Page 85 - Natural Health (February 2020)

SELF

make you most happy. Walk in the woods,
curl up in front of the fire with a good book, MICRO PAUSE 10
paint, dance, spend time with friends or – follow your breath
simply do nothing. Essentially your qi (your inner energy
Breathing flow) will go where your mind goes.
MICRO PAUSE SEVEN
reconnects you – prepare the night before The more you can train your mind to
be still and allow yourself to go into
to your body, Create a more relaxed morning by taking stillness, the more you can keep your
10 minutes before bed preparing what you qi moving in your body. The aim of
reduces anxiety need for the next day. Soak some breakfast the exercise is to complete 10 cycles
and allows you to oats, prepare your coffee, set out your of breath, and maintain total focus
supplements, pack your lunch, lay out on the breath for those cycles.
come back to the your clothes, charge your phone and have
■ You can do this standing or sitting
here and now your keys somewhere that you can find and with your eyes open or closed, as
them easily.
the situation dictates.
MICRO PAUSE EIGHT Allow your spine to be straight and
– Book in ‘white space’ your head to rest gently on your
shoulders with your chin lifted slightly.
If you find you spend your days rushing from
Let go of your shoulders and stomach
one thing to the next with no space to pause,
so they relax.
it’s time to rethink how you manage your
diary. Block out ‘white space’ – time in your ■ Slowly take a breath in through your
diary with nothing scheduled. This could nose and follow it as it travels up over
be at weekends when you don’t make any your forehead and over the crown of
social commitments, or at work where you your head, down through your neck
leave yourself white space at the beginning and all the way down your spine.
of your day, between meetings, at lunchtime ■ Let the breath fill your belly and
or on Friday afternoons. Space between travel up through your chest, then
meetings is particularly beneficial – your exhale gently through your mouth
brain and body aren’t designed to jam too as if you were blowing out a candle.
much information in each day. When you
■ Then shake your body off gently
have white space scheduled it’s entirely up
and notice how you feel, that was the
to you how you use it – for creative thinking,
practice cycle.
planning your next week or prepping for
■ As you repeat the cycle, you may
an important meeting. The idea is that it’s
notice a pause between your inhale
your time.
right down into your belly, exhaling gently and exhale. Don’t worry about this gap
through your mouth. Repeat this three times – it’s important because it’s the space
MICRO PAUSE NINE
(or more) to rebalance. where your qi rises.
– practise standing meditation
■ To get started, find a place where you ■ When you finish your cycles, take
MICRO PAUSE FIVE some time to sit or stand and notice
– gather your gratitude can stand undisturbed for five minutes.
■ Stand with your legs hip-width apart. your body. Be aware of the experience
Find yourself a special box, tin or jar. It
■ Ground yourself down through your legs, you are having.
can be beautiful or practical, big or small.
placing two-thirds of your weight on the balls
Whatever feels right for you. Over the
of your feet. Tip your sacrum under, keeping
course of a year, add little notes every time
your spine straight and your arms relaxed
something happens that you’re grateful for –
by your side. Breathe deeply down into
anything that is memorable, makes you smile
your abdomen and let yourself relax fully as
or warms your heart. In 12 months’ time,
you stand. You will know you are doing it
you will have a gorgeous gift to open and properly when you can stand with no tension
reflect on all those precious moments that in your body.
make up your year. ■ Stand like this for five minutes to start
with. As you get stronger and your mind BOOKshelf
MICRO PAUSE SIX becomes stiller you will be able to stand for
– gift yourself time longer periods. Build up by five minutes at Extracted from Pause
This one requires more time but is totally a time. If you have access to a garden or a by Danielle North
worth it. Every now and then, give yourself park, doing this meditation while standing (Aster, £16.99)
a guilt-free day off. Plan to do the things that barefoot on the grass will add to its power.
NATURAL HEALTH 85