Embodied Practices With Marlo

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...

We can use any of our sense perceptions when engaging in a mindfulness meditation practice.  I created this Sound Awareness Meditation recording because sometimes it is really hard to connect to our breaths in a mindfulness practice. I know what that feels like. Sometimes doubt festers in my own mind and I find myself asking the question, "Am I purposely changing my breath?" For others, a breath practice may not be conducive due to respiratory issues, health issues or some may just find the breath claustrophobic due to past or recent trauma. Sound Awareness Meditation Suggestions to better guide you when doing the Sound Awareness practice Listen to the sounds without labeling them or needing to identify with them. If you find yourself identifying or creating a compelling story, kindly take note of it and come back to listening. Notice how the sounds and pitch feel in your body. Sometimes a good question to ask to get you back in your body is, ...