A Day of Mindfulness

In December 2010, I went through a dreadful time, life seemingly began to unravel and I found myself engrossed in my own negative thoughts. I took the bold move of taking a trip to India alone, where I practiced yoga, meditation as well as worked on personal development. It was the worst time of my life, but also the most liberating and inspiring time.

On my return, I used to struggle in daily life to find time to meditate and to be more mindful. As life progressed, I found less and less time to practice all the valuable tools I had learnt in that magical place and more recently, as a busy mother, this became impossible, resulting in me rushing around, with little consideration for myself and those around me.

Since receiving my Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) diagnosis, I have come to learn more than ever, that I need to slow down the pace and become more aware of the present moment, whilst also acknowledging and accepting my feelings, thoughts and those around me.

Daily mindfulness isn’t about sitting indoors mediating; I choose to take time on my daily walks to exercise this basic, yet essential practice of Mindfulness. I call this my ‘Mindful Walking’ sessions; I believe practicing mindfulness in this particular way, I connect more with my body, as well as nature and those around me.

Yesterday, I captured a few moments from our day; wandering the woods in the morning, under the breezy blue sky, chatting about the world around us and our hopes for the day. In the afternoon, we took our afternoon snack, deep into the woods and lay on a picnic blanket under the rustling trees, and watched the light flickering through the leaves. Our evening walk, as the sun came down, was the perfect time to reflect on our day and unwind with each other and the feathered members of our family to simply enjoy the smallest moments and the magical gifts they had to offer.

Later this week, I will be writing about how ‘Mindful Walking’ has really helped me, my condition and allowed me to find a deeper connection with myself and the world around me.