Tight Spots

Instructions for "Tight Spots"

1. Pause and take 3 mindful belly breaths.
2. Bring your attention to your forehead - is it relaxed? Or is it scrunched and tight? If it's tight, direct the breath into the tension and visualise it soften a little with each breath.
3. Bring your attention to your shoulders - are they relaxed? Or are they tight? If they're tight, direct the breath into the tension and visualise it soften a little with each breath.
4. Bring your attention to your belly - is it relaxed or is there tension? If there is tension, direct the breath into the tension and visualise it soften a little with each breath. Let the tension go.
5. After one minute, or longer if you have it, resume your day.

We are entering a busy time of year, I have noticed the traffic in Galway begin to increase this past week, as well as the queues in the shops! Being stuck in traffic, or standing in a queue, are great opportunities to practice mindfulness and let a little stress go. It's not serving you, it never makes your day better, so let it go. 
Set a reminder to do this practice several times a day wherever you are, and you'll notice the benefits.
Remember, the more often you do it, the more natural it will be come, and you will find your stress diminish over time, and your mindful calm increase.

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"...the brain changes physically in response to experience, and new mental skills can be acquired with intentional effort, with focused awareness and concentration. Experience activates neural firing, which in turn leads to the production of proteins that enable new connections to be made among neutrons, in the process called neuroplasticity." Daniel Siegel

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