Week #2: Mind Your Body

Congratulations! You have finished your first week in your 8-week journey to achieving mindfulness.

If you don't feel like you achieved much, don’t be discouraged! Old habits die hard. Eckhart Tolle says we are so used to being in a state of of monkey mind we usually don't even notice it. He likens it to the hum of an air conditioner in the background. We don’t notice it. We aren't even aware that it's bothering us until the moment it's shut off and we experience the relief of the silence.

In the meantime, your mind will wander. Monkey Mind is relentless. Don't judge yourself. Don't beat yourself up. Just watch what the mind does. Watch where it goes. Have compassion and curiosity, not frustration, and gently bring it back to the present.

This is very important! Every time you notice your mind wandering THAT is success! Remember this was generally an unconscious habit -- something you just accepted and never really noticed! It is why Tolle calls the opposite of being mindful, being in a state of "unconsciousness."

Last thing before we begin: if you missed Week #1 Progress Check, go back and read it before moving on. I shared some tips that may be helpful.

OK, on we go!

This post details your Week #2 exercises as outlined in “Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan For Finding Peace in a Frantic World” (Williams and Penman, 2011). While I have done some summarizing of the steps involved, I have done my best to faithfully represent them.

Exercise #1, Body Scan Practice

This meditation is similar to the Body and Breath Meditation practiced during Week #1. You will work from your toes up through your feet, calves, knees, thighs, torso, arms, face, and head, holding each part of your body in awareness -- feeling all of the sensations -- until you are holding your entire body in awareness.

Follow along with track #2 on http://bit.ly/rodalemindfulness.  

Do this meditation at least twice per day for six out of seven days this week.

TIP! I find it difficult to hold both of my feet or both of my calves, etc., in awareness at the same time. I find it easier to focus on my left foot for a moment, then my right foot, my left calf, then my right calf, etc.

Exercise #2, Mindful Activity

Carry out another activity mindfully, choosing a different activity than you chose last week. For example, if last week you practiced mindfulness while you washed your hands (something we are doing a lot of these days), this week you could practice mindfulness while you brush your teeth. Other suggestions: drinking, eating, doing laundry, or going up and down steps.

TIP! I have a lot of steps in my house, so I like to make walking up the steps one of my mindful activities. That said, if I didn’t post a sign on the steps to remind me, I’d fly up and down them without giving them a second thought. Signs are good reminders! If you choose washing dishes as your activity, post a sign on the sink so that you don’t forget. I just write the word, “mind.” Also, you might make brushing your teeth a little more difficult and, thus, a little bit more mindful if you use your non-dominant hand.  

Exercise #3, Take a Walk

Go for a walk for at least 15 minutes at least one time this week. The idea here is that you walk mindfully.

TIP! Pretend you are a futuristic version of a 4-D video camera able to record all the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of the world around you. Feel the ground under your steps and the breeze on your face. Hear the many layers of sounds in the world, distant and near. Feel what it's like to be fully present in the Now.

That's it for this week! Until my next post, enjoy the Now!