In my teaching I always encourage a mind/body connection, because with some of the Pilates exercises if we move without thinking
and without focus, we may not feel the full benefit of the exercise OR we may find we get a pull, or strain in an area of the body that wasn’t the target. When we connect and think about what we are doing, we are more likely to move more freely, feel the movement, and fully benefit from the exercises.
The connection isn’t just about the physical benefits, it's also about the emotional, mental benefits. Connection becomes about being mindful and when we start to become more mindful, we become more focused in the here and now and the more fulfilling we will find the task or activity.
Connecting and being mindful about enjoyable activities is a great way to practice mindfulness, but we can also be more mindful and connect with tasks that are more mundane or not enjoyable. For example …
...let me tell you about mopping my kitchen floor! 😉
After a few days of having workmen outside and lots of rain, lots of mud has been tramped into the kitchen and made a bit of a mess. After a busy day on Friday, I took a look at the floor and thought I know this needs washing — but all I want to do is sit down and watch a bit of telly with a glass of wine and my feet up. I also knew that if I didn’t get on with it, it would pray on my mind and it wouldn’t help me to relax
and really enjoy the rest of the evening. The more I thought about it, the worse it seemed to feel, so I got my mop and bucket out, started to fill the bucket with lovely hot water. I added some detergent that has a lavender smell, so the kitchen started to have a lovely, pleasant smell, instead of damp mud, and then I got on with mopping. I thought about how quickly the tiles started to look clean, and I actually loved the twisting and squidging of the mop in the bucket — somehow this felt very
satisfactory.
The kitchen and utility room isn’t big, so I knew it would take just 10-15 minutes and the smell of lavender was wonderful. It was done, and I could then sit down and relax without giving it another thought, plus it wasn’t waiting for me to do on
Saturday, when I would probably have felt even more fed up about it.
In the great scheme of things, washing my kitchen floor is not high up on the ‘life’ priorities, but I wanted to show how connecting
with this chore, focusing on the smell of lavender, the act of making the floor clean again, the satisfaction of a ‘squidgy’ mop — being mindful with it, made it a more fulfilling task.
Every time we
connect in this way whether it be with enjoyable activities, or chores, or activities that you wouldn’t consider enjoyable but are unavoidable, such as health issues, visiting the dentist, having a procedure — we are building our mindful muscles and when we work on these we have more strength to make changes in our life that may enhance our life.
Start your practice this week with tasks or activities that you know you enjoy … at least one a day, and make it something you value in your life, not something that allows you to avoid other stuff, and see how connection and being more mindful starts to feel.
Have a great week folks, and I will catch up with you in class.
With love
Jane xx
