What is mindfulness?
Blog by Debbie Williams, MitE Volunteer Coordinator
“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but actually you’ve been planted. ”
What a good way to think of ourselves in the midst of the uncertainty and worry surrounding us at this time.
Covid-19 may put us in a bit of a dark place as we come to terms with social distancing and the possibility of self-isolation. We may be in a dark place for a while but we have not been buried, we have been planted and we are finding new ways of communicating and supporting each other despite being unable to meet physically.
If we stick to the guidance that’s being issued to keep ourselves and our families safe, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We may not know how long it will take for us to reach that light, but in the meantime, we are growing and finding new ways of nourishing ourselves and those we are in virtual contact with.
We can be thankful for the internet, for social media, and also just for the availability of telephones for those of us who haven’t yet embraced the internet. There are so many ways that we can stay connected even when we can’t visit with each other. We just need to increase our confidence about using them so that we don’t feel too alone.
Another way that we may nourish ourselves and help us to manage any anxiety or fear that this situation may foster, is to practice mindfulness.
Becoming more ‘present’ in this moment, focusing on what is happening in our bodies right now. What emotions are we experiencing and what physical sensations? Acknowledge them, study the feeling, or sensation for a few moments, exploring where in our bodies it is affecting us, for example butterflies in the tummy, acid or bile in the oesophagus, pain in the neck, shoulders, head etc.. then bringing our focus onto our breathing.
Breathe in and allow yourself to follow the breath as it goes in through the nostrils, along the nasal passages and deep into your lungs, filling them with life giving air. Continue to follow that breath as you exhale, emptying your lungs, retracing its steps along the nasal passages and back out into the air around you. Focus on your breathing this way for a minute or so, then as you breathe in imagine the breath bringing calm and peace to you and as you breathe out bless the world around you.
So breathe in and say to yourself ‘peace to me’ and breathe out saying to yourself ‘peace to you’.
This is something that you can practice wherever you are, you don’t have to be sitting or lying in a quiet space. You can do this in any environment, whoever is around you. Whilst washing up, whilst speaking to someone on the phone (when you are in listening mode), when attending a virtual meeting. Allow it to become second nature so that you spend a few minutes, several times a day checking in with your body. Asking yourself, what am I feeling or experiencing right now? Where is it affecting me? What sensations or emotions is it creating? And then spend a few minutes focusing on your breathing to help manage those sensations and emotions.
One of the most helpful things that I learned as I began to explore mindfulness was that it’s perfectly natural for us to experience distracting thoughts, that it’s not truly possible for us to ‘clear our minds’ and to think of nothing. When learning to be mindful we are learning to focus on what we are experiencing in this moment, rather than to think about or analyse it. We’re acknowledging and accepting it, then learning to shift our focus away from it rather than dwell on it or try to push it away. We are allowing it but learning not to let it overtake us. By acknowledging the experience, emotion or feeling, we are accepting that it is part of us and then moving away from it by shifting our focus elsewhere.
Mindfulness is a huge area and this is just a tiny introduction to it but hopefully an introduction that you will find useful in these unprecedented times.
Please remember your chaplains are here for you if you want someone to talk to. You can contact us through the web-site here and if you request a call one of us will make contact with you.