YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Summer 2018 | Page 14

FIONA KRIARIS Fiona is the Health & Fitness Project Director of YMCA Victoria. As a fitness professional and a teacher of meditation and mindfulness, for the past five years Fiona has been creating an innovative fusion of these two fields. Studying at the Mindful Awareness Research Centre at UCLA has added another exciting dimension to her knowledge and skills, all with the aim of helping the wider community adopt mindfulness as an everyday activity. A MORE BALANCED MIND Meditation and mindfulness expert Fiona Kriaris shares three tips to help you become more mindfully balanced in your everyday life. t has become the norm for people to carry out their day in the most efficient manner by habitually being in the mode of ‘doing’ with little time allocated to just ‘being’. We live in a world that is so connected with technology that it’s causing a disconnect within ourselves. More than ever, people are searching for ways to bring more balance into their lives. This is where mindfulness can help. Research proves that being present is an excellent predictor of a person’s happiness; it can also reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. I Mindfulness refers to ‘awareness that arises, through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, with kindness and in a non-judgemental manner.’ Mindfulness has become popular in the modern world, which is not surprising since science and research supports the many physical, mental and emotional health benefits. 14 So how can you incorporate mindfulness into your everyday life, to help bring more balance into a world that is so busy? Here are three simple tips to introduce more balance into your day. 1. Meditation Meditation calms the mind and relaxes the body. Don’t be fooled by myths of having to commit to an hour a day, or sitting on the floor cross-legged while attempting to empty your mind of all thoughts! There are more user-friendly approaches to meditation such as: sitting comfortably in a chair, closing your eyes, and allowing any distractions such as sounds, body, thoughts, and emotions to arise with the intention of being able to explore them if desired. Aim to start doing just three minutes a day, and see how it can cultivate inner peace. 2. The STOP acronym The STOP acronym can be applied anytime throughout the day. It stands for: stop what you are doing, take a few breaths, observe your experience just as it is (that is, take note of your YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SUMMER 2018 thoughts, emotions, body sensations and sounds), and then proceed with what you were doing or with something different altogether. This can be a helpful prompt to take a mini or a longer timeout. You may even want to schedule the STOP acronym into your daily calendar, or as a reminder in your phone, to ensure you take a few moments to be fully present throughout your day. 3. Gratitude Gratitude refers to being thankful; it’s a state of appreciation for all the things small and big in your life. There is a beauty in noticing the things that often get missed, when life is constantly busy. It can start by just pondering what you are grateful for, or you can make a more deliberate effort by keeping a gratitude journal. This practise can start to change the way you look at things. Interestingly, before you know it the things you look at may begin to change for the better. The irony is, by purposefully taking time out to be mindful, you can create more quality time in your day, as well as increase your happiness and enhance your health. Now is a great time to start. So STOP and ask yourself, what are you grateful for right now?