[12 Mindful Days] Day 3: Turn Off Your Phone
Today's challenge is to shut off your phone, close your laptop and turn off the TV.
For 30 minutes, just be. Enjoy the company of a loved one. Drink a cup of tea. Cuddle with your pup. Whatever you’re doing, be present.
If this sounds simple it’s because it is. Generally, mindfulness is simple. It makes sense. But that doesn’t make it easy.
It’s not easy until it becomes a habit. But mindfulness is such a wonderful habit. So much better than the habits many of us have formed.
Like what?
We’re used to running around with our orbs of stress surrounding us. We’re used to turning to our cell phones for distraction to fill any space of downtime. We’ve made a habit of numbing any silence with technology, avoiding being alone with our thoughts and experiences.
You don’t have to be Buddha to start practicing mindfulness. It’s like when people say, “I can’t do yoga because I’m not flexible.” NEWSFLASH: That’s WHY you practice yoga!
30 minutes. Turn off that phone. You can do it.
Namaste.
12 Mindful Days Challenges
There’s more to Christmas than to-do lists — a fact that’s easily forgotten. Today's challenge is to remember what Christmas means to you.
Use what may seem like a chore — wrapping a gift — as a mindfulness exercise. BONUS: This also turns into a gratitude practice.
Sometimes we go through our yoga poses — asana — without mindfulness. We’re thinking about our to-do list we need to tackle after our practice. Or we skipped our practice all together because we simply “don’t have time.”
We set high expectations, as if there’s a certain way things “should” be. Because it’s “tradition,” because it’s what your Mom did or maybe because you saw it on Pinterest. And then things go wrong.
When you're checking out at the store, do you really pay attention to the sales clerk? Or are you playing on your phone or watching your tab add up?
Today's challenge: Practice an attitude of gratitude ALL DAY. Especially in those moments you feel negative thoughts creep in.
The last 12 Mindful Days challenge is to go outside and look up. Consider these thoughts as you gaze into the vastness of the sky.