HOW and WHY to Apply Mindful Living

For a while now I have been really into the idea of practicing mindfulness and meditation. 

However, it wasn't until last week when I was actually able to incorporate it into my life. Not because there was no room for it in my life (there definitely was and I always knew that), but just that it wasn’t always easy for me. 

During meditation, I wouldn't be able to get myself to sit still or stop thinking. Even when I tried getting into yoga, it was just too slow for me. I needed something more on the active/quicker side. I guess I just wasn’t patient enough. 

Lately, I’ve just been so busy, involved in so many things, recalibrating after a year of traveling, submitting job applications, finalizing plans for this coming year…. it’s exhausting! In a good way, of course.

…And I realized that sometimes (OK, so more than sometimes) I lose track of myself. I get on autopilot and sort of just… stay there. I multitask way too much (21^stcentury situation) and can’t seem to stick to a single task, snack whenever I “feel” like it, focus way too much on my checklist instead of actually being productive, and spend a decent amount of time on things that don’t actually make a dent of difference in my life (like checking social media for really no reason).  Throughout it all, I’m not actually thinking about what I’m doing or how I’m doing it… I’m just doing stuff. 

And I hate that. 

I hate that because I constantly feel exhausted, like I’m waiting for my next break like I’m hungry (LOL), and just bleh (yes, I wrote bleh for lack of a better way to explain it OKAY?!)

So over Shabbat (finally), I picked up a mindfulness book that I had last started reading over a year ago. I only got to page 3 last time, but I felt this was the time to really understand what it is all about. I also got more into the idea of mindful living during my time abroad and the more I learned about alternative medicine/healthy living. 

What can I say?

I AM IN LOVE. 

Yup, I love it. 

I believe that it’s been a combination of my maturation over the past year, strong desire to actually make this work, and overall being fed up with the autopilot lifestyle.  This time I was able to apply mindfulness much easier and faster than a year ago. 

Example of how I have been able to apply these concepts into my life: For quite some time, I could not understand the concept of mindful eating. It was simply explained to me as “eating when you’re hungry and not eating when you’re not.”

Well, duh. 

But I was never really able to follow this because I was sort of always hungry… and I believe the reason was because I wasn’t even really realizing when I was eating. I know this sounds stupid, but think about it. It’s actually quite common. Most people (me included-or at least used to be included) mindlessly eat. How many times have I seen people scarfing down food while looking at their phones? Who can even process like that?! Now I was never one to do that, but I wasn't really thinking much about the process of eating when I was. 

Now that I do this, I enjoy my food much more and actually notice when I feel full. I, therefore, end up not overeating and then don’t feel sick when I’m done. 

This is something people need to apply to their lives. Sensory overload ADHD, other "buzzwords"...these are prevalent. Constantly thinking about the next step. We struggle to stop and take in the moment, the taste of our food, whether or not we actually like it, how we are feeling at the moment on the inside and out. 

When I start getting preoccupied with all the stuff that I have to do, I simply stop. I sit down, feel my feet on the ground, my body against the chair, my lungs expanding, my hands on my knees…  consider what I smell, hear, see… I notice the small details in the room. I ask myself in my head what I am thinking and feeling (anxious, excited, tired, happy), what I am looking forward to (going on a run later, spending 30 minutes praying, seeing a friend tomorrow), what it is that may be giving me anxiety and what I can do about it…. 

I highly recommend everyone to try this exercise. It doesn't have to be long or perfect or even right. Taylor it to what works for you. Make it your own. You don’t even really have to be consistent (though it probably is in your best interest to make it that way). 

Just give it a try and if it's hard for you at first… then give it another. 

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