Slowing down can be challenging when you are moving full-speed ahead five days a week. We’re constantly bombarded with emails, phone calls, text messages and meetings – the list goes on. Consciously taking a moment to center yourself and be present has many benefits. Practicing mindfulness at work can help you stay in the moment and make your workday a little easier to manage. Work can be in any environment, at an office, in your home or on the road. No matter what your “work” situation is, mindfulness can help re-center a busy day, re-focus attention to the present and reinstate calm when the pressures of work become overwhelming.

Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment. It is a shift in the way we pay attention. We move from autopilot to engaged. Living in and appreciating the present moment.

I believe that bringing your faith into practice with your mindfulness makes perfect sense. God asks us to come to Him when we are weary in Matthew 11:28 NLT. He wants us to slow down and re-center our minds. When we do, we can include Him in each moment. Basically, praying in every moment as I Thessalonians 5:17 NLT says, “Never stop praying.”

Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them. We simply pay attention to how we are feeling now. We don’t investigate the past or play the “what if” game looking into the future. We also know God can redeem anything in our past and use it as part of our story. And that our future is secure in His hands.

Incorporating mindfulness into your lifestyle is one way to stay present. Mindfulness can help you feel appreciation for the little things that go unnoticed daily. Maybe it’s the sky God paints in each unique sunrise or sunset. When we stop and pause, giving Him glory and praise for these kinds of wonders, we can go back to work with a sense of joy again. When the small moments of the day are relished, every day marks a fresh beginning. And we focus on today, so that we don’t miss anything it has to offer.

BENEFITS OF PRACTICING MINDFULNESS

Studies have shown practicing mindfulness, even after a short amount of time, can usher in a variety of physical, psychological and social benefits. Here are some of these potential benefits of mindfulness:

• Boosts our immune system’s ability to fight off illness

• Relieves symptoms of depression and anxiety

• Increases the density of gray matter in our brain regions linked to learning, memory, emotion regulation and empathy

• Enhances focus

• Helps foster compassion

• Enhances relationships

• Reduces pregnancy-related anxiety, stress and depression in expectant parents

• Lowers blood pressure

• Helps with weight loss

• Improves memory

• Enhances quality of sleep

• Raises tolerance to pain

• Helps us gain focus and insight in all areas of life

• Helps prevent the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging

PRACTICING MINDFULNESS

Having a stressful day? You don’t have to be on a tropical vacation to feel relaxed. Wherever you are, no matter what time of day it is, you can practice mindfulness to get back to your equilibrium.

Here are seven ways you can escape the weekday rush

I imagine places like this that I have visited to elicit the feeling of calm. What vacation photo or memory can you visualize to transport yourself to calm?

1. Focus on your breath. (finish this handout and relink) Relax your breathing; make it a routine. Pay close attention to your breathing, especially when you’re feeling intense emotions.

2. Do something that brings you joy! Create a list or go to that mental list. Is it feeling the sun on your face? Reducing clutter, adult coloring or reading a few pages in a book. details in your work when you return.

3. Stretch and move your muscles. Your muscles tend to tighten up when you’re concentrating. Make sure to move as often as possible to relax your body. Take a short walk, a yoga sun salutation or your favorite stretch.

4. Adjust your posture. Proper posture helps to counter the effects of stress. Try a physioball/exercise chair (link to proper fitting and use) Also focus on what your body is feeling. Move if it tells you to get up! Like number 3 says, stretch and move, you NEED to!

5. Use a to do list. Work on the list one task at a time. Having a list will reduce stress by unloading all the things that you need to do and free up your thoughts for the task as hand. In the long run it will help you wrap up your projects efficiently instead of worrying about what you might be forgetting.

6. Be mindful. Be in the moment and notice where you are. What does the chair feel like that you are sitting on, what do you see around you? What smells are in the air and how does your body feel in the moment? Adjust your surroundings to create less distractions and a more comfortable work-space.

7. Practice self-care. Recognize how you are feeling, what emotions you have and do something for you. If sitting in your office chair is making you feel sore or fatigued. Listen to your body and move! Adjust your body or shut your eyes and breath. Drink a glass of water or read a favorite Bible verse to remind you that God is there in any moment.

*“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. “ Hebrews 12:2 a NLT*

Escape the Week-day Rush

Writing Your Resilience Story