During my wild teenage years I spent some time on the road, bumbling from town to town in a Skoda hatchback as a charity fundraiser. I met some weirdly wonderful people along the way and the majority of our time was spent on the road spreading the word of which ever charity we were assigned to that week. However our down time was spent having wild house parties and I spent two years either drunk or nursing a hangover. One week we were based in a small town called Easingworld. We we're renting a chocolate box cottage and at first my team for the week seemed, well let's just say, boring! Two were vegans who didn't drink and the other was old enough to be my grandad. Who was I meant to party with? That week ended up opening my mind and allowed me to look deep within myself. I learnt so much about letting go and for the first time ever I was able to empty my mind. I kept it up intermittently but never made it a religious part of my daily routine.
Self care is essential to living with fibromyalgia, knowing my triggers and pacing myself can be difficult as a single parent of a very excitable wild adventuring toddler. I decided to give myself just ten minutes a day. Hedd is now sleeping through the night and will wake up anywhere between 6 or 7am. He's happy playing in his cot for a while so as soon as I open my eyes I have a quick stretch, get myself comfy and allow just ten minutes of calm. I say my daily affirmation out loud a few times and switch off my brain. Some mornings I end up going longer but on those days when I'm busy or we get up late I notice a huge difference in my mood and patience.
The great thing about mindfulness is you can practice it anywhere. At first I thought you had to be sat crosslegged (please excuse the stereotypical picture that accompanies this post) with whale music playing in the background, but once you've got it you can literally practice it anywhere. On the train/bus to work, on your lunch break or even in the car when your little one decides to have a danger nap and there's no way your going to attempt to move a sleeping baby.
There are some great apps out there with guided meditations to get you started and if you're looking for something a bit longer Spotify have easy to follow guided meditations on their 'words' section.
Do you practice mindfulness? Any tips? Let me know below.
Laurie Rose
