I find my tempo as I settle into the routine of hitting golf balls. I am relaxed, focused and gradually I enter a state of mindfulness as all other responsibilities are shelved for this time. Coming out of the practice session is like a breath of psychological air – I have a new perspective on challenging issues.

Recently as I headed to the driving range, I witnessed an elderly woman at the chipping area. She had to be in her 80’s. She had curly white hair, she was hunched over which was partly due to her age and partly due to her swing. She was focused, determined and the majority of her chip shots were landing within 18 inches of the hole. I marvelled at her determination and her focus. I smiled at her and said ‘Hi’. She replied “Hello” and laughed with “Given my age, chipping is the one area of the game that I can still improve on.” I replied that “it doesn’t look like you need much improvement”. She answered ” this game has been very good to me for many years, and I love the solitary practice”.

As part of our life routine, it is important to find at least one activity that we can enjoy and become mindful in. Hitting golf balls is one activity, practicing a musical instrument is another, gardening, pottery etc. something that lets you enter that state of mindfulness.

When challenges enter your life ( i.e. a divorce, a job loss, anxiety or anger) having an activity already established that allows you to enter the state of mindfulness helps you get grounded and enables you to navigate the difficult times more effectively.

The post Mindfulness – A Lesson For All appeared first on Claire Sutton Counselling.

This makes so much sense because when we engage in pleasant activities we enter into a mindfulness state.  In other words we are experiencing life in the moment.  100 % of ourselves is engaged in the experience.  We are in flow.

When people are angry, anxious, sad or overwhelmed they tend to dwell on the way that they are feeling which allows them to wallow in their pain. They focus on what they do not have rather than focusing on what they do have and on what they can do  i.e. the ability to  engage in enjoyable experiences.

Yes, you can shift your mood to positive by  becoming  task-focused or activity-focused.  The engagement in the experience can transform your mood from a negative state to a more positive state (happy, content).

Research coming out on Alzheimer patients suggest that you might be able to halt the progression of the disease or improve the part of the brain that is functioning if the patients are engaged in pleasant experiences.

Just because an elderly person appears to be sitting still and not complaining that does not mean that they are ‘just fine’. Everyone – babies to elders, mentally and physically challenged to mentally and physically fit – needs time for engagement activities.

The researcher interviewed on the radio described how he took his elderly mother, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, to a local symphony. Within a short time, his mother began smiling and her finger was tapping her knee to the beat of the music.

Food for thought, eh!
 

Photo courtesy:  Tony Alter

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