Where are my feet?

December 30, 2024

Where are my feet? One of my favorite mindfulness techniques is to ask myself this simple question. My husband has heard this so many times from me in the past 15 years, that he quotes it back to me periodically. We both have dealt with an enormous amount of stress and grief in the past few years between COVID, subsequent work issues, kids moving out to go to college and later back home, health problems, our oldest son’s addiction, recovery and eventual accidental overdose. Truth be told, we both have used this technique a lot.

The idea is to stop the out-of-control thoughts ping-ponging around in my brain: regrets about poor choices or actions not taken, worries about the future, anxiety about the present. I attempt to ground myself with this initial action. Literally, I look at the ground or floor beneath my feet. I look up at the sky or the ceiling above my head. I inhale deeply smelling, seeing and hearing the world around me. If possible, I walk away for a few moments to a quieter, calmer space. Better yet, I try to step outside where there are sounds, sights and smells of the natural world. I notice the beauty around me. I slow my breath down with some extra deep inhalations and exhalations. I intentionally calm my central nervous system, lower my blood pressure, and end the swirling cycle of thoughts. Before long I realize I am watching a squirrel run up a loblolly pine tree or the path of cumulous clouds as they blow across the sky. I attune my hearing to birds singing in the distance, children laughing or the breeze blowing through my hair. For a few minutes I pause and attempt to take in the world around me and distance myself from my thoughts.

On a particularly bad day, I might repeat these breaks multiple times, for example, before work, at lunch or at the end of the day. I have come to rely on 5-minute mindful breaks more often than that, but 3 times a day is my minimum. Often, I fantasize about spending 23 hours and 55 minutes a day being mindful and no more than 5 minutes a day dealing with the tough stuff.  Except for vacation, life does not allow most of us to spend that much time mindfully each day.  Therefore, I find it helpful to carve out daily time for mediation, mindfulness and yoga just like I schedule classes I teach, meetings or doctors’ appointments. Before long mindful breaks become part of the normal routine and help to build a reserve of resilience for the inevitable challenges that arise.

So, give it a try! Where are your feet right now? I am fortunate that today my feet are at the ocean, and it is warm enough to walk in the surf.