Calming Quick Fix…

Well it works for me…

my incense of choice – nag champa

I’m going through one of those phases where all your best laid plans end up going to the wall.

Most days I start off with a fairly good idea of what I need/want to do, (I can be thoroughly well organised if I choose to be), but lately, I’ve come up against a whole series of largely unconnected obstacles and irritants, the sum effect of which is to throw me off plan practically every day.

It’s almost at that stage where you ask yourself – is it me?

But of course it’s just the way life is from time to time and I know the best thing for me is to go back to basics as much as I can, and remember to breathe slowly, to consciously relax and to roll with the flow.

I’ve read a lot about mindfulness, and it’s at times like these that you realise that if you’ve tried to make mindfulness a habit, when you really need to be calm, you are able to access something steadying.

I’m a huge believer in mindfulness and slow relaxed breathing – I’m experiencing some big improvements in my health since I’ve actually started doing, instead of just reading about it. But I’d say I was very much a beginner.

It doesn’t matter – I feel the benefits, and it really isn’t a competitive activity.

Some days, (like today), I make a more conscious effort to centre myself – and my quickest fix for doing this? Is simple – I light a nag champa incense stick and let the fragrance calm my mind as I put my focus back on the breath.

I’m not sure that it matters which fragrance you use – nag champa happens to be the one used at my yoga class, so I subconsciously associate the scent with relaxation – but anything that has a similar calming effect will do.

I do wonder sometimes if the residual smell makes people who visit here think we’re a bunch of ageing hippies – but most people say our house has a welcoming atmosphere , so I’m not particularly bothered (and I probably am an ageing hippy at heart).

So if your day is taking its toll on you, might I suggest a few minutes relaxed breathing with the aid of your incense of choice.