In this busy world, it’s often difficult to take stock of all the good we have in our lives. We rarely give ourselves credit for our achievements. People are always striving for the next “big thing”. And, as such, it is easy to get carried away by this momentum and believe, without really giving it much thought, that enough is never actually enough.

It might be helpful to remember that what we have today is what we were once striving for and dreaming about. Continually striving for more without really taking stock of what you already have can be problematic, so for today I’m going to suggest we take stock and extend a little kindness towards ourselves for our actions thus far, which have led us to a place where we have so much to be grateful for.

Physical Exercise

Once again, we can do this exercise sitting down with our knees touching. With our shoulders rolled back and keeping our gaze facing forward, we’re going to bring our right palm to the outside of our left knee and our left arm behind our seat/chair. Inhale, and as we exhale we’re going to concentrate on rotating our tummy towards the left, keeping our eyes facing forward. Take another inhale and on the second exhale we’re going to concentrate on rotating our ribcage and chest to the left. Finally inhale for the third time and on the third exhale, we’re rotating our shoulders, head and neck to the left. Then we’re taking three breaths here, before coming back to the centre and doing the same sequence on the right-hand side.

So, place the palm of your left hand on the outside of your right knee and your right arm behind your seat/chair. Rotate in three stages on the exhale as before: first tummy, then ribcage, then shoulders, neck and head to the right. Hold and take three breaths while looking over your right shoulder.

This exercise can help ease lower back pain and aid digestion also. The golden rule as always though is if it feels good, keep doing it; if it doesn’t feel good, stop.

Mindfulness Exercise

As we’re thinking about all the good stuff we have in our lives, I’m going to suggest that for one entire day as you go about your normal daily routine you take note of all the things you are happy to have. You might think how much more difficult it would be if you didn’t have certain things at your disposal/people in your life. You don’t have to tell anyone what you are doing, you can just make a mental note of what is good in your life and if you can make the time to write them down, you might be very pleasantly surprised at how long your list is.

In continuation of being kind towards ourselves, you might say quietly to yourself, three times: “May I be happy, may I be healthy.” You might also consider during the days of this week extending that wish towards other people you meet. You don’t have to say it out loud: you can even just imagine sitting opposite them and allowing the words to become your words: “May you be happy, may you be healthy.” It’s a little bit more of a challenge to extend this wish towards someone whom you have a little difficulty with, but try it, keeping in mind people do things that annoy you, not to annoy you. So, the next time you think of that person, try extending these words towards them, “May you be happy, may you be healthy.”

Finally, try to think of everyone together, you and everyone you encounter, and silently extend these words towards you and them: “May we be happy, may we be healthy.”

Something To Ponder

One day, the wind got very angry and decided to dim all the lights in the world and make it completely dark. She blew hard and brought clouds to hide the sun, the moon and the stars, she tore all the electricity wires, she brought strong rain and blew out all of the fires. The world sank into darkness and the wind alone was happy. All of a sudden, the wind saw little lights moving down below. She tired to blow them out, but couldn’t. She asked angrily: “Who are you that withstand all my efforts to create darkness?” And the lights replied: “We are little fireflies. Our light cannot be put out because it comes from within us.” *

So, for the next month, maybe we could think about and be grateful for the light that shines within us. Maybe we could go out on a limb and shine a little bit of it around the place? The most wonderful thing about shining your light is that when you shine it at someone, they will shine their light in return … ­so smile and shine.

*Source: RKY Manual

For more practical mindfulness exercises, visit Catherine Callaghan Yoga on YouTube.

For information on Catherine’s yoga and mindfulness classes for women, men and children in the Carlow/Wexford region, visit Yoga With Catherine Callaghan on Facebook.