Our exclusive holistic health expert Lynne Walder who is a Psychotherapist and Personal Development Coach will be giving the best wellness advice and will be teaching us how to live a more balance life. Her insights will enlighten you!
Mindfulness is today’s buzzword, but what does it really mean? Is this just a trend or has it always been around?
These days, the word ‘Mindfulness’ is being used to market anything and everything and grab people’s attention, as it’s seen as the new ‘trendy’ thing. But Mindfulness has been around for over 2000 years; it’s not new. Mindfulness means paying attention and observing. It refers to the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. It’s a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. It is not something you ‘Do’, but something you ‘Are’.
What does “balance” mean?
The real definition of balance is to create a life that aligns with who you really are. The ego (the conscious sense of who we are-our constructed ‘self’) often wishes to invest energy in a certain direction, but the soul has another agenda. When the soul is ignored, then an imbalance occurs. Most people do not look inside of themselves when trying to address balance, and then continue to feel dissatisfied even though they make changes to their life. That is because they only focus on the surface level, looking to their external activities and situations to create balance by changing or altering those things, rather than going to the source (inside).
How can parents practice mindfulness with their children?
Parents first have to become more self-aware in order to practice mindfulness with their children. They have to learn how to respond, rather than react, to their own feelings, their children, and challenging situations. They will be unable to ‘consciously’ parent, instead functioning on auto pilot maybe repeating patterns of the past.
Mindfulness on it’s own is only part of the picture. You then need to know what to do with the awareness that Mindfulness develops, which is where Emotional Intelligence (EQ) comes in. EQ is where the real transformation happens.
Parents can start practicing Mindfulness with their children by having conversations with them about their feelings. They can do breathing exercises with them. At the dinner table they can practice Mindful eating, which gives a more enjoyable experience of eating dinner! They could practice Mindful walking.
For more information about Lynne and her practice: polkadotcoaching.co.nz