By Janice Croze
46 today. I am still here, baby. I have more pounds and wrinkles than I want. But I am still here — and I will never be as young as I am today!
My dad died when he was 56 of a brain aneurism and his dad died at 42 of a brain aneurism.
My dad was always sure he would die young – the age his dad died a marker he couldn’t ignore.
Just as my dad did, I can’t ignore the marker of my father’s early death.
56.
Only ten years older than I am.
Happy International Self-Care Day!
And I couldn’t think of a better day to discuss mindfulness than on this day. After all, mindfulness (a form of meditation), is indeed a form self-care.
Mindfulness has almost become THE word of 2019. But what is it, and does it work?
Well it does, and as a yoga instructor and life coach, this morning I shared some mindfulness exercises you can teach your children to help them feel calm when they feel stressed or anxious. What we teach our kids now, become their tools for life.
Simply put, mindfulness is bringing your awareness and breath and attention to the present moment and your surroundings, allowing thoughts to come and pass without judgement.
What would make a difference inside you?
The Practice:
Grow Inner Strengths.
Why?
I’ve hiked a lot and have often had to depend on what was in my pack. Inner strengths are the supplies you’ve got in your pack as you make your way down the twisting and often hard road of life. They include a positive mood, common sense, integrity, inner peace, determination, and a warm heart. Researchers have identified other strengths as well, such as self-compassion, secure attachment, emotional intelligence, learned optimism, the relaxation response, self-esteem, distress tolerance, self-regulation, resilience, and executive functions. I’m using the word strength broadly to include positive feelings such as calm, contentment, and caring, as well as skills, useful perspectives and inclinations, and embodied qualities such as vitality or relaxation. Unlike fleeting mental states, inner strengths are stable traits, an enduring source of well-being, wise and effective action, and contributions to others.
Growing up, every time I’d leave the house for an exam, and even today, among many other things, my mom would always tell me, “Don’t forget to breathe!” Probably because during exam days, I was usually on the verge of a breakdown and too stressed out to relax and take a deep breath. Back in the day, I used to laugh it off, because honestly it felt like a joke. I’d roll my eyes as it sounded so unbelievably clichéd.
However, one day, while sitting down during my Introduction to Political Science exam, I actually followed her supposedly funny and mainstream advice and set out time for “breathing.” Every once in a while during the exam, I would put my pen down and follow a systematic breathe-in-breathe-out pattern. While a few students around me did look at me in a funny way, I continued with my breathing exercise, so I could go home and tell my mom how weird and impractical her advice was.
I help busy women (like you!) prioritize self-care so you can experience less stress, more calm and greater joy every day!
