6.5 minutes ⏱️ - a mindful musing

Happy good day to your lovely, sweet soul 💜

I’ve been wanting to connect more lately, particularly over the topic of mindfulness, and the juice that this magical tidying up has been pouring into my life has given me that little burst of ‘can do’ that I needed ✨

I think mindfulness is so pervasive and helpful when we get curious about and practice practicing it (indeed!). Too often I hear that mindfulness is resigned to yoga classes or mental health work, and that’s a limiting opinion that makes me feel really sad. Mindfulness practices don’t have to look a certain way or just be on a mat because they really do (and should) infiltrate all the things in life, you know?

I recently acquired a walking pad and have been using it pretty regularly. It goes just fast enough that I can run at a gingerly pace (just my speed! — pun intended 🤓), and this is great for me because I can’t always get outside to walk or whatever activity I’d like when I want, and it’s feeding my dopamine needs with its newness.

But.

It’s hard to get into it sometimes. My body wants it, and at the same time, my brain resists (it’s really good at that). I get on it and I try to stick with it, hoping that eventually my body will catch the rhythm and I’ll land in THE MOMENT — when my body magically remembers how much it loves that kind of movement and how my brain quiets for a smidge (or at least gets less chaotic). It’s a moment when I can enjoy how my body feels inside and admire how it’s moving, where it feels strong, and how effortlessly it seems to pace my foot strike with the beat of a song.

This is a powerful moment for me, and it takes a while to get there.

But before the moment happens, it seems teeee-diii-ous.

Usually it’s the morning, my body’s still waking up, and I haven’t moved a lot yet. I have to spend a little time warming up walking and then when I do bring in the jog pace, my brain gets loud. It likes to tell me how my joints are talking shit, my muscles are slinging some side eye, and my lungs are the emo teens in the corner whispering, “Really? Again?”

It’s as if my body has completely forgotten that it does indeed like this, and yet, when I show up for it, I more often than not get to the moment. And it’s so worth it. It’s just that getting there feels very trying and internally combative sometimes.

I got curious (a superpower) and noticed a pattern. For me, the moment usually appears around 6.5 minutes in — consistently and naturally. I also noticed when I try to manufacture that moment by putting specific songs on or forcing a rhythm, it starts to become elusive — skittering off into the distance — while my brain dialogue gets louder and louder.

So it seems that I have to let whatever is going to happen in those first 6.5 minutes happen while I put in some active work trying mindfulness techniques like focusing on my breath or counting my steps or scanning through my body. It can be uncomfortable and my mind tries to take over what seems like every 20 seconds. I just have to allow it to play out and be patient because resistance happens.

Our brains can resist what’s good for us, especially if there is discomfort.

For me, I love the morning ginger jog, but I generally don’t love it for the first 6.5 minutes. I have to give myself the time to get there, essentially giving myself space to drop into my body, which quiets the volume in my brain. And isn’t that exactly what mindfulness is?

I think this serves as a great reminder (that I really needed) that things that nourish us aren’t always instantaneous in their goodness, and when we expect ourselves to connect with them quickly or the same each time, we can be setting ourselves up for some pretty big disappointment, which can lead to us not showing up again, which can lead to a lack of self care, which can lead to all sorts of yuck. You know what I mean?  

So for the foreseeable future, when I’m gingerly jogging and noticing the hate thoughts passing through, I’m reminding myself of the 6.5 minutes — and this has been a great way for me to reframe the resistance my brain is trying to assemble initially. It gives me just enough pause to allow the moment to creep in, well invited and always in style 😉

I’d love to hear if you have any similar experiences or observations so we can learn from each other. Feel free to hit reply or message/comment on the social medias.

With good energy, from my curious brain to yours 💚

photo credit: Aron Visuals on Unsplash