A is for Awaken
Now that you're a parent, possibly working too, and trying to keep some semblance of a social life and a relationship together, life is busy. Added to that, our reliance on tech (phones, iPads, TV, all those damned singing plastic toys) and our senses become numbed to what we are really feeling. We're bombarded with noise, sound and experience all the time and it's really easy to be overwhelmed. This doesn't help our calm, our parenting or our emotional anxiety; so sometimes we really need to just slow down and feel at the simplest level.
Our Resident Happiness Coach, Olivia Horne, talks us through AWAKENING our senses and how that can shape our lives more positively.
Go on - #BeYourOptiMUM
Why
Because your sensory experience of the world defines so much of your life – it helps to shape your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, behaviours and decisions. It’s so easy, especially in the early what-just-happened days of parenting, to go through life on exhausted zombie autopilot, caught up in the replays of yesterday, the worries of tomorrow, or just the latest pile of dirty laundry. But just think of all the magic you’re missing when you’re not aware of what's happening around and inside you in the present moment. When you can awaken your senses, you can start to experience the world in stunning sensory HD, reconnect with your instincts and inner wisdom, and bring your whole self back to life.
“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.”
How
Notice what you can see, hear, feel, taste and smell in your everyday life. Bring a beginner’s mind to your sensory experience and wonder with childlike curiosity what it might be like to experience these things for the first time. Look at your child’s tiny hands and wonder at all the things they will learn to do. Listen to the sounds inside and outside the room as you rock them to sleep. Feel the warmth and weight of them in your arms at the end of a busy day. Slow your breathing, be still for a moment, savour the sights, sounds and sensations, and just be present.
Try it now
Switch on your senses right now and notice one new thing that you can see, one new thing that you can hear and one new thing that you can feel. Write them down or say them out loud to bring them to life and anchor them in your awareness. And breathe.
Olivia Horne is &Breathe's Resident Happiness Coach, because finding your best you is about the mind as well as the body. She also offers one-to-one coaching and small group meditation classes in London, find out more here and here.
#BeYourOptiMUM
At &Breathe we believe in Being Your Best You to be at your best for everyone around you. Our retreats and events allow you the selfcare time you deserve and through this Spring, we're sharing ways to #BeYourOptiMUM - what's yours?
Tag #BeYourOptiMUM and tell us!