Take Care of Yourself Amid Busy Days
"How’s your day?” A response to this simple question could be very different, depending on the person asking the question. It could be a simple "alright” when responding to acquaintances. On the contrary, it could become a long conversation if this comes from a close friend or a family member.
Have you ever asked yourself this question? Most of the time we wish to receive the love and care from our loved ones, yet there are times that we should care more about our own feelings.
Challenges from everyday life have been chasing us, forcing us to run from one agenda to another without any pause. Our schedule has always been full of various tasks, meetings and tasks at work, or cooking and cleaning at home. It's even busier for parents as they need to spend extra time on their kids’ schoolwork. A few hours on the bed is the only time slot that we can rest. We have lost not only the time to rest or being with family or friends, but also the time to get along with ourselves.
Some may say: I eat, travel and watch TV alone every day, I’ve got plenty of time being alone. However most of our alone time is occupied by drinks, TV dramas or other entertainment that can be found from the mobile phone. Getting along with yourself means having a quiet time to immerse yourself with your own thoughts, emotions and body reactions, and try to figure out how did the feelings come from: be the pain caused by tiredness, the anger after receiving criticisms at work, the joy from seeing old friends, or the pride from being praised. We often ignore our feelings and simply focus on the outcomes.
Here comes another question: Why should I care about my negative emotions too? Truth is, good or bad, it is what makes what we are now. Getting along with yourself also means being attentive, curious and tolerant to your own feelings. This helps us understand ourselves better and pay attention to what we need. A mindfulness exercise is the practice for us to get along with ourselves.
The exercise allows us to observe every moment of our life, be mindful of the emotions and the body reactions. Be relaxed and follow your true feelings, do not judge or resist. You are recommended to spend three minutes every day for a mindfulness exercise and take better care of yourself.
Let’s try to be mindful of your own feelings, by asking yourself: How’s my day?
3-Minute Breathing Exercises below：
1. To observe the moment
What are your feelings from head to toes?
What are the emotions you are having right now?
What kind of idea is floating in your mind?
(Any feelings about your body, emotions and thoughts are permitted. What we need to do is to simply realize their existence.)
2. Gradually move the focus of attention to the rhythm of your breath, including the ups and downs of your chest. Just let it go freely.
(Remark: mindfulness only requires natural breathing and not deep breath)
3. Extend your breath to the whole body. This requires full body movement to synchronize with the tempo of your breath.
Mindfulness needs practice and cannot be understood through words only. If you are really interested in mindfulness, you are welcome to: