Inner Peace In 5 Minutes Or Less
Your day is going awesome. Everything is flowing right along. You feel really confident about your next big thing scheduled for the day – teaching your next class or heading out to your next meeting, having a conversation with your kids about their day, trying to connect with your partner, or just trying to wind down from the full day.
Then the BIG BANG happens. It zaps you like one of those cartoon superhero “Bam!” and “Kaboom!” struggles.
You no longer feel the good feeling flow. Your energy feels drained. Mentally, your thoughts are all over the place. It’s like you have a super sensor for everything that’s wrong.
The fire comes pouring out of your mouth. Before you know it, in less than 5 minutes, the damage has been done, and you are already cleaning up the mess that you swear you didn’t cause.
This is mental and emotional dysregulation.
We can go from glow to crow in a matter of minutes if we aren’t careful about how we manage our mental space in these very small, but super important times in our day called transition moments.
Just as quickly as we inadvertently create these moments, we can also quickly disarm ourselves and others, for ease into new situations and moments.
You (and your kids) can learn to zap the “Bam!” and “Kaboom!” moments, and cultivate inner peace in less than 5 minutes.
Here are a few mindful tricks to help you get there. These tools are suitable for all ages, and I highly recommend that parents and teachers use these consistently with their kids to ease these, oftentimes difficult, shifts in our day.
While we have many transitional moments throughout the day, I’m talking about the big 3 that can create the most “Bang!” without proper attention to our internal space.
Transition Moment: From One Activity to Another
If you have kids that you teach or parent, then you might already know that these can be tough times. Who wants to end a fun activity?! You can help your kids go from crazy to calm.
Transition Moment: From School/Work to Home (and vice versa)
These can be tricky because the mental and emotional energy in these spaces can be miles apart. The point is to gain some groundedness and balance from one place to the next.
Transition Moment: From One Parent Household to Another Parent Household
This might be one of the toughest of them all. When our kids live in a variety of family situations, transferring kids from household to household can create a lot of anxiety for kids and parents. Soothe the worries and amplify the love.
What to do in these varied, possibly filled with mental and emotional “Bam!”, situations?
S.T.O.P.
That’s right. Take 5 and STOP – Stop what you are currently doing, Take a few mindful breaths (or movement), Observe sensations in your body, then Proceed with awareness.
It’s simple. Powerful. And, effective.
Mantra
Mentally repeat a mantra or affirmation. It’s a simple, positive, and uplifting statement to help re-focus your mind, and it helps cultivate the kind of behavior you want to exhibit.
Here are some to start with, but use what works for you: “I am ready to enter this new space with peace, calm, and clarity”, “I am filled with ease and joy”, “I am present, loving, and kind”, “I am releasing stress from my body and distraction from my mind”.
Let It Go
This is an awesome visualization practice. Take several deep breaths and visualize any stress or potential difficult moments, and as you exhale see them leaving your mind and body with your breath.
A slightly forceful exhale (like the sound of a lion’s roar with your breath) is super helpful, too. You can also visualize exhaling out one part of your day to clear space in your mind and body for the new moment you are about to create.
The great thing about these mindfulness practices is that you don’t need any special equipment or need to attend a yoga class or spend hours in meditation to receive some awesome benefits.
While all those practices are great and they do reap great mind-body rewards, they aren’t practical or helpful in these small transitional moments in our lives.
Pause your social media feed, and take 5 minutes to cultivate inner peace. Your mind, heart, and body, and those in your life, will thank you immensely for it.
This article is available and can be accessed in Spanish here.
