. It’s an immersion of each of our senses - a communion with the natural environment.

Don’t worry if you don’t have an actual forest to walk around in. The idea here is surrounding yourself with the natural environment. I have found the more I am engaged in any form of Mother Nature’s loveliness, the more peace filled I become. Let’s begin...

• Find your walking rhythm in an outside space of your choosing.
• Take a few slow and deep breaths to begin, and let go of everything going on in your head.
• Walk, pause and breathe. Ask yourself what you see. Continue to walk, pause, breathe and see for a bit before moving to another sense.
• I like to close my eyes when I pause to take in the sounds, smells, flavors and feelings. Each time I repeat my concentration of one sense, I notice a bit more than I did moments ago.
• After walking and infusing your senses, you may want to find a place to sit and linger. Immerse yourself by breathing deeper into the natural setting.

The more you bring awareness to your senses, you become more in tune with your surroundings. When you have experienced this space, you can recall it anytime by focusing on what your senses remember.

It’s the end of spring, and summer is just around the corner. Find more time and calm space for yourself outdoors to simply be in nature by breathing-in nature. Continue with this practice as often as possible. It will create a space of calm and wonder, and open a space for your mind to rest.

Take care,

Michelle

Photo © Nenitorx | Dreamstime.com

Mindfulness Senses Spot Check

In January we began the year with the intention of being mindful for the year ahead. Since then, we have explored the practice of breathing fully into ourselves with focused breathing exercises. During the last few months, we’ve brought conscious thought to what we were feeling and opening the doors to awareness. We concentrated on our body as we paused and created a moment of space in the gap between the ebb and flow of our breath. We’ve focused on our heartbeat and learned to push our breathing deeper and slower. Since successful breathing practice opens the door to meaningful mindfulness experiences, we are now ready to explore more fully the practice of mindfulness.

• Take a few slow and deep breaths to begin and let go of everything going on in your head to be in and of this moment. After months of breathing practice, your mind and body know this as calm space.
• Now do a 5 senses spot check. What do I see? What do I smell? What do I taste? What do I hear? What do I feel? There's no need to dwell on each answer. 
• To begin with, you may want to set up reminders to do this exercise a few times throughout the day. Consider it a quick check-in with yours truly. It does not need to take very much time unless you choose to linger in this space. 

When was the last time you thought about your senses? Just like breathing practice, the more you bring awareness to your senses, the more finely tuned they will be. The more overall awareness you can bring to the moment, the better you will be at understanding yourself.

Take care,

Michelle

While we explore mindfulness, continue with your morning and evening breathing practice. For me, it’s a commitment I make to myself in conjunction with meditation. While I’ve shared some of my favorite breathing exercises this year with you, there are so many more to play with should you want to investigate further. Personally, I like to keep it simple. I am more apt to do whatever it is I should be doing by keeping that in mind. Happy breathing!

Mindful photo courtesy of dee and tulah monstah

Breathing Practice 5 Double Exhale

Breathing is automatic; an involuntary process that just happens. But breath is life. So what happens when we actually give this amazing process attention? That’s when the magic happens!

I hope you have enjoyed the last month trying out heart focus breathing and going back over the previous breathing practice posts. I understand many of you have had difficulty with breathing exercises in the past. In my instruction, I’ve purposely slowed down the steps by creating building blocks from post to post. I believe this is a much better way to explore not only breathing practice but mindfulness as well as meditation. You’re probably thinking that it’s about time I get back to mindfulness since it is our focus for the year. But guess what? Breathing practice opens the door to a more meaningful mindfulness experience and it also makes it easier for those who would like to explore meditation. Without a doubt, breathing practice is when the magic happens!

So, without further ado, let’s get back to breathing. As with heart focus, this is another of my favorite breathing techniques and is the first one I connected with many years ago. For those in the know, it is a variation of what is known as 2-1 breathing. It’s my go-to calming method for instant clarity and relaxation. And I often use it to fall asleep when my mind decides to do otherwise. It is also an excellent exercise to increase lung function because we are pushing the limits of our normal shallow breathing.

• Sit or lie down and relax in your favorite place. If you are sitting, rest your hands in your lap or lightly on your knees. If you are lying down, rest your hands on your stomach. Relax your jaw and allow soft eyes.
• Inhale slowly through your nose and notice the coolness. Then exhale through your nose and notice the warmth. This technique informs your mind that you are tuning into awareness.  Do this three times then begin exhaling through your mouth.
• With each breath slow the inhale and the exhale down a bit until you reach a comfortable rhythm (lesson 1). Let your cares and thoughts float away by coming back home to your breath and how it feels to breathe.
• When you are ready add deeper breaths slowly. Be aware of how you feel as your deeper breaths relax your lungs (lesson 2).
• On your next inhalation, mentally count slowly to 4 or more until you are unable to inhale, pause your breath for a 4 count (lesson 3), then very slowly release and fully exhale pushing out every-last-breath as you continue to count to 8 or more. Then repeat. Your goal here is to be able to double the count on your exhale. I like to push this by one count on each breath until I achieve my maximum (think 8 inhale, 16 exhale).
• You will find this to be a much deeper method of breathing. Once you reach a comfortable rhythm, you may listen for your heartbeat (lesson 4) whenever you pause. As you play with this exercise, try counting further on the inhale, then try holding your breath for a few extra counts or skip holding it altogether and go right into exhaling. This is your time so make this exercise your own. Reminder - if you are not breathing slow and deep enough you may find yourself lightheaded.
• Enjoy this exercise for 15 minutes or longer each morning, throughout your day as often as you would like, and before you drift off to sleep.

When you are finished, sit for a few minutes bringing your breath back to your natural rhythm. Don’t forget to whisper to yourself thank you - insert your name. And go ahead and give yourself a big hug while you’re at it!

Looking for instant calming in any stress filled situation? Double exhaling is the key. In just three breaths you will find a space that will bring clarity to the moment. Why three? You will notice it will take you three breaths to open your lungs fully allowing more oxygen to flow in which acts like a secret superpower. You’ll notice the more you bring this exercise to a particular moment, you will naturally find yourself doing it without considering it. Magic! Superhero pose anyone?

Stay safe and take care,

Michelle

Photo 168068696 © David Burke | Dreamstime.com

Breathing Practice 4 Heart Focus

Just you, your breath, and the beat of your heart.

Since the month of February is heart month, it’s the perfect time to add the beat of our hearts to our breathing practice. I think of this technique as heart focus. It’s one of my favorite breathing techniques and I know it will become one of yours. Our heartbeats will take us deeper into our breathing practice, and our minds will become intensely focused on the beat so there’s no room for other thoughts or distractions. Essentially, it’s heartbeat bliss. 

• Sit and relax in your favorite quiet place. Some of you may have been lying down previously, but it’s easier to hear and feel the full effect of your heartbeat while sitting. Rest your hands palm up in your lap or lightly on your knees. Relax your jaw and allow soft eyes.
• Begin to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. With each breath slow the inhale and the exhale down a bit until you reach a comfortable rhythm (lesson 1). This is your time so allow your mind to relax. Let your cares and thoughts float away by coming back home to your breath and how it feels to breathe.
• When you are ready add deeper breaths slowly. Be aware of how you feel as your deeper breaths relax your lungs (lesson 2).
• On your next inhalation, pause (lesson 3) and suspend breathing for 4 seconds before slowly exhaling and pausing for 4 seconds. Allow each breath to flow slowly into the next. Reminder - if you are not breathing slow and deep enough you may find yourself lightheaded.
• Once you reach a comfortable rhythm, listen for your heartbeat whenever you pause. There's no need to over think this, allow your heartbeat to rise above the noise in your head. Please note that hearing and feeling your heartbeat does not necessarily happen right away. It takes practice as with any breathing exercise. But once you become aware of heart focus, it’s always there for you with every beat of your heart.
• Enjoy this exercise for 15 minutes or longer each morning, throughout your day as often as you would like, and before you drift off to sleep. Adding more time will help achieve a successful breathing practice.

When you are finished, sit for a few minutes bringing your breath back to your natural rhythm. Don’t forget to whisper to yourself thank you - insert your name. After all, this time has been your gift to you.

Let heart focus be an easy exercise. As you focus on your breathing and heartbeat you may even feel a slight sway to your upper body. Allow it to move and breath, ebb and flow with every beat. Allow mindfulness to flow in and out, in and out, to the rhythm of each breath, each heartbeat.

Continue with this heart focus exercise and go back and review previous lessons until next time.

Stay safe, be well,

Michelle

Heartbeat graphic courtesy of Aliaina Rakes