April is a time where time begins to slow down, or at least the nature of life does not have the hype of high summer. This is a wonderful opportunity to pause and absorb, to assimilate the year that has been thus far and set intentions of a slower pace to steady us through the coming winter.
As we come into the cooler darker months we can practise consciously pausing to absorb one thing before moving onto the next thing. The funny thing about time is that the more time we take to slow things down and do less things, the more time we seemingly have. This is because we are more present.
If the darker, shorter days make you feel that you never have enough time then take the time now to simplify your commitments, activities and to do lists. Switch your routine to suit the daylight hours and choose to spend your time in ways that suit the season. Are you trying to do too much?
Give yourself permission to pause and evaluate your current lifestyle commitments and routines. Are you eating on the run? Do you make time to do things just for fun? Are you in need of a weekly self-care routine? Do you eat at regular intervals? Are you going to bed early enough? We can forget all of these simple things.
If you are feeling the year slipping away or are someone that becomes extra fragile in the darker months then take the time now to grab your diary, make yourself a hot brew and make a plan for the coming months that are centred around your wellbeing. Schedule it in…
A monthly massage (or pampering of your choice),
A weekly nature adventure (or timeout on the couch),
And a daily movement practise (or meditation practise).
Whatever you choose, rather than making it just another thing on your To Do List, make it something that you really need. So, if you tend to be more active, running around from one thing to the next then make more time for rest. And if you tend to stay indoors and make the time to get out in wide open.
In meantime, you can check out our latest meditation: Conscious Connected Breath. This one is a breathwork practise with no pauses at the beginning or ending of the inhales and exhales, just a continual flow of breath. The pause comes in between rounds of this breath practise so that you can experience the serene stillness.
NOTE: Do not do this breath practise if you have a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, a tendency to seizures, or a tendency to panic attacks, this breath practise can effect blood pressure.