I thought I would start off the New Year with a simple post about something that I feel is important to all of our health and well being, our mental health also known as mindfulness or being mindfull in your life.
I wanted to discuss the practice of what in modern terms has been called, “Mind-fullness” which is really just being aware and observing the thoughts, images, feelings, and general mental state you are in.
There is a great little quote, that I am not quite sure who is the person responsible for coming up with it, but it goes like this:
“The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift—that’s why they call it ‘the present’”
For many of us, being mindful might mean taking a back seat to your life as you observe your thoughts and emotions, but is really more than that.
It’s about being an active participant in choosing to not just jump on every passing and fleeting idea that your mind can conjure up. The mind runs at an incredible speed and if we try to keep up with it it might actually be detrimental.
detri (Latin) = to wear away
mental = mind
So essentially wear away of your mind.
With the onslaught of so much information from so many sources, like social media, news, YouTube, etc. it can all be so daunting. But with the daily use of meditation it can seem less overwhelming.
I want to state that I am in no way an expert in meditation, in fact, I am a bit taken back when people pay big bucks to learn from some so-called meditation “guru”.
Meditation is a personal experience and really has nothing to do with spirituality although many spiritual traditions incorporate this tool into their practice it does not mean it is religious nor spiritual.
I have meditated off an on for some 30 years and as I stated before I am no expert.
I use it as a tool to do as the late great self-help and business philosopher, Zig Ziglar, likes to call it, ” a check up from the neck up.”
In calisthenics, we are sometimes so focused on the physical that we sometimes can negate and even avoid caring for the mental and emotional components of our health and well-being.
I implore you to take a look at mindfulness and the practice of meditation.
There are many forms and although I have not tried them all, I can say that like anything in life it comes down to finding the one the works best for you.
To learn more about the benefits and how I meditate you can check out a past post I wrote:
https://www.calisthenicsmag.com/real-benefits-meditation/
In fairness, I believe in keeping it simple.
If you want to meditate just stop what you are doing, however please do not try this when driving or operating any type of machinery.
Close your eyes, because by closing ones’ eyes you eliminate some 70% of external stimuli, and just focus on your breath.
If it is loud or noisy where you at, then take your hands and place them gently on your diaphragm, between your navel and your chest.
Just observe as your hands rise and fall, with each inhalation and exhalation.
The amount of time you do this for is not important. What is important is that you are now focused on the present. For many of us this is how we feel when we practice calisthenics.
No thoughts of the past, or things that we have to do in the future. We are in the now.
I hope this post helps.
And I wish you a Happy New Year.
