Happy New Year everyone!
The start of a new year comes with a fresh canvas of possibilities. During this time it can be tempting to dive into ambitious resolutions, but it’s worth recognizing that real change comes from small, daily, sustainable adjustments we make rooted in mindfulness and genuine self-love.
For our lives to change, we need to change what we do daily and how we live our lives; change does not happen overnight but gradually by making simple changes and small shifts that lead to big, lasting impacts.
"People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures." F.M. Alexander
Here are five simple mindful practices you can start today to set the tone for a balanced, and fulfilling year.
Time in silence: some call it meditation, others sitting practice or mindfulness practice. Simply choose the word that works for you and start today spending at least 5 minutes every day in pure silence. It's important to create a structure for your silence time; the same location and time ideally daily, could be time for meditation, contemplation and reflection, praying time, observing your thoughts with zero judgment or simply sitting with your eyes closed, body in stillness and see what may come up. In a world that constantly pulls us in multiple directions, finding moments of stillness is a powerful way to reset. Silence helps you reconnect with yourself and your intentions, receive guidance, and reset physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Time in solitude: Spending time alone can induce fear in a lot of people, which is understandable. In psychology, researchers define loneliness as a distressed feeling that we experience when we don’t have or are unable to get, the kind of social connections or relationships we hope for. Solitude is different. Research suggests that taking some time for yourself could have a positive impact on your daily mood.
When Was the Last Time You Had Quality Time to Yourself?
Spending quality time alone refreshes the individual's mental and physical well-being. We can achieve this by taking time out from our daily routines and engaging in activities that appeal to and nourish us mentally. Time alone helps bring about clearer thought processes and peace of mind. It is during solitude that we are more focused. Clearing mental clutter—especially negative thoughts— allows you to view things objectively and reduce unnecessary distractions.
Practicing solitude enables us to attune ourselves to more tranquil and relaxing thoughts and feelings, and also brings about inner peace. A sense of peace makes us more aware of our inner longings and real goals and helps to redirect our energies towards creativity and productivity. Time alone, in essence, brings experiences of tranquillity and joy which can help you rediscover the true meaning and value of your life.
Time in nature: we are part of nature. Mother Nature takes care of us, always, and is the ultimate inspiration. Often, nature's beauty can take your breath (and words) away. In those moments of awe, we like to turn to some of our favorite nature quotes that sum up how we're feeling.
Spending time in nature has been linked to a number of physical and mental health benefits, from improving mood to reduced risk of disease. And you don’t have to go to extremes to reap the health benefits of nature; just a little bit of time in fresh air and sunlight can improve your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being.
"Nature is not a place to visit, it is home." Gary Snyder Drop to your heart: In the busy modern times, most people live in their heads rather than their hearts. Living in your head may unconsciously be chosen because it protects you from dreaded feelings of vulnerability and fear. Take a chance and drop into your heart. See what it’s like! You'll probably see life in a far more vivid and nourishing way. Our heart has its wisdom and intelligence. Place your hands on your heart for a few minutes, connect with the energy center of your heart and connect with your heartbeat. You can ask any questions you wish your heart to get guidance and insights. The answers from our heart are short and come quite fast; that's our higher self, intuition, and gut feeling.
Embrace and love your emotions: being emotionally diverse and embracing all emotions; the pleasant ones but also those that are uncomfortable and unpleasant can have a huge transformative impact on your life, happiness level and wellbeing. We tend to avoid, neglect and stuff difficult emotions like fear, sadness, and anger for example. Our emotions are the language of our body and they need to be released and felt in a healthy way. Somatic practices like shaking, tapping, yoga, movement, breathing, expressing them out loud and writing about our emotions are some simple ways to fully release our emotions withour suppressing them and storing them in our body.