I’m sure you have heard that mindfulness is helpful in managing your Rheumatoid Arthritis or chronic pain. But what the heck is mindfulness?

 

Let’s talk about it.

 

Mindfulness is a human ability to be completely present and focus on one thing. It’s the ability to not overreact, become overwhelmed, or completely withdraw from this one thing that is going on around us. It’s the ability to acknowledge that things are happening around us and not TO US.

 

Yes, this is an ability and NOT a superpower! Mindfulness is already inside of you. You just have to find it.

 

So much of the time, the anxiety, fatigue and unknown of RA take up more mental real-estate than we like to admit.

 

The ability to be mindful can provide much needed peace and freedom in day-to-day living. Once you master this, you will better allot that mental space for things that really need your time and attention.

 

4 of My Favorite Tips for Mindfulness:

 

TIP #1 Think of feelings as vibrations

 

Feeling, such as sadness, anger, elation, and hunger, are simply that –  feelings.

They are programmed to alert their human system to take action and do something to alleviate this feeling. They do not hurt us. They do not damage us. They are simply vibrations, or wavelengths, that travel through our body to communicate something. Feelings are unspoken words. Remember this.

 

TIP #2 Pause. Stop. Take a break.

 

As with all things in life, everything works better if you unplug it, turn it off, take out the batteries, or let it rest for a while.

 

TIP #3 Meditate for 10 minutes each day

 

Just 10 minutes a day is all you need to clear your head, re-group, and re-focus.

 

TIP #4 Turn off your screens

 

Turn off your TV, phone, Ipad, tablet, watches… etc…. Etc… ETC.

Simply disconnect. .Sometimes a “hard reset” is all that we need!

 

 

How are you planning to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine? Share in the comments below!