Monday, December 6, 2010

Mindfulness and stress


So, is there any time more than the holidays that creates stress? Granted, a lot of the stress is the happy kind like with Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, planning, house guests etc...but it is still stress and that is not so great for our bodies and minds. Today I wanted to introduce a topic that might make things a bit easier this holiday season.

MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is the practice of becoming more fully aware of the present moment, non judgmentally and completely, rather than dwelling in the past or projecting into the future.

Mindfulness stems from eastern religions but it is something that anyone can do and adhere to of any faith. It is simply taking in every moment and being "in the now." This is not to say that you should not think of consequences of your actions or words but simply being able to be in the moment with things and not get too ahead of yourself.

During the holidays there are so many happy moments that get passed up to get to the next happy moment. An example is smaller events like putting up the tree, putting ornaments on, shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, making out Christmas cards, etc...

I think that if we took the time to take in every moment with all of our senses and truly enjoy it and be mindful of what is happening, our happiness level this holiday season would raise exponentially. I challenge you this holiday season to be mindful! Enjoy those around you and take in every precious moment.

No comments:

Post a Comment