Creating space
“Stay present, stay conscious. Be the ever alert guardian of your inner space.” Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle speaks about this on a number of his You Tube talks and in his books. Finding a gap or pause or space between things in the day to return to the self. A form of mindfulness or as Eckhart Tolle puts it being less in the mind chatter and becoming empty of past and future worries by being truly present. I try to do this each day to manage my anxiety. It takes me out of fight and flight mode. Without small space moments in my day I find my day runs me and after a few weeks of this I will hit burnout. This is how I find space in my day:
Get up early:
Lately its been as simple as setting my alarm clock a half hour earlier to have a cup of tea in silence before the rest of the house wakes up. If I’ve time I’ll stretch or meditate. My ultimate goal is to create a morning routine of yoga and meditation and this is a work in progress for me. See my blog post on this: Yoga and a morning routine — YogaSpace
Turn off the noise:
I’ve been driving to work with my radio off. Prompted by too much Covid talk on the radio, I switched first to audiobooks. Now, I drive in silence and its been so interesting to watch myself in this space. When my mind wanders to my worries or to do lists I bring myself back to my senses. The feeling of my hands on the steering wheel, the sounds outside with the window slightly open, the sight of the local scenery. I have a 30 minute commute and regularly I would get to the half way point and not even remember how I got that far. I’m so full of monkey mind that I’m not present.
Take social media breaks:
We all know about the addictive and anxiety inducing nature of social media. The dopamine hits as we scroll mindlessly and watch the likes on our posts. The sinking feeling when we realise how long we’ve been scrolling without really being aware. I left Facebook for a couple of years, Instagram for about a year and eventually Whatsapp for a few months. My relationship with social media completely changed after this. Now I use it and try to not let it use me. I take regular breaks. An acquaintance asked how I kept in touch with people when I left them all especially Whatsapp. I picked up the phone and called my friends. I heard their voices. It was wonderful to really connect again properly without the wall of social media between my friends and I.
Find gaps in the busy rush of life:
Gaps for me involve a drink of water and a few breaths between patients at work. It takes me out of my intellectual/figuring it out mode and brings me back to a quiet moment in myself before I bring in my next patient. Better for them and better for me. A clean slate. In that way I find my day doesn’t run one thing into the other. I’ve been trying to go for a walk, or a dip in the sea or to have a cup of tea before I pick up my children. This helps me to separate my work day from my family time. Some days I don’t have time so I pause and belly breathe for a few minutes before I get out of the car to pick them up. See my post on the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing: Breath Space — YogaSpace
Meditate:
Even 10 minutes a day will help. If I’m really struggling to get myself to sit down to mediate I will focus on the sound of my breath as it goes in and out. This quiets my mind chatter whilst allowing me to focus on something. Daily meditation will carry over into the rest of the day. Meditating can result in a person becoming less reactive and more likely to pause first to breathe and come back to the senses and to the self before choosing what to do next.
Eckhart Tolle says it best: How to Keep Yourself From Complaining All the Time | Eckhart Tolle Teachings - YouTube
