Sometimes I live in my head. Analysing everything, overthinking, becoming so absorbed in what I am DO-ing, I find myself needing to set alarms to remind me to take a break, drink some water, even go to the toilet! I put this down to being incredibly passionate about my work and the impact I wish to make in the world. And yes, there is some truth in that… but there is also an excuse.
How often to we resist, avoid and escape from what we are actually feeling in our bodies?
Finding myself yearning to get the hell out of my head and into my heart, I decided to commit to some daily rituals that had me tuning into myself at a deep level. Being fully present with myself, in my body. And I lived to tell the tale!
A few months ago I came across a group of ladies who had decided to take on a 100-hour meditation challenge, which involved committing to meditating for one hour each day for 100 days. This appealed to me as I was seeking ways to get back to BE-ing rather than DO-ing (after all, we are indeed Human BEings). I decided to join the challenge and enjoyed the thought of having accountability buddies throughout the journey. As part of the challenge, we were asked to post a video reflection of our meditation experience each day, sharing the struggles, insights, curiosities etc.
I set a morning ritual of waking, peeing, then setting my alarm for 1 hour and sitting in silent meditation for one whole hour. To say the experience was powerful was an understatement. Some days my mind would not shut up… I did the shopping, my housework, cooked tea… all in my head. Some days I got glimpses of peace… just breathing and experiencing the pause between each breath. Some days I received incredible insight about something I was not always conscious of having on my mind. The key to getting the most out of each kind of experience? No self -judgement! I learnt to have compassion for myself and my incredibly interesting brain. I let go of expectations and started to take a stance of curiosity. Experiencing my meditation as an observer.
I fulfilled my goal of meditating for one hour each day for 100 days. I had no idea of the implications of this until I started noticing my mind tuning into what my body was feeling throughout the day. I felt it when it let me know it needed to move, it needed nourishment, it needed to relax. I am truly loving this new relationship with my body… and my mind is appreciating the break.
