Shannah Kennedy and Lyndall Mitchell are The Essentialists – a duo who work globally to teach mindfulness, life and wellness skills to employees and businesses so they can thrive. They are also the authors of five books, of which their latest is Ignite – 20 Tools to Fire Up Your Life.
Today, Shannah and Lyndall are on the blog to talk about how mastering mindfulness can help you cope with social isolation.
Read on!
Lyndall Mitchell and Shannah Kennedy
Sharpen your awareness
Whilst the world is rapidly changing on a day to day basis at the moment with the global health crisis, to ease our anxiety, fear and loneliness in self isolation, a life skill to focus on and master is the powerful skill called Mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the simplest, clearest, purest train of thought you can have. It is capturing the ability and the discipline of noticing what you are doing, when you are doing it and becoming a master of your mind. Mindfulness has evolved from the age-old Buddhist contemplative practice to an everyday life skill for calm confidence. The actual concept of mindfulness seems quite easy in theory, whereas the actual practice can be a little more challenging – but, like all things, it becomes easier over time. As Socrates so wisely said, “learn and do, learn and do.” Over time, your mindfulness practice can develop to be a part of daily living when you are walking, working, gardening, writing, cooking or just being.
When you were younger, mindfulness came quite naturally – you only have to watch a toddler that becomes absorbed with smelling the flowers or touching the grass. As you get older and have more to think about, staying in the moment becomes more difficult. Have you ever driven your car somewhere and arrived at your destination only to realise you remember nothing about your journey? Most of us have! Research is showing that the average person is on autopilot 47% of the time. Living this way, we often neglect to notice the beauty of life, we are disconnected with what our bodies are telling us and we all too often become stuck in old mindsets. On autopilot, we tend to get lost in ‘doing’ so we find ourselves constantly striving and struggling and ‘getting stuff done’ instead of really living.
Now is the time to focus on this skill, to gain control of our emotions, dull down the fear and find connection again to ourselves and to the nature we can see.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation, but what’s great about it is that you can practice it any time of the day or night, no matter what you’re doing. If we train ourselves to become more aware of the ordinary, life can very quickly become extraordinary. Mindful eating, mindful walking, mindful working, mindful talking, mindful living, extraordinary! This is how we fill our confidence tank with golden moments in life. They are around us every day, all day, and are mostly free. It is our distraction that robs us of the richness in life.
The core of mindfulness and calm confidence is breathing. In life you breathe, but you forget that you are breathing. Conscious breathing is bringing your attention to the in and the out breath. Your body is in one place and your mind often in another, and the one action that will bring alignment back is the breath. It is your faithful friend in any given situation. It will slow you down and can even park that Ferrari racing around in your brain. Mindfulness of the breath is about selecting some part of the breath cycle and paying attention to it as fully as possible. There are many resources you can find to learn to breath and there are many different practices to expand your skills in this area – apps, breathing meditations, audio downloads and many books on the topic. To begin with, just start to notice your breath more regularly. Another powerful way to bring your attention into the moment is to focus on your five senses – your gateway to the present moment.
- Sight
- Sound
- Touch
- Taste
- Smell
They offer us a great place to start and get confident with this life skill. They are available to us at any moment and they have the ability to transport us back into the present moment immediately. Remember that getting off focus is a part of being human, and the more we practise these basics the more we appreciate and can focus on what we have right now, rather than panicking about the world which we cannot control at the moment.
Sensory delights:
- Tasting a good cup of coffee
- Splashing your face with warm water
- Listening to your child giggling
- Relaxing as hot water from the shower hits your back
- Smelling a delicious, rich meal in a slow cooker
- Running your hands through your pet’s fur
- Breathing in the smell of freshly baked cakes or cookies
- Admiring colourful flowers as they come into bloom
- Putting on your old favourite jumper
- Wrapping yourself in a soft blanket
- Being woken by birds chirping in the early hours of the day
- The smell of a fresh morning.
Other Tips for Isolation:
- Write your journal in the morning, what are your thoughts when you wake up
- Trial some meditation before you turn on the news
- Move your body – online classes, stretching
- Limit your news time
- Have a daily plan, a routine and structure to follow
- Finish the day with a gratitude practice by writing down 3 things you are grateful for
We’ll leave you with this wonderful quote:
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
—Ignite by Shannah Kennedy and Lyndall Mitchell (Penguin Books Australia) is out now.
Ignite
20 Tools To Fire Up Your Life
Are you sick of settling for average? Ready to raise the bar? The Essentialists are here to spark you into action.
Ignite is your vital resource if you want to energise your life and upgrade your game. With twenty powerful, practical skills for those in need of zest and inspiration, you’ll learn how to use stress to your advantage, challenge your comfort zone, set hard-hitting goals, find your purpose and much more. So, if you’re ready to empower yourself and optimise your life, it’s time to IGNITE!
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