Mindful Breaks

I have an alarm on my phone set for a couple times a day to remind me to take a break. Even if what I'm doing that day isn't very difficult, stressful, or busy it is still nice to have a little reminder to take a breather. Inspired by an exercise in Jeff Krasno's book "Wanderlust", I picked a concept or theory that resonated with me and needed to remember.

My alarm is called "The Practice of Being Happy For No Reason At All". This is a modified definition of Santosa, a NiYama that talks about gratitude and contentment.

It is a reminder for me to find the joy in everything I am doing. One way I do this is by being grateful for whatever it is that I am doing at the moment my alarm goes of. Even if it is something icky- like taking out the trash. I'll turn it around like this- " I am grateful for having things in excess that make garbage." Then the task becomes a positive and I am content with it instead of grumbling about things.

Cultivating gratitude in your life brings you into the present moment and that is where happiness is found. The alarm is a little reminder to come back into the present moment and be mindful about what it is I am doing.

Sometimes if I am paying attention to the time I know when my alarm will go off and it kinda ruins the effect of it being a "surprise" reminder for me to take a break. So I have also written the phrase on sticky notes and stuck them around my apartment as even more reminders.

Do some thinking about a phrase or motivational saying that talks to you and set up some mindful reminders or sticky notes. You can even set a fun song as the alarm. (Mine is "Lime Tree" by Trevor Hall. It's also a live performance version so there is a cheering audience at the beginning so it is basically like I'm being cheered on! )