Planning a wedding can be the most wonderful but hectic time. Practicing mindfulness and meditation helps encourage you to focus on what is happening in the here or now rather than thinking too far ahead and worrying, or reminiscing after the wedding and feeling low. The here and now is the only place we can make a change in our lives and staying present means less autopilot responses. So busy brides should try to practice the following some mindfulness tips to take care of themselves while planning their wedding, and the Neom Wellness Board is here to help you.
Mindfulness tips
- Take a couple of minutes to notice your breathing. Sense the flow of the breath, the rise and fall of your belly.
- Notice what you are doing as you are doing it and tune into your senses. When you are eating, notice the colour, texture and taste of the food.
- Don’t feel that you need to fill up all your time with doing. Take some time to simply be. When your mind wanders to thinking, gently bring it back to your breath.
- Recognize that thoughts are simply thoughts; you don’t need to believe them or react to them.
- Notice where you tend to zone out (e.g., driving, emailing or texting, web surfing, feeding the dog, doing dishes, brushing teeth, etc.). Practise bringing more awareness to that activity.
- Breathe mindfully, in through your nose out through your mouth letting yourself take in and experience all the smells, noticing how your state of being changes gently as you inhale.
How to de-stress
A great way to de-stress after a busy week of wedding planning is to schedule in some down time to relax your mind. Often lighting a candle can help to focus the mind and reduce stress levels. It’s not the actual events that cause stress but our reactions to them - learning to see events with less gravity and more flexibility ease our stress levels.
Once you know how to de-stress, it can become something you include in everyday life, which will help to prevent that overwhelmed/stressed out sensation from building up. Here’s what we like to do, and what we always recommend to clients.
Moving with the breath. Sometimes the best way to quieten the mind is to distract it with pleasant movement. Research has also shown that posture has a significant effect on our mood and energy levels. Try these simple pairings of movement with the breath to unwind, re-energise and achieve better clarity of mind: Mountain breath, mountain breath and calf raises
Boost your mood by cultivating gratitude: The three blessings exercise. Write down three positive events that happened in your day, and importantly, WHY they happened. There is no right or wrong answer, just whatever comes to mind.
Face your fears what is causing you stress? When we're stressed we can't see the bigger picture, so writing it down can really help you to understand the issues and focus on the possible solutions.
Go to bed earlier get your sleep in, studies have shown that even partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood.
Meditate. Meditation can give you a sense of calm and balance that benefits both your emotional wellbeing and your overall health. These benefits don't end when your meditation session ends, allowing that calm into your decision making.
Troubled sleep
Many brides-to-be struggle with sleeping before the big day, their minds are often full of jobs and to-do lists so drifting off quickly can be difficult. Rest assured that you can trust your body to finally relax and sleep so it’s about creating the right setting for your body to unwind. Sometimes in trying too hard to sleep we get in our own way! For the perfect night’s sleep we recommend our Tranquillity™ blend, in particular the candle and bath oil. Both contain a deeply sedative blend, which helps to induce a deep night's sleep. Lighting a candle, having a warm bath and five minutes of meditation will help. If your mind is busy or whirling, decide that you'll start paying attention to your breathing instead. Just as a child might be encouraged to count sheep at night, we can count our breaths, or just pay attention to them.
Image credit: Bride: Dress via Sally Lacock