Jun 20
I awake feeling under the weather. Today is not the day for pushing myself, or ignoring my needs. I start the day extra-slow, permission to go easy on myself. My chosen practice is self-kindness, so it doesn't have to look like my usual morning meditation.
Is there a ‘right’ way to practice mindfulness? I don’t believe there is. Instead, there is plenty of room to customise it to meet your own needs. If you’ve struggled with meditation, then harnessing your imagination could transform your practice time from a dreaded chore into something more personalised, nurturing and appealing.
In the depths of winter, I turn to my mindfulness practice at to support and uplift. Becoming more mindful doesn't have to feel like hard work - there is plenty of room for comfort and giving ourselves a break.
If you're used to being the 'strong one' in life - the person who's there for others, who gives help rather than needing it - it can be easy to convince yourself that you don't need looking after too. But to stay strong, we do need self-care.
Like many things, self-kindness can lose its appeal if it feels like an extra duty you need to add into an already-busy life. I like to approach it as a practice of doing less, not more: less self-criticism, less pressure on myself, less trying to pretend I feel ok if actually things feel hard. Here are three things I can do without when I'm having a difficult day, and what I've learned to do instead.
Sheila Bayliss 