Category: Mindfulness
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Sit in your discomfort longer
When my eldest daughter was about 10 years old, I remember her teacher saying, “the best advice I was ever given as a parent, is the same advice I give to all the parents of my students: let kids sit in their discomfort longer.” What she meant was; when a…
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When I was tied to the mast…
Much to the amusement (or perhaps bemusement) of the last mechanic who serviced my vehicle, my car has a CD player in it. On the good days (when noise doesn’t annoy me), I usually listen to music apps via my phone, but I also enjoy the continuity that comes from…
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Are you a human being or a human doer?
Last Sunday, when I was ironing school uniforms and office shirts for the week ahead, I was listening to one of my mindfulness/migraine-related-podcasts. It’s something I started doing when I DJ-mixed-up my life’s playlist: do a not-so-favorite chore at the same time as another activity that you’re keen on; old…
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Mindful eating (and pill-popping)
There are several exercises in mindfulness where you eat mindfully. In the simplest of ways, you make sure that when you eat, you just eat. It is an act of intentionality where you savor each mouthful, its taste and texture. [In other words, your toast isn’t hanging limply out of…
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The art of distraction
I have a bestie over on LinkedIn, a lovely lady called Tracy (who has inspired me previously with her idea that Japanese Kintsugi pottery is a metaphor for living with pain). Well, she recently sent me a photo of a pretty pink floral painting she had made while she was…
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Guest Post: Miffed at Midlife
As you know, as well as blogging away, I also love reading other people’s blogs. That’s how I came across Jenny and her great blog “Miffed at Midlife”. In one of those nice moments of serendipity where you recognize a lot of similarities in how you think and approach life,…
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Visualizing movement for chronic pain and insomnia
One of the things that I have discovered after practicing Tai Chi, Qigong or Yin Yoga often enough is that you start to gain ‘muscle memory’. Your body begins to recall the repeated actions, and they get easier and more automatic. Remember, I’m very much a beginner in all three…
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Broken pottery and your chronic pain
First up – a quick shoutout to the people who joined the zoom gatherings over the weekend; I appreciate you so much for your generous support of my baby-blog and I loved getting the opportunity to have a real conversation with you all: you’re the best! (If you missed out,…
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Chronic pain and the Inner Child
I decided on the first day that I started this blog that I would not write about anything that requires a ‘trigger warning’. I don’t think this post crosses that line, but it does talk about psychological issues, and as such, you might prefer not to keep reading. (Disclaimer…
The Mindful Migraine 