January self-care challenge, Day 6: Mind & body

Well, we made it to the weekend. How’s your week been so far?

Today’s activity is to try something that connects both mind and body. You can do just about anything mindfully, it’s all about paying full attention to the experience, but here are a few ideas:

• Gentle yoga
• Tai chi or quigong
• A mindful walk
• Make a healthy meal and eat it mindfully
• Eat chocolate or cake mindfully
• Go on a meditation walk or jog
• Have a bath and pamper yourself

For example, you can focus on sounds, visuals, flavours, aromas, texture, pressure, temperature, weight, or sensations such as stretching. If you go on a meditation walk for a few minutes you could concentrate on the feelings coming from the soles of your feet as you take each step, or listen to the sounds of birds in the trees as you pass by.

If all goes well, you’ll be doing something active but also relaxing at the same time.

What’s happening here?

Yesterday we had a quiet night in, with burgers, potato wedges and veggies in front of the TV. Not exactly a rollicking good evening out with cocktails and dancing, but still nice enough. And free. Don’t forget the free bit. Still have my 70p left in the kitty (streaming subscriptions don’t count, as long as you avoid the ‘to rent’ section).

I also made poppyseed rolls with the latest batch of bread dough as we’d run out of bread again, and after that there were enough to have for the next few days and put a few in the freezer for another time. It was a no-knead recipe so there wasn’t much prep time, but I’d still rather not be shaping rolls immediately after breakfast – there are a hundred other things I could have been doing instead. At least the rolls were fluffy and delicious.

Today’s plan is to get outside in the daylight and have a mindful walk in nature to get some exercise, but if it’s raining then I’ll be having a long soak in the bath and listening to some music instead. That never fails to warm the cockles.

Which mind and body idea sounds best to you?