I have great intentions of setting time up for myself to meditate or journal or stretch. Yet, those intentions fall into spiralling negative guilt patterns when they’re not achieved.
Then, I discovered I can take 30 seconds a day to reset myself. Sometimes, I’d come home from work with a headache or stomach pains because I’d stopped breathing while typing away at the computer. It was becoming more obvious that I needed to change my approach. This is when my workmate taught me how to take deep breaths in through my nose and out through my nose and mindfully drink a cuppa.
Learning to savour a cup of tea
The practice of savouring the taste and feeling the warm tea sliding down my throat was novel at first. It felt weird. I kept looking at my workmate as she truly enjoyed every sip of her tea and it looked wonderful. I wanted that wonder and to let go of all the deadlines I had, even if it was for only five minutes.
Thirty seconds of laughter
My workmate gave me a gift. When I was taught laughter yoga, nugget of gold was the permission to laugh for no reason for 30 seconds at anytime during the day. It’s changed how I approach life.
Every time I see a stressful bill or have big deadlines or decisions. I just let the laughter rip. My whole body fills up with bubbles of excitement. It’s a mindfulness that I’m ok and that worry only creates more worry so I’m going to do the opposite and convince my mind that I’m relaxed. I create mindfulness all throughout my day. These days I have the most hilarious cups of tea with myself. To call my morning break enjoyable is an understatement.
Try it yourself
Isn’t it time to take a break from our mind?
I invite you to make a cuppa. Take a deep breath. Sip your tea. Smile. Laugh for 30 seconds and enjoy every sip of your cuppa this way. Every cell in your body will thank you.
If you would like support to build small practices like this into a week that feels too full, that is part of what we work on in counselling.
Start with a free 20-minute call if you would like to talk it through.