Embodied Practices With Marlo

I love trees and since painting is one of my primary ways of relaxing, I've come to appreciate trees in a different way. Not every tree is the same. Some are tall and lanky, others burly with lots of roots taking place. Some have leaves year round while others lose theirs during winter time. Regardless, they are all beautiful to me and remind me of their imperfections. So when you decide to go for a walk or are rushing around, take a moment to notice any tree.  What do the branches look like? Start to look at each individual branch if you can and notice how they just go in whichever direction.  Does this tree have leaves or not? Are there buds growing on the trees and if so, are they so small that they look like tiny little bumps right now?  Do you notice any interesting patterns on the trunk of the tree? Feel free to lightly touch the trunk  and feel its interesting textures. Is it rough or smooth? And upon closer inspection of the tree, what else do you notice? Whi...

It's been snowing all day here in Vancouver, BC. And as I look out my big windows, I watch the snowflakes come down. As I've mentioned in previous posts, you can practice mindfulness anywhere you are. At work. At home. Sitting down while waiting for your bus or even while doing dishes.  If it is snowing where you are. Take even 3 minutes out of your day and look out your window.  What do you notice when you look out your window? Is there a lot of snow? Is the snow coming down heavy where you are? Do you notice the snowflakes and how big or small they are? How about their movements? Is it windy where you are? Do the flakes look like they are slowly free-falling before they hit the ground? What textures do you notice? Just take a moment to notice the snow itself. If you get distracted which is inevitable and very normal, simply come back to the practice. Over and over again for however long you plan to do it.  Then once your done, take a deep breath in and slow exhale out. ...

  My needs have changed when it comes to my mindfulness practice.  There I said it. A part of me has felt guilty in some ways but I'm also thinking that if my needs have changed over the course of time, why do I need to berate or make myself feel guilty for something that can come naturally? Do I still meditate? Yes but most of my meditation practice is doing self-compassion breaks via through Kristin Neff or Chris Germer. The practice is short, sweet + gets to the heart of the situation + that matches more my personality. And what do most of my mornings look like then if I don't meditate? I read! I read books that make me happy + put a smile on my face because life has been hard at times + reading for the mere pleasure of it is good enough for me. When I'm struggling somehow, then I do a self-compassion break + I simply make a point to listen to what I need in that moment.  So if your needs have changed + you feel like you are "failing" because you aren't doi...

I love watching clouds take shape. I love how sometimes I can see faces + animals when I'm cloud watching. I also love that it is a non-traditional way of practicing mindfulness. This is an excellent informal practice you can do when you are in your car *parked of course!* , sitting on a park bench or drinking your coffee/tea while near a window. I highly recommend doing this practice when you see different shapes of clouds. A dreary rainy day will not do unfortunately since the whole sky will be grey. OK so here are the steps + let me know how you like this informal practice! -Find a comfortable position that works for your body. If you are in your car, park your car first + get comfortable. Adjust your sitting position until you feel comfortable enough to sit still. -Take a couple of breaths in + out through the nose to settle yourself in. If you find that you can't relax, do this portion of the practice for a lot longer until you feel settled. -And now look at the clouds. Do...

  I don't think I ever considered how much color impacts my mood until I started painting for the first time last year.  Now when I go for walks, or look at art online or pretty much anything that I do, I am often looking at all the colors I see + I mentally compare them to the palettes I use when painting. Lately, my mind has been leaning towards the color blue. It makes me feel calm, cool + reminds me of the vastness of the ocean. It makes me think of beaches, sand + sunshine but it also reminds me of the sky when there are no clouds in sight.  So what does this have to do with mindfulness + meditation? A lot! You don't have to just sit + meditate following your breath. Remember that mindfulness is having awareness of the present moment without any judgement.  Side note : If you want to understand more about mindfulness, check out my old post  What Is Mindfulness? What's the Difference Between Mindfulness + Meditation?  A really great informal practice to...

  Yes, it is a pretty long title but it got me thinking. Today, I actually managed to do a short body scan meditation using Sharon Salzberg's audio on YouTube. Here is the link if you are interested in trying out her meditation Wake Up Meditation ft. Sharon Salzberg Then I got into some morning painting + I was following an artist I've never followed before + I was just genuinely struggling with the whole process. I labeled the whole morning painting experience as a total bust because I didn't get the result I was looking for. Which made me wonder, was the experience really that bad or was my expectation of what I wanted to paint unrealistic? What does this have to do with mindfulness meditation? A lot! Here's the thing, some days you sit + meditate + even after the sesh is done, you are still feeling overwhelmed or stressed. And you know what, that's normal.  Sometimes, I think that we need a friendly, compassionate reminder that if we have a meditation practice th...

  It's been awhile since I've posted anything on this blog.  Since end of December 2020, there have been a lot of changes in my life. For one thing, I lost my job that I had for 3 years. Luckily, I was offered an auxiliary position working for the school district in my community. And of course, with all the changes in my life, my own personal mindfulness + meditation practice has taken a noise dive.  I no longer sit for 20 minute practices. My mind can't seem to handle it + for those who are new to meditation, I can honestly say that this is absolutely normal . My practice as of late takes me 6 minutes  + some days I don't even make a point to practice.  I've decided that expecting myself to sit longer is just not feasible at this time. And each day I sit for  however long is enough for me. For the past several weeks, I've been practicing Chris Germer's Self-Compassion Break meditation. It's been useful when I feel stressed, overwhelmed or just feeling u...

  I decided to take up watercolor painting as part of my mindful self-care practice. With Covid-19 continuing to shape + influence my daily routine, I decided I needed a self-care practice that allowed me to get lost in the moment + simply take the edge of my daily stresses. While having a formal mindfulness meditation practice will always be part of my daily routine, I desperately needed something else to add to the mix. A couple of weeks ago, I came across this video (see below) from a woman named Cynthia's YouTube channel called Mindful Creative Muse.  This practice really helped me to connect to my breath in a way I didn't know I could! I highly recommend you this a try! Cynthia's channel on Youtube called Mindful Creative Muse                                                             I e...

  Late last night I noticed a slight tickle in the back of my throat. I was worried that I was coming down with something. More worried that I would get others sick especially if I tested positive for Covid-19. I work at an integrated health facility + I am client facing which means that I see plenty of people in any given day. I wear a mask when I'm at work + even in my personal time when I am doing errands such as grocery shopping.  So this morning, I called 811 HealthLink BC to see if it was recommended I get tested for Covid-19 based on my mild symptoms. While my symptoms are mild, it was still recommended I call in sick + my next call was to my employer to let them know that I was doing my due diligence. That meant I had to get tested today + that I had to self-isolate + wait for my test results. So today my partner + I went to a drive-in/walk-in testing site + in about 1 1/2 hours got tested.  So how did I feel while I sat there waiting for my turn?  Relatively...

Hey hey everyone! Its been a while since I posted a new audio recording. It's been pretty tough the last several weeks + creating an audio was the least of my worries. But alas, I have a new one + it is all about having a cup of tea. And if tea doesn't work for you, go with whatever hot beverage you prefer. Coffee, hot chocolate, or whatever hot beverage you prefer, this is after all all about your own experience. I recorded this informal practice because I wanted to highlight that you can drop in to any moment you are in. Whether that's going for a walk or in this case, sipping tea or coffee, moments of informality are a great training ground for mindfulness . Hot Cuppa Meditation Exercise Things to consider when doing this practice  ~The ground to which you work on with this informal practice is your own direct experience. ~Take your time! Do this as slowly as you like + for as long as you like. The recording may end but you can continue for...

I just did a Solidarity + Compassion meditation practice from Jeff Warren's YouTube Channel. Here's the link if you are interested in this practice.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12DFvZ71h-s   Fair warning, this is not a comfortable practice but that's the thing. Seeing systemic racism + violence play out isn't comfortable. It's fucking hard to watch. It makes me angry, upset, sad, ashamed, doubtful of what I can + cannot do. To just name a few of the complex emotions I've been feeling. And you know what I learned during this practice? I need to welcome all of that in. What I'm feeling is normal + human because deep down I know from being a visible minority what it feels like to experience systemic racism. I also know that I don't know what it feels like to be a black person in America or Canada or world-wide but I can imagine how fucking scary it is. When I chose to do this practice, it wasn't a way out of discomfort. It was a w...

Yesterday, I was doing a bit of my own personal reflection while working on "The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook" by Kristin Neff, PhD & Chris Germer, PhD.  I was on Chapter 10 - 'Loving-Kindness for Ourselves' - taking a moment to reflect on what I needed to hear in terms of phrases for myself and it hit home for me that most times, I just want to be validated that I'm OK, that I will be OK. I came up with three phases that hit home for me which all included the word 'OK": "May I be OK as I am."  "May I begin to feel OK about myself." And a super simple one that I like that feels super validating is, "It's OK, I'm OK."  I thought about it + then meditated to one of Jeff Warren's meditation on YouTube. If you haven't heard of this awesome Canadian author & bonafide MacGyver meditation teacher, go check him out at the link below. https://jeffwarren.org/ After that practice of sitting + doin...