It was possibly the best festive season I have had for a while. I didn’t drink too much, I did eat far too many chocolates but I managed to meditate everyday even though surrounded by family and merriment. I felt like it’s now so embedded in me – to meditate everyday – that remembering it was no longer an issue and amidst all the mayhem of Christmas I loved my 15 minutes of peace that I carved out for myself each day. It has inspired me to attempt to get a course running in Muswell Hill – I have a venue in mind, have ordered flyers so watch this space for more news! Today’s total practice time: 15 minutes
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Tuesday 17th December 2013
This has gone from being a daily blog to being a weekly blog to being a sporadic blog. Life as always gets in the way but despite the absence of a post for 3 weeks the practice has been going well. Everyday I do something between 10-30 minutes. Today I have a poorly child at home so it is unlikely to reach more than 20 minutes today but the most interesting thing is how I feel. Usually at Christmas I feel busy and slightly stressed but this year I feel relaxed, excited, happy. I have done all that needs to be done bar wrapping gifts and a bit of food shopping. And socially I have been cautious about saying yes to every invite that comes my way and with the exception of one boozy mums’ night out I have stayed pretty sober throughout. So a relaxed, healthy and mindful Christmas! Today’s total practice time: 20 minutes
Sunday 24th November 2013
I went to an all day silent retreat. It was good to be there and meditate (and eat and walk and sit) in silence. So good and nourishing. Just what I needed before the Christmas mayhem ensues. I almost didn’t go as there are engineering works at the weekends and so my journey to London is currently 5 hours round trip. Would it be worth it? It was. The chairs were uncomfortable and the teacher did too much sitting practice and not enough movement and no lying meditations, which I have to admit (coupled with my 5 hrs travel time) made it a rather uncomfortable day. But it was still so good to do and has renewed and reminded me why I want to teach mindfulness myself. This morning I even meditated with both my kids – something I have been meaning to do since summer but somehow it slipped off the list. Feeling very connected. Total practice time yesterday:6 hours (oh yes!) Total practice time today: 30 minutes (back to normal!)
Friday 22nd November 2013
Work has been all consuming, there have been observations, paperwork and too many deadlines. I have kept up with my practice through out but not the blog. Today I managed a proper session of yoga and a full body scan meditation – it’s been ages since I have done a full 40 minute session. My practice, though daily, has been squeezed in on trains and in between chores. Tomorrow I have an all day silent retreat, I cannot wait I really need a full day of calm! Total practice time today: 40 minutes
Sunday 3rd November 2013
Half term! It’s always hard finding the time to meditate during half term. I did manage to do something everyday but on some days it was literally just a 3 minute breathing space on waking up. I might top up through the day and I also did a lot of walking meditations as we walked from A to B but even this is punctuated with interruptions when accompanying two small kids anywhere. One morning even my breathing space was interrupted as the kids decided they wanted to get dressed next to me. The eldest kept asking mummy are you meditating. Yes I would have to say, breaking my peace. Today the have had a sleep over at nana’s so I can squeeze a solid 30 minutes in between DIY projects and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. Today’s total practice time: 30 minutes
Saturday 26th October 2013
Half term looms and yesterday was a taste of the week to come. I took the kids up to a museum in London thanks to an inset day and it was full on fun with no time for meditating. Thursday was better I clocked up about 30 minutes. I now try to do a ten minute meditation on rising as that is one of the best times to squeeze in a quick bit of practice. Today I managed yoga followed by a 30 minute body scan. Today’s practice time: 30 minutes
Wednesday 23rd October 2013
After a rather slack weekend on the meditation front (I managed to clock up about 20 minutes in total for no particular reason other than busyness and forgetfulness in equal measure) I have been making up for it this week. I managed to do 25 minutes on Monday, mainly on trains. I did a twenty minute sitting meditation yesterday and a walking meditation. And today I did twenty minutes on the train and a ten minute walking meditation. Today’s total practice time: 30 minutes
Friday 18th October 2013
It’s been a good week, productive, busy and also meeting up with old friends. I have also felt exhausted as a result! I did 20 minutes practice on Sunday, at home. Monday and Wednesday I practised on the train and then did a walking meditation, probably 20 minutes both days. Tuesday I remembered to meditate before picking up the kids, which is a really nice time to meditate. Quite literally the calm before the storm. Thursday I was not so good at remembering, I did nothing at all yesterday! Today I did my 3 minute breathing space, walked mindfully to my allotment and then decided to meditate for 20 minutes while the house is quiet. I will try and do another 10 minutes before picking the kids up, if I remember. Total practice time today: 30 minutes
Tuesday 1st October 2013
Trying to organise the new course is more time consuming than I first thought it would be. I have tweaked my flyers and posters, I have been contacting different places to advertise but guess what? That has been squeezing out my practice time. Saturday 29/09/13 I did a body scan first thing in the morning for 30 minutes. Sunday 30/09/13 I went into London and only managed 10 minutes on the train, ditto yesterday. I started today with a 3 minute breathing space which always really sets the day off well but I need to remember to make time for something more substantial later on.
Tuesday 24th September 2013
The flyers for my new course finally arrived on Saturday so today I was distributing them in and around CB1 in Cambridge. People were so lovely about displaying flyers, I really could not have asked for more – the sun was shining and I felt optimistic about filling up this new course. I did a 3 minute breathing space when I woke up and then did twenty minutes sitting meditation on the train back home. I also did a walking meditation from the station to mine which takes about 10 minutes. Total practice time: 30 minutes
this mindful life 