The Mindful Migraine

When I used to work full-time in the city, every coffee shop that I went to had a Loyalty Card: “buy 9 coffees – get one free”. Of course, you had to keep track of all the cards in your handbag and find the right one for the right shop if you were a caffeine-floozie rather than a passionate devotee to one barista (uh-hem (like me)).

The upside of these cards was the visual reminder of your commitment to a cause AND the thrill of that celebratory freebie when it arrived to recognize your dedication.

It got me thinking… what if we could have a Loyalty Card for our healing through mindfulness journey? What if, someone (anyone) gave us the equivalent of a pat on the back for diligently (or occasionally) practicing mindfulness techniques (such as better breathing, meditating, Yin Yoga humming, learning about your vagas nerve, or ‘simply’ walking mindfully around the block when you’re feeling really unwell)? What if there was a loyalty card that we could print out to keep track of our progress… and what if we could all do it together so we would be more inclined to try?

Wonder no more – because I spent a silly amount of time learning how to use a free online version of a graphics maker to muddle-up a “Loyalty Card” that you can print out by copy-pasting the image below, or downloading the PDF under it (it includes 8 cards to an A4 page). [And yes, I know, the glitter, bubbles, waves and stars are all a bit over the top, but learning is fun and sparkles make me happy!]

Now, what about the celebration part of this idea? Well, I can’t be there to shout you all an herbal tea when you reach your quota, but I can encourage you to make yourself one and enjoy it… REALLY enjoy it. Or you could make yourself a special meal. Or find a special view to eat your regular meal in front of. Perhaps you could gift yourself an early night to bed, or shout yourself a massage or other self-care courtesy. Remember that good things don’t always have to come with a price tag – organize a catch up with a friend a week from now and use that date as motivation to keep up with your mindfulness practice.

Why?

Why go to all this trouble?

+ Because old habits are hard to break, and new ones are hard to form. BUT, if you can give yourself visual reminders to keep going and something to look forward to in the form of a reward, then, you just might make a better go of it.

+ Because mindfulness matters. I can’t over-state how much slowing down, breathing better, and learning how to relax myself and my nervous system has helped my migraines go from raging bad almost-all-day-every-day (for one, long, terrible year), to now being only occasional, and nowhere near as painful.

+ Because, mindfulness can help every one. I don’t think you have to be in chronic pain mode to benefit from learning techniques that will help you de-stress and become more in tune with your body and the messages that it is trying to send you.

+ AND because doing things in tandem with others (even if you’re together-apart) helps motivate you even more.

So then, if you’re keen, you can print out the card, make your own crafty version, or just keep it in your mind as you go through your mindfulness techniques over the next few days and weeks. There’s no rules on how long you have to practice each mindfulness activity (a 10-minute mediation or a 60-minute Tai Chi lesson both count in my mind, as does a meal of unknown duration spent mindfully tasting every mouthful). Also – there’s no rule about how many circles you can tick off in a day – one a day would be great, (remember even if you’re sick you can do some stretches in bed that will help you heal), but if you’re on a roll, then tick away all day!

As for how to keep each other motivated, I’m going to print out my own page of cards and put it up on the fridge – and I’ll photograph my results and keep you updated with glimpses in a week or two and then share a final “result” in a month from now (Monday, March the 17th).

If people are interested, I’m happy to do 2 celebratory Zoom sessions the weekend before so we can humble-brag about our Team Challenge results (Sunday the 16th at 9am and/or 9pm, Sydney-Australia-time).

In the meantime, if you want to share your success stories, then pop back here and leave a comment that lets readers know you’ve completed a card AND let us know what you did to celebrate your fabulous achievement!

Participation is always optional, but if you can have a go, one way or another, it might just be the thing that you need to “initiate mindfulness mode” and help you build up a habit of including mindfulness in your day to day life.

YAY YOU!!

Now, before I sign off, it’s been 13 months since I started this blog (woo hoo) and as always, I like to do a little shout out of other blogs who are sharing my journey. Here’s some of the latest blogs I’ve been reading or who are kind enough to be reading me – be sure to click on one (or more) and give them some good old fashioned, community blog love:

Another Spectrum | Personal ramblings and rants of a somewhat twisted mind

Chef Kevin Ashton – Recipes, advice, reviews, travelogues & news

Creating Conscious Culture

Crystal Chakra Wellness – Ancient Wisdom For Modern Solutions

EvidenceMutumbu – Kingdom marriages,business and lifestyle

firewatersite | Read. Play. Watch. Listen .

Grand Wierd Reviews – Checking out the weird old stories that inspired our new ones

Lisa’s Ramblings: Random Thoughts on the World We Live In…

Thomas | Photo, writing.. and other things exploring my mind

with love , Esta – everything must be done with love.

Good luck on your mindfulness journeys, join the challenge if you can, and know that I’m here in your corner woo-hooing you all the way!

Take care, carefully, Linda xox

PS – if you’re new to mindfulness and not sure where to start, I have a mini-mindfulness course with clickable links to some excellent YouTube videos that I have discovered – just pop over to the RESOURCES page of this blog and it’s the first PDF download on the list! Enjoy!!

PPS – I DID make it to dinner on Valentines Day with my husband last Friday – we had a lovely 3 course meal at the pizza restaurant that my daughter waitresses at – they don’t do loud music or bright lights, so yay – no migraine, just an early night to bed to recover from being out and about.