We hear the phrase mindful pretty often these days, simply put it means being completely aware of what you are doing in the moment. The quote from Lao Tzu explains it perfectly:

Staying in the moment keeps us grounded and present, as much as we all love to think of the bigger picture, it is much less overwhelming to take small steps and to thoroughly complete each task as it comes up. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have an idea of what your future goals and ambitions are, just that your focus should be one small step at a time. Slow and steady!

In Creative Yoga classes I am always hearing myself saying, let go of what happened earlier, don’t think about what what’s going to happen later, just enjoy now. We encourage children to let go of any future events, to let go of any past events and just be happy with being in class there and then.

One aspect of Yoga is breathing – known as pranayama in Sanskrit – our breath directly relates to how we are feeling, we can use it as a tool to asses how we feel or as a tool to change how we feel, it is also something we take for granted. An automatic thing our body does without a second thought! What a powerful tool you receive when you practice mindful breathing, this article from psychcentral.com has some lovely advice and practices which a certainly worth a try. I love how she mentions that parents should practice mindfulness themselves! Our children are like sponges, who soak up everything we do. If they see you love it, they will certainly love it too!

Stay Blissful

Namaste

Anja