A really good read from the founder of Mindfulness...

A few weeks ago, I was staying in an airbnb in London. We'd just sold our flat and were not yet able to move into our rental. Realising I'd just left my home/neighborhood of the last 3 years and would have three different moves before settling into our new home, I was feeling all out of sorts and anxious.

This book happened to be on the bookshelf of the Airbnb, and it was like it was meant to be. As a yoga teacher, I've been incorporating mindfulness into my daily life for a couple years now, but we all sometimes need reminders, and we can certainly always gain greater knowledge of a subject. I found myself reading it in one go, and I felt instantly better.

This is not to say I didn't still feel disoriented, but it was a reminder that life is full of ups and downs, times of disorientation, times of stability, et cetera. I was able to accept the disoriented/out of place/out of schedule/anxious feelings without trying to "fix" or "escape" from them. I slowed down and noticed what I was experiencing in the present moment and was able to take a step back from my thoughts & emotions without becoming engulfed by them. This made everything so much more manageable.

Mindfulness is a holistic tool I recommend to almost everyone. If you've ever thought about getting to know the practice of mindfulness better, this is an easy pick up/put down book with concise writing and manageable tips for incorporating mindfulness and small changes into daily life. I struggle using mindfulness apps (everyone's 1st go-to, it seems); they just don't seem to resonate with me; perhaps because I'm a visual and kinesthetic learner, rather than aural. This book is a tangible and concrete guide on ways to work mindfulness into YOUR life and your schedule.

Mindfulness doesn't have to mean two 40 minute sessions a day of sitting in stillness. I find happiness from sitting on a bench and listening to the leaves rustle or feeling the texture of the grass rather than scrolling on my phone and/or letting my thoughts dominate the moment. THIS is mindfulness... choosing to replace 30 seconds of our (insert: busy, scattered, overwhelmed, scary, anxious, sad, angry, etc) thoughts with 30 seconds of the actual present moment. These 30 seconds can add up to a big difference over time.