Meditation is at the heart of my self-care. It brings me peace and stillness, whatever turbulence may be happening outside or within. It grounds and settles me. It is key to my symptom management. It enables me to tune into my needs and it informs all other aspects of my self-care routine.
Whilst I have been unwell, my formal practice has wavered. That said, I have still been including elements of mindfulness, drawing upon ideas from my toolbox. I followed short, guided meditations when my attention span was poor. I included mini mindful moments, following a few breaths, doing short body scans, creating mental gratitude and treasure of pleasure lists, noticing what each of my senses brought to my awareness. As I enjoy returning to a deeper practice, I’ve been reminded how important it is to be flexible in my approach to meditation and to have a variety of practices in my toolbox.
Thank you – I am really enjoying your blog, and am following the week of self care blogs with interest- I love the idea of self soothing. I also love the blog about the walking meditation.
I too have found long stretches of meditation hard to do in relapse ( I have ME and chronic pain)….but am feeling called back to a firmer practice at the moment. Fingers crossed it will stick…although I feel keen to avoid telling myself that I ‘ should do it’ if I am in a lot of pain!
Keep blogging and sharing your journey.