Is Finding Time Creating Stress?

Where did last week go? For that matter, where on earth did the last six months go?

Is time really passing faster? Or is it our perception? I believe that our brains take an accounting of all that we’re asking our physical, mental and emotional bodies to handle. When the list is long and the activities we manage to accomplish and check off of the list are many, our brains say, “I can do it all!” So our bodies step up to the plate to help us get around to it all and get it done and be able to even add more to the list.

FITTING IT ALL IN

But that means “all of the items on the list” need to fit into the calendar and into the entire picture. Our brains see all of those five and ten-minute segments and two plus hour time slots and have to figure out how we’re going to do it all. You would think that time would appear to slow down to allow it all to happen. But, alas, it is a paradox. The brain and our bodies get the sense that time is speeding up as we fill our days with all of the “to do items” on our lists because we’re NOT moving slow! It’s no wonder that feeling stressed comes into the picture.

OUR KIDS ARE AFFECTED BY WHAT THEY SEE

And here is the clincher. The kids in our lives SEE that behavior and our need to find time to do it all. Many children have an amazingly full schedule between school, studying, music, and sports without even talking about all of the other extras. And that’s not even taking into account just hanging out and doing fun things with friends and family. They manage to do what they see US doing: filling up their calendars, trying to do it all, and experiencing time passing faster and faster as the days go by. And this brings them to feel the sense of “being stressed.”

There are significant health risks associated with stress. In an article by Dr. Robin Berzin, she identifies 10 Reasons Why Stress is the Most Dangerous Toxin in Your Life. Of the ten health risks, one really stood out. Dr. Berzin cites research into brain chemistry that shows “Early life events determine your set point for stress.” And if that was the only harmful effect, it is reason enough to break this habit of hurry.

SLOW DOWN AND FIND SPACE!

The solution: slow down and create space for our bodies to experience feeling the breath, feeling the energy of “just being,” discovering that meditation is easy when we allow our brains the opportunity to “just hang out.” Consider doing something to help you and the children in your life more easily allow that to happen. I start every day doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow. It takes me anywhere from five to twenty minutes, depending what I choose. The animation video I created only takes six and a half minutes!

A DAILY MINDFULNESS PRACTICE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

And why are people doing the Daily Flow? They are noticing that they have better attention to detail because clarity and focus are boosted, that they are better able to do their activities without their bodies going into reaction (any sports, house and yard chores, computer work, etc.) and that their bodies stay healthier. But the absolute biggest reason is they feel less and less stress. People who do this daily practice have told me they notice that their breath is more expansive, that they can actually relax, that their brains slow down and let go of the chatter.

MY RECIPE FOR MINDFULNESS INSTEAD OF “MIND FULLNESS”

Try it for yourself. YOU just maybe will slow down and smell the roses! And just maybe we can model different behavior and change what’s happening out there in the world and help children NOT be in that terrible thing called stress.

Photo credit: Evil Erin / Foter / CC BY

The Perils of Being Unconsciousness

Be Here Now

Have you caught yourself being un-conscious, that is not aware of where you are at a specific moment or not being aware of HOW to be where you are?

Bambi Alert

I’ll give you an example from my life! In the past few weeks I’ve been unlucky enough to have deer jumping the fence and getting into my garden. Now that is a bummer! I’ve lost tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, flowers and who knows what else. I know they’re hungry and searching for food and water, but in MY garden? I have a really tall fence all around the garden, but I think they’re jumping onto the deck and then over the railing into the garden itself. Now, those deer are truly persistent.

One of the first mornings I discovered three deer (a doe and two little ones) meandering around and chomping away, I rushed down without thinking about what was on my feet. Big mistake. I should’ve been wearing tennis shoes, not sandals. In the process of herding them through an open gate, I stubbed my toe and really hurt it.

My Wake-up Moment

I know that accidents happen. But I truly was not being in a state of conscious awareness of where I was putting my feet and how I was moving. Well, those deer are still getting in, but I’m not going into “frantic mode”. It is what it is and I’ve decided to move more slowly and deliberately as I meander my way into the garden and herd those “sweet looking beings” out the gate.

The Lesson of My Story

BE in a conscious state of awareness by allowing every part of you to fully feel your body, where you are in time and space, and how you are experiencing your surroundings and emotions. One way to get yourself there easily is to “do” a daily practice of mindfulness. Maybe it’s doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow, maybe it’s meditating, maybe it’s a practice you’re already putting into your day. Whatever it is, allow you and your body to feel the breath and feel the movement of energy.

A Quick Energy Tip for Mindfulness

A real quick energy tip to bring in breath and bring you and your body to full awareness is to:

Right hand — cup sternum directly below the clavicle
Left hand — hold fingers in a vertical pattern on your tummy

This simple energy movement will remind your body to breath and to go to that place of centered and grounded. THAT is where you will experience “conscious awareness” and truly be present.

I’ll give you more next time — both the story and the energy tips.

Enjoy being in the moment!