Mindfulness...what is it, and how can you use it.

Do you ever find that you mind is always busy, always full? Maybe you feel like you never seem to have a moment's peace and you're always trying to play catch up? When i get like this it's when there seems to be more jobs to do than hours in the day and my mind seems to be running at full speed, never still. That's when i make sure i practice some mindfulness, to help quieten my mind, and to help prioritise what needs to be done, and also what doesn't need to be done. 

Mindfulness is something that's becoming more common place in our language but many people still are unsure what it actually means. I'm a big advocate of mindfulness, both for myself, and also for my clients, so let me try and explain it to you so that you might be able to make use of it yourself. Mindfulness comes from meditative practice but you don't have to meditate to be mindful. I'm a very active person and although i like yoga, i tend to be mindful when being active, so don't be put off by thinking you need to meditate for 45 minutes every day, because you don't!

The essence of mindfulness is to be very present in this moment, be very aware of the now. Often we spend our lives thinking about the past, or already thinking ahead to what hasn't happened yet. This means that we miss out on a lot of the "now" moments, and by missing these "now" moments we're not seeing everything around us, we're not hearing people fully when they speak to us, and we're not fully engaging in those moments. 

If you're someone who worries a lot, or dwells on what has happened in the past, then mindfulness can help you quieten your mind, and focus on the now, perhaps seeing things for the first time and realising that life isn't all negative, that there are some positives. Once you start to focus on the now, and start seeing things anew, you might find that you start to enjoy things that previously you wouldn't have spotted, like a new bud growing on a shrub you thought had died, or smelling the flowers as you walk down the road whereas previously you hadn't noticed them. 

To be mindful you just need to direct your attention to something in the present moment, whether this be your breathing (don't change your breathing rate, just notice how it feels when you breathe in and out), or perhaps focusing on what you can feel as you're sitting down reading this (where your body touches the sofa underneath/behind you, whether any parts of your body are crossing, whether what you're sitting on is hard, soft, smooth, rough, cold, warm, etc.). Whilst doing this you're not thinking or doing anything else. I often catch myself being very unmindful when i'm watching TV whilst also doing stuff on my laptop. Before long i'm finding i have to stop the TV and rewind because i've missed stuff due to not paying attention properly. Yes, we can multitask, but if we're choosing to be mindful then we do only one thing at a time. Now i can guarantee that your mind will not stay focused on your breathing, or how your body feels, for very long before it wanders off to something else, such as what you need to do later, or what the kids are doing in the other room. That's normal, so don't worry about it, don't berate yourself for thinking you're not very good at mindfulness - the fact you have recognised that your mind has wandered is very mindful. The trick is now to just brick your attention back to what you were focusing on in the moment, and continue to practice mindfulness until you are done - perhaps start off with a minute or two and build up, depending on the activity. 

Some basic instructions...just practice and see

I used mindfulness a lot when i was learning to breathe with my head in the water when swimming doing front crawl, swallowing lots of water and finding my mind was full of negative comments such as "I can't do this", "this is too hard!" Mindfulness helped my focus on the task in hand and let go of the negative doubts that were working against me. When swimming and starting to get bored, or starting to let the doubts set in again i can use mindfulness and focus on my technique, focus on my breathing, focus on the feel of the water, etc. and soon the time is flying by. One of my favourite mindful activities is mindful running...no music, just me and the open road...suddenly i'm hearing the different sounds of the cars, especially when there are puddles, i'm hearing my own breathing, or i'm hearing nothing at all...it's so peaceful.

Another really useful use of mindfulness is for pain and i practised this just 1/2 hour ago! I use it when racing or training hard and in pain to focus my mind and suddenly the pain seems less. In the case of 1/2 hr ago, i was in the car with my back killing me and i mindfully focused on the pain and suddenly the throbbing became less. When i stop being mindful then yes, the pain returns, but mindfulness can give you respite from the pain so it pays to be mindful ;)

Mindfulness takes practice, it's like any skill, you won't be an expert at it straight away. But you can be mindful is so many different ways that it doesn't have to take time out of your day, just time away from the mindless thinking that normally happens. Next time you're chopping veg, or washing you hair, focus your mind on the task in hand, be that the smells, or the sensations, or the sounds that you hear. Every day tasks can be done mindfully, you just need to focus on that moment, rather than planning the day ahead whilst you have a shower, or trying to do 3 things at once when chopping veg.  Practicing mindfulness for just a few minutes every day can make a big difference to your life overall, suddenly you find yourself letting go of things in your mind easier, or you find you stop judging yourself and others as much (mindfulness is all about being non-judgmental). You pay more attention to the task in hand, rather than trying to juggle too many things at once and dropping one, or more, or the balls. Mindfulness becomes a way of life rather than a skill, but to be mindful you do it on purpose, to be very aware and present in the moment. So why not try it? Go back to the questions i asked at the start: "Do you ever find that you mind is always busy, always full? Maybe you feel like you never seem to have a moment's peace and you're always trying to play catch up? " If you can relate to these questions, maybe find that you often think negatively about yourself, or life, then you have nothing to lose by practicing mindfulness, other than the chaos that is in your mind! What you will gain will also be a sense of calmness and feeling a whole lot lighter. So go on, try it...walk mindfully, eat mindfully, listen mindfully...just be very aware, present in the moment, focusing on just one thing and being aware of what is factual, rather than what are your own judgments. Your mind will wander, but just keep bringing it back, letting go of what is dragging you down and instead focusing on what is now, what is real...

#youcanyouwill ;)

Christmas 2014: a time for reflection and 2015 aspirations

Merry Christmas everyone, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, then i hope you're having a good day whatever you're up to. I was aware that i hadn't blogged in a while but was shocked to see it was as far back as end of October. However, in my defence, i've been busy without being able to tell you really what i've been up to, but also not enough has happened worth blogging about it. I still wonder whether this blogging lark is fulfilling some narcissistic need i have, although as a psychologist, i wouldn't have seen that as one of my traits. What i have know though is that i genuinely like helping others, and maybe some people read my blog because they can relate to my experiences, or they get some pleasure from my random musings, or maybe they read my blog for some entirely different reasons but what i do know is people read it, and whilst i might not be the most prolific blogger, if there is an audience that likes what i say then i'll carry on chatting :)

So you may be wondering what i've been up to since i ended my coaching relationship and ended my season on a high having won the local sprint pool based tri i was able to enter to at least get something from an otherwise injury-riddled season. Well i know i was justified in finishing my coaching, even if purely for logistical reasons, as come November the realisation hit that i have a MSc dissertation to write that needs to be done by end of September 2015. Now that might seem like a long way away, but when you work full time, do a little private work on the side, and try and train for 3 sports plus weight training, then suddenly time doesn't seem so plentiful. Plus, when having to liaise with university tutors who are extremely busy with all the students they have to oversee and mark essays, then suddenly a conversation can take place over a week, via email, rather than having an instantaneous answer. This is why I started to think about things early, to get my head back in the academic game, having taken some time out since my last module finished back in March, with only my online survey to tend to by re-posting it numerous times across the course of the 2014 triathlon season. 

What this meant was that training suddenly became a luxury that my body or mind never seemed to have much energy to dedicate to. I don't know what happened, but all i can think is that over the past 2 years my coaching timetables have resulted in differing morning waking times, whereas previously i was up religiously every morning for a 6:30am training session in the gym or on the turbo. I sleep badly anyway, no identifiable reason for this, it's gone on for as long as i can remember, but it means i have fitful sleep, never sleeping right through. Whilst i might still get 7-8 hours, and more recently i've seemed to need nearer 10 hours, i'm still waking every hour or so and when i wake and see the alarm set for 2 hours, or 1 hour time and i'm still feeling unrested, then suddenly it has become easy to change that alarm and grab every last minute i can! I have found though that i'm more awake in work by not having those early morning swims or training sessions, so maybe my body can't handle morning sessions anymore? I know Facebook "friends" often say i'm lucky as i have no kids waking me and i shouldn't complain, but honestly, when i never get an uninterrupted nights sleep it can become tiresome :( However, given i have this dissertation to write, and i would like to get my training back up to a reasonable quantity then come the New Year i will be re-training the body to get up early, train, not complain too much about it, and still have time in the evening to train some more and study! It comes in handy being a psychologist as i apply all the logic i share with my clients to my own situation and from the New Year i will be sticking to it!

I have come to the realisation though that the 2015 racing season needs to be downscaled severely so as to not put pressure on myself to train fully for set races whilst having the job of writing a dissertation and also working with a few private clients in a performance psychology setting. It's disappointing, given that i missed my planned races for 2014 due to injury, that i can't do those races in 2015, but i don't want to commit to races and lose more money when i'm not ready for them, like i've done for so many previous ones due to injury. Therefore, i've only signed up to the Swansea half marathon so far, as i want to go for a "good for age" time if i can, and try again for that in the Cardiff half marathon. I'll also look to do a local Obstacle Course Race that's coming to Margam Park in April, and maybe some others as they come up and i'm ready and able to do them time wise. But for triathlons, duathlons, sportives, etc., then the plan is to train as best i can, without the pressure of disappointing a coach if i can't stick to a plan when i have to skip sessions because of study commitments, or tiredness. Then, as races near and i feel i'm able to commit to them then i'll enter. This will mean that the distances will likely be shorter than the half ironmans i had planned, but depending on how much of my dissertation i can get through early in the year then late season i might be able to commit to longer races. However, i don't want to do an undercooked dissertation, and i don't want to go into races unable to race as i'd like, so if it means a year of training, enjoying what i'm doing, and having the flexibility to train as i like, to go out as i like, and to take weekends off to study completely, then so be it!

What i have found though is i'm loving the freedom in my gym sessions, changing things up to do different core work, loving my trx workouts in the gym, and trying new things as i come across them, or think of them rather than feeling restricted by a training plan. I know coaches say that if you follow a plan then you get the most out of yourself, but for me i prefer the flexibility to train as i want. Sure, when it comes down to training for specific races/distances then i will dip into training books i have to give my ideas for intervals in my sessions and swim plans. Don't get my wrong, i love hard work, i love thrashing myself in the right way, and i do still follow @bodybullet's ideas about heart rate training for base level work which is what i've been doing on my runs and my turbo work. however, i know that my bike sessions have seriously been hampered since October, with no trips out on my bike at all since i last raced, and the turbo/spin bike sessions i have done have dwindled in frequency. But, come the New Year the plan is to build base again in early morning bike sessions and ensuring i get out on the bike on a weekend, be it the mountain bike or the road bike, even if only for 2 hours. The other plan i have is to go to the gym and work on my dissertation in the cafe bar during the rush period straight after work for an hour or so and then head upstairs to the gym for a sess before then having a dip in the pool late on when it should be quieter. If i can do this 3 times a week then i'll be onto a winner and maximising time :) It just means i'll have to manage my nutrition to ensure hunger doesn't put me off and mean i go straight home rather than turn left and go to the gym. 

Switching gyms and rejoining the Virgin Active Glamorgan gym was an inspired decision as i now have everything under one roof, plus the food is pretty good in the bar too! The gym now has a great trx area which i love and the place has a different atmosphere since i last was a member. They also now always have at least one lane open whereas previously there were only set lane times. I've still encountered some egotistical swimmers that won't give way when you're faster, but i can't have it all unless i have my own pool! Also, with the gym bar areas having free wifi then it means i am able to work there before working out, and possibly even do some Skype sessions from there too for my private work. 

I currently have two private clients now and that's plenty really. In the New Year i can foresee one client naturally coming to an end, as my job will be done, but it might be a case of those sessions become less regular and just having offloading sessions once in a while. The other client is a teenage swimmer so again its utilising different skills to ensure that i'm working to his level and engaging him to capture his attention. I'm really enjoying those sessions though and really hope that he can put into practice what i'm suggesting to him as i really want to help others, to make a difference, so that they can finish their work with me having gotten out of it what they came for. Although, i know that that won't always be the case, i have had enough practice of those situations in my NHS clinical work. 

Even though not much has happened, it seems like it has, so i won't bore you any longer on Christmas Day, although by now many of you might be snoozing on the sofa. I'm here in the USA currently, visiting my brother with my parents for Christmas, so i'm 5 hours behind, still waiting for my turkey dinner indulgence, but for now i'll leave you be and i'll commit to writing another blog in the next week for New Year to reflect on what i've learnt from the year and what i'm hoping to achieve moving forwards. Take care all xx