Recently, I had an extremely challenging week. Feelings of disappointment, anger, resentment and fear were getting the best of me. I felt weak and shaky. It was extremely difficult to practice mindfulness in that moment, but somehow I managed to sit down and let every horrible feeling wash over me. I let myself experience all the pain. At first it was overwhelming but before I knew it, letting myself feel my emotions gave me strength. The power of saying – it's ok, and I will survive somehow worked. In the past, I would have found a distraction or some bad habit to self-medicate. What I have learned is, when I resist the pain, it only deepens.
Mindfulness is not an idea or belief, instead a practice. It is about turning your full attention to how you are feeing. Why is present moment awareness so important? Because mindfulness is rooted in the realization of what is – not the past, not the future – the now.
The next time you are overwhelmed find a quiet place where you can sit without being interrupted.
Become aware of how your body feels.
Next listen to the sounds around you and become aware of your breath. For one minute or more breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds and hold your breath for 4 seconds.
Repeat this for a minute or longer. The longer the better. Don't worry about doing it exactly right or looking at a clock – just be in it. Directing attention to your breathing will immediately ground you.
This meditation technique helps strip away the daily distractions, so you can bring awareness to yourself. Now focus on how you feel. In mindfulness, you feel all the unpleasantness without shutting it out.
When we allow our attention to be focused on the moment, we are no longer operating on “auto-pilot” and reacting from old, unhelpful habitual patterns. Simply observe what's going on around you, in your mind, in your body without holding on or pushing anything away. Letting come what comes, letting go what goes. Suddenly you see the pain for what it actually is, and you realize you can move on.
Like everything in life, mindfulness takes practice. Be patient and allow this five, ten, fifteen minute gift to yourself. Before you know it, those horrible overwhelming feelings are manageable.
If you can devote yourself to a regular practice of mindfulness, it can quickly become a vital part of you life.
A gentle way of explaining mindfulness to a child is to show them this excerpt from the animated film “Kung Fu Panda”.
Po, the panda, is feeling extremely depressed. He thinks he is incompetent at everything, he knows he eats too much, and he worries a great deal. He is on the verge of giving up his dream. Thankfully, a wise old turtle arrives and gently reminds the panda about being in the present and not living in the past.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxUj2IANE8A&feature=player_embedded
A few weeks ago, I blogged about meeting my doppelganger at Whole Foods and how we mutually complained about not having different wrappers for the vegan muffins.
Low and behold, I picked up my favorite vegan muffin today, and it was in a different wrapper, clearly distinguishing itself from the non-vegan muffins. Ahhh – life is sweet when your mission is accomplished. I may be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I get the job done.
This week's dish is a yummy quinoa salad with a tomatillo sauce. This is another recipe from my favorite new cook book – the conscious cook. Hope you enjoy it? Vegan Day 304 – wish me luck!
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked in vegetable stock according to package directions (I always do 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water or veggie stock)
- ½ jalapeno, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tomatillos in olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- ¼ chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon light agave nectar
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- canola oil
- 2 corn tortillas, cut into ¼ inch strips
- 1 tsp cajun seasoning
- 2 avacados, diced
- microgreens
- Place all the quinoa ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine.
- Preheat te oven to 400F. In a small bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until soft in the middle and lightly browned; Try not to burn
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 F. In a small bowl, toss the tomatillos with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add the vinegar, cilantro, and agave nectar and pulse to combine. With the motor running, pour in the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a stream. Continue blending until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- pour 2 inches of oil into a small, heavy pot and heat until the oil shimmers. Add the trotilla strips and fry until crisp and browned. 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.
- Place a 3 inch-ring mold in the center of one of the 4 salad plates. Fill with ¼ cup of the quinoa mixture and press down with a spoon to pack the mold, moothing the top. Place ¼ of the sweet potato pieces on top of the quinoa and press down gently. Top with ¼ of the avocado and press down gently. Carefully remove the mold. Repeating on the remaining salad plates.
- Carefully place 2 tortilla strips parallel to each other about 1 inch aparp on top of the timbale. Place 2 more tortilla strips perpendicular on top of those. Top the timbales with the microgreens and drizzle the dressing around the timbales.
