If you could close your eyes AND read this at the same time that would be awesome, but since you can't, read below and then take a few seconds to close your eyes and imagine. Go on, trust me, this will just take a few seconds.
Close your eyes and imagine a beautiful yellow lemon. Imagine the texture of the smooth, dimpled, outer skin. Now imagine the lemon has been cut in half and you can see the lemon juice dripping from the pulpy interior and the small, pale, slippery seeds. Can you smell the lemon? Can you imagine what it's like to bite into it. Did your mouth actually react to the taste? Okay, open your eyes?
Have you tried eating mindfully lately? So the above visualization illustrates the SENSORY EXPERIENCE of eating without the distractions of our cell phones, small screens, radios, magazines, or televisions. We tend to chew more when we're not DISTRACTED (and we know the mouth plays and important role in digestion), and we also tend to eat LESS because we're MINDFUL of what's going in. Oh, and mindful eating doesn't require you to close your eyes-just tune in to the colour, smell, texture, sound and taste.
If you're not already doing it, try to mindfully eat at least one meal a day a see if it reinforces the idea that food is a gift to your body.
Teach Children How To Manage Stress
Calling all teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, friends and adults who spend time with children, including when you're out in public and are around children you don't know...
Do a quick check of your stress energy and notice how you manage it. Children and babies are very observant. They keenly sense energy, even if they can't verbalize or process the thoughts around it.
Give Children Tools
Let children see, and model, your DE-stressing techniques. Allow them to see the balanced version of you-how you get to your calm place. Maybe you take a deep breath, move more slowly, sit quietly, breathe calmly, write a list, walk in nature, listen to music, sing, dance, meditate, play and instrument, or even stretch out on the floor.
Life will happen and those young eyes notice everything, so the next time you're running late and you've spilled something on yourself as you head out the door, bring your re-actions down a notch and let your cooler head prevail. Let's offer up a mindful approach to life so we can build up a resilient next generation.