Mindfulness during the Holidays
Well now I bet that's got the be the strangest 2 words to read in the same sentence "mindfulness" and "holidays"?!??! I don't know about you but it seems like as we lead to the "finish line" toward Christmas Day, it seems that everything just automatically starts to speed up...have you noticed? All of sudden there are more parties, more festivals and just basically a ton of running around. I've given myself the challenge to be mindful during the month of December. Here's what I decided to do....
I start EVERY day by reading a positive affirmation out loud in front of the mirror. Usually it's something written by my favorite inspirational teacher, the late Louise Hay. I know, I know...it's so goofy to look at yourself in the mirror and say something positive to yourself but Louise swears by it so I thought I'd give it a good try for 30 days. So after I read it I then sit down and listen to a 10-15 minute guided meditation. (By the way, all this happens AFTER I've dropped my little one to school ;-). I have 2-3 different audios I like to listen to and I just sit and allow myself to just breathe and let go. It feels wonderful.
Now I'm not going to lie---getting started is the absolute HARDEST part of this. My mind starts racing and I start telling myself a million different reasons why I should just blow it off and "get to it tomorrow". So I struggle every time. It's as if there are 2 versions of myself inside my brain fighting it out---"no you can let it go for one day"----"but seriously you know you always feel better when it's over". The truth is that the thing that MAKES ME DO IT every single day is knowing it's only 15 minutes!!!
I've done this for a week so far successfully and I must say I've been feeling GREAT. I'm slowing down doing things; I find myself planning before doing more; my focus seems better; my attitude is better and ...well, I'm just more mindful!!
So I invite you to take this same challenge with me. If you think 15 minutes is too long to devote to meditating or just sitting quietly, then commit to 5 minutes. Surely every one has 5 minutes to spare per day.
I'll let you know if I can keep this up through Christmas and report back to you next month. But for right now, I've decided that it's just not good for my health, my family and my business to breeze through these holidays all stressed out at high speed. I'm taking a different path this year to stop and "smell the roses"...or er..."smell the Christmas cookies"..LOL
What does all this have to do with music you ask? Well nothing really.. I thought I'd write about what I think would be the most beneficial to all of you this holiday season...to mindfully take notice of all the good we have around us and appreciate all the love we share with others in our life. Also, to spread kindness to everyone we touch this holiday season and every day.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE---SEE YA IN THE NEW YEAR!
Denise Imbesi
CEO & Founder
Muscle Mixes Music