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Self-care is your active role in safeguarding your mental and physical wellness proactively by doing what is good for you. It helps to increase your emotional and physical stamina, improve your self-esteem and builds resilience. Daily self-care creates improvements in your life and has immediate and long-term benefits. It’s not easy or selfish to put yourself first when you have a long to do list but its necessary work. But when you commit to prioritise your own needs, consistently show up for yourself it lays the foundation of personal wellbeing and the ability to show up for others as your well is not empty. Self-care is different for everyone, there is not one size, it needs reviewing and revising frequently. 

Today’s meditation is called “Self-care meditation” and is adapted from a meditation by Katie Krimitsos. The intention of this meditation is to give you a space to practice and understand your worthiness to care for yourself. To help you create boundaries, articulate what do you need right now to nourish yourself now and later. This can be done sitting or lying down. 

This meditation accompanies our 22 November and Podcast No 33 on Working with Sadness.  This meditation is called Exploring sadness with RAIN (RAIN is a Tara Brach meditation).  RAIN is an acronym with 4 steps and this version focuses on sadness particularly when it’s a challenging situation or struggling with an intense emotion like sadness. Honoring it as part of the human experience, accepting and dealing with it can help. This can be done sitting or lying down.

Sadness grounds you. And yes, it’s painful and often seems long lasting. But it’s a natural part of being human and it visits all of us at some time. Learning to ride its waves, to welcome it in enables you to have a less painful relationship with it. Is it possible when sadness comes to acknowledge it is here and be open to what it look like right now rather an avoid it or distract it? Can you apply mindfulness to being present to those darker unpleasant or uncomfortable places that sadness brings? It might be the opportunity for deeper insights and being more compassionate with yourself.

Dr Kerry Howells’s book, Gratitude an Education:A Radical View says, “If we were to meet gratitude face to face, she would say ‘take action that serves others’, ‘give back’, ‘let go’ and ‘connect’. Acts of genuine gratitude that seek nothing in return can restore relationships and help us remember what we have received from others. Practicing gratitude can have far reaching effects, from improving your mental health to boosting relationships with others. Living gratitude helps you notice the small things, and these create well-being that strengthens your ability to notice the good. It helps you to step out of yourself and connect with others, open yourself up to joy, wonder and awe and to a sense of meaning greater than yourself.  Building your capacity for gratitude isn’t difficult – it takes practice like exercising a muscle. You start by observing – how you are feeling when you express thanks, to noticing your kind words. You just have to start easy, with one interaction a day. 

This meditation accompanies our 1 November and Podcast No 30 on Cultivating Gratitude.  This meditation is called Cultivating Gratitude.  For many of us we say thanks in some form every day – our family or close companions, to our friends, and colleagues. In this meditation, I would like to explore how we might just go a little deeper and add a spoonful of gratitude along the way. Given that science has proved that by practicing gratitude there is also a correlating impact on our relationships, humanity and our brain – it offers us a way to connect on multiple levels. 

This meditation accompanies our 25 October Guide and Podcast No 29 on Braving Trust.  This meditation invites you to float in the ocean, to bring some peace and open your heart as best you can to trust. This is best done in a quiet space either sitting or lying down. 

In this podcast we turn the spotlight to Braving Trust.  Trust is the natural result of tiny actions, words, thoughts and intentions. It does not happen instantly, rather it takes work and is fundamental to success of any kind. Genuine trust yields decreased stress, solid friendships and a legacy. Trust means that you rely on someone else to do the right thing. You believe in the person's integrity and strength, to the extent that you're able to put yourself on the line, at some risk to yourself. It’s the backbone of healthy, happy relationships and it fosters closeness. It’s also important to trust in yourself, trust that your body will work as it should and that you can rely on it.

This meditation accompanies our Catching Joy edition of Mindful Monday 18 October No 28 Guide and the Podcast. Today’s meditation is called Catching joy and it gives you the opportunity to just settle the body and mind whilst bringing to mind any small experiences of pleasantness you experienced in recent days and acknowledge the joy that may have arisen. 

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary “Joy is an emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. It’s a simple and light-hearted spark that transcends through your body and leaves feeling good vibrations. It carries no burden or expectations”. Whereas happiness (also an emotion) is a state of well-being and contentment, a pleasurable or satisfying experience. What each of them means to you though resides with you. Do you know and experience the difference for yourself? Do you recognise happiness more than joy? You can find joy easily in everyday things such as the wagging tail of your dog, or the bud on a flower. Bringing awareness to some of the things you do regularly may heighten your sense of joy. Take a moment and consider what gives you joy. There is a side benefit to joy, in that it is proven to boosts our immune systems, fights stress and pain, and improves our chance of living a longer life? Being joyful could quite literally add years to life. 

This meditation accompanies our Guide and Podcast No 27 on Setting Boundaries.  Today’s meditation is called Managing and respecting boundaries. Something different today, I am including a visual guided meditation to assist you find a way to understand and respect the boundaries of others, and to help define personal boundaries that other people will respect. This is a sitting practice. 

A boundary is a limit defining you in relationship to someone or to something. Boundaries can be physical such as a step away from someone and help you to create more space between you and others where you might feel perhaps safer. They can be emotional, and these help you to identify emotions, feelings, needs and requirements that acknowledge your difference to others. Without boundaries we lose ourselves. Setting and maintaining boundaries might not come naturally and you might feel guilty. But healthy boundaries contribute to your self-care, healthy relationships and greater control over your life. 

This meditation accompanies our 4 October Guide and Podcast No 26 on Understanding burnout.  This meditation is called Understanding burnout. It provides you with the opportunity to  zoom in and out to what is relevant in the present moment. It helps with developing closer awareness to what is occurring in this moment. This meditation can be done anytime and it a good sitting practice. 

Presently there is much talk about burnout – with COVID, uncertainty and juggling work/home/work it’s on the increase. But what exactly is burnout? It is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when one feels overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands. Research has identified some factors that play a major role. These factors are deeply linked to basic emotional needs like belonging, purpose, recognition, and autonomy. In fact, when those needs are not met you may experience stress. When stress is not managed for long periods of time then burnout can occur. It’s a fine line between excessive stress and burnout. 

Spring is coming and for many it means the emergence from the cold days of winter into the warmth and freshness of a new season.  As the weather changes, so does our perspective. Springtime, in particular, is a wonderful time to become more aware of the growth and life that surrounds us, the boost of fresh air and longer hours of daylight can inspire you. The opportunity to clear old habits that no longer serve you, to boost your natural energy and awaken your inner spark as you launch into spring. It’s also an opportunity to nourish your mindfulness practices. 

This meditation accompanies our 30 August Guide and Podcast No 25 on Preparing for Spring.  This meditation is called Connecting with Nature. This meditation offers an opportunity to notice areas of rest in the body to help you relax and renew or to focus on the movement of the breath as it’s our natural place of release. This meditation can be done anytime and it’s a good sitting practice. 

You and I are connected through these words you hear. Whilst you may not agree with them, we’re connected by a shared intention of deepening our understanding in some way. Your mind and my mind are choosing to focus on the same words. Many people have contributed to these words. Through this vast and complex web of connections, we directly and indirectly impact each other, for better or for worse. When we see that our self-interest is intrinsically tied to others, we’re able to connect, reflect, speak our truth, be heard, consider different perspectives, and work together. 

This meditation accompanies our 23 August Guide and Podcast No 24 on Maintaining Connections.  This meditation is called Increasing connection. It will help you develop a deeper sense of connection - to the present moment, yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, and all living beings in the world. This meditation can be done anytime and it’s a good sitting practice. 

We easily recognise our anxiety when it shows up as anxious thoughts or an attack triggered by something. But anxiety is less noticeable when it’s our constant companion, part of our regular thoughts and constant background noise. Then says Judson Brewer, it’s most likely it has become a habit. Anxiety hides in our habits. It hides in our bodies and we learn to disconnect from our feelings through a range of different behaviours. He says that mindfulness and curiosity can help us weed out unhelpful habits and create the space for well-being to flourish. 

This meditation accompanies our 16 August Guide and Podcast No 23 on Working with Anxiety.  This meditation is called Putting space between you and your anxiety and provides the opportunity to create some space around feelings of anxiety so that you can explore the experience directly, bringing curiosity to it calmly and without being carried away by it.