Connecting Your Mind & Body

When you travel alone you have all the time in the world to be with yourself, enjoying your thoughts, stopping and feeling comfortable with the silence. No responsibility of being here, going there or what you "should" be doing or thinking. It's not our fault life gets noisy and busy, it's easier for our brain to conserve energy and not think, go with the flow of what's around us. We just do, we get on with it. But every person you speak to is bewildered "Where has the last month/year gone?" It’s because our mind is way ahead of our body and not connected to one another.

That has been me, especially for the last 2 years. Time has just gotten away from me. Don't get me wrong, I love my busy, full of energy life BUT I need to make my time feel more precious and learn how to slow down. I need to make the calm and the crazy work together, like the yin to the yang.

I haven't been listening to my inner voice, my passion, my dreams. I've been so exhausted that all my energy has just been to survive, get through. So traveling alone for 2 weeks has been a breath of fresh air for my mind and soul. My mind has been able to think, dig deep and really ask "What do I want?" My soul, well that's simple, I've made choices each day that make my soul smile.

I know we can't all whisk ourselves away to an island every few weeks, sit on a beach for hours on end and find our calm. If you can well then I high five you! But for most of us we have to think outside the square when finding the calm within the crazy and making them work fluidly.

So my thought of the day... plan time to switch off (yes that's your phone, tv, anything electronic) and enjoy your own company. Sit or lay somewhere you won't be disturbed. It needs to be like brushing your teeth or taking a shower, we do it everyday as it's a habit. Here you are just creating a new one. It just takes a conscious effort to do it. Set an alarm on your phone if you need to!

So for 15min each evening I'm going to do the following:
* Switch off
* Close my eyes
* Deep breathe in and out of my nose
* Be still
* No interruptions
* Nothing but my body and mind connecting as one

Try it for yourself!
Yes, thoughts will pop in to your mind, acknowledge them, then shelve them. They don't need to be thought about or actioned in the next 15min. I find a few of these sayings really helpful when centering myself. I say them over and over again so that is the only thought in my head:
Breathe in, breathe out.
Be here, be now
Be still, be calm
It can be anything that works for you. Another option is meditation music or nature sounds. 

I challenge whoever is reading this too also try and put the above into their daily routine. Comment below after a week of practice and let me know how you feel and any changes you have noticed.

The biggest thing I've noticed is I'm slowing down and feeling calmer. Big tick!