It’s the final week of the Good Day Columbus, 30- Day Nutrition Mission for Carolyn Bruck and me. The time has flown by and I’m a little sad that the time has gone by so fast. Carolyn has been a great patient and has worked diligently on her goals and is reaping the benefits.

Today, in Carolyn’s Blog, www.loveliestlife.com she addresses the value she has discovered by being “Mindful.” To many, the concept of Mindfulness is a new term. Simply put, Mindfulness is the skill of becoming aware and not judging yourself for what you should or shouldn’t have done. It is a tool that allows us to be less reactive to what is happening in the moment. To be Mindful, is to be in the present moment and look at things objectively without distractions that keep us in a state of stress.

So many of us spend time upset about what we did in the past that we clearly can’t change or what we “need” to do in the future that we clearly can’t predict or control. Peace of mind occurs when we live in the moment and experience the joy of that moment and become aware of our reactions.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t establish goals for ourselves and plan for our future. It means that we don’t spin our wheels all day long worrying about it. Worrying is a major energy drain and doesn’t have any action associated with it. Worry creates massive stress and at the end of the day the worrying doesn’t do anything other than damage our health and keep us in a state of chronic upset.

Here are a few tips to begin a Mindfulness practice:

  1. Set aside five minutes upon waking to sit quietly and breathe gently through the nose. Eventually work up to twenty minutes and watch what happens.
  2. Anytime a worry or stress comes up, take a minute to begin to gently breath through your nose. This will begin to bring down the stress.
  3. Journal at night before going to bed. Take all of your worries, write them down and put the journal away. This can help stop the mind from spinning and worrying and help with a better night’s rest
  4. Once per day practice being in the moment and release self- judgement about what you should or shouldn’t have done. We can’t change the past and we can’t predict the future.
  5. Limit sugar, alcohol and processed foods. These items can wreck havoc on our neurological systems and can greatly contribute to stress.