Many of us don’t realize the strong connection our mind and body have to each other and their contribution to our overall health and wellbeing. Our thoughts, feelings and behavioural can either make us stronger or cause both physical and mental ailments.
The first step in becoming more mindful is becoming more aware of how our body responds to stress. This means simply getting curious about the sensations we are feeling without judgement. My belief as a coach is the stronger the physical sensation in one’s body the stronger the triggers are for that person and it’s important in these situations to take a step back and breath rather than becoming reactive and impulsive.
The second step in becoming more mindful is to monitor our self-talk. We might not be able to change how we feel in the moment, but we can change what we are saying to ourselves. By being kind to ourselves in these moments we can decrease the overall mental and physical response in our mind and body and reduce the chance of illness and disease.
In coaching, we explore and implement techniques to help identify how our moods, emotions and thoughts are contributing to our physiological responses. We then implement daily techniques to help combat the negative effects. Some of the techniques we explore are breathwork, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, exercise, nutrition, sleep, and gratitude.
With daily mindfulness practice, we can develop new neuropathways that increase health and well-being that can help us stay strong and healthy to live life to the fullest.