mindfullness practice a lesson in mindfullness by Phil Aston BWY Dip yoga weekends in cornwall

Taking pictures with your mind

A lesson in mindfulness by Phil Aston

taking pictures with your mind with yoga teacher phil aston

Is this you? Your on holiday, your in an area of outstanding beauty, you have your camera clicking away (maybe its a video camera) you capture as much as you can on film, the idea being that you can remember as much about this place as possible.

Now, a few weeks later the pictures are back (or you sit down to watch your home movie) how do you feel?

Do you look at the images and remember being there yourself, or does it somehow seem unreal?

Take away the pictures and how much can you re-call in your mind.

Chances are very little, yes you have the photo's, yes you can see what the weather was like, but what more could you have experienced?

Next time you’re away (or at an event that is special to you) try the following.

Find a place to be still, put away your camera (you'll find you will take far more interesting shots after this) and just become aware of you breathing. Don’t control the breath just be a witness to the simple act of breathing.

Keep your eyes open and as you follow your breath start to become aware of what you can hear around you. Go to the furthest sounds, then the ones closest to you. Don’t analyse what you hear just acknowledge each sound and move on.

Continue to follow your breath. Then become aware of the sense of touch perhaps feeling the breeze against your skin, the warmth of the sun, the ground under your feet.

Finally become aware of what you can see in front of you, as you follow the breath becomes aware of the smallest of details, a spiders web, dew on the grass, just slowly acknowledging all that you seen. The simple process taking just a few minutes will raise your awareness and make you more mindful to the sights, sounds and the environment around you.

Even after just three rounds of following your breath you will start to feel more connected to your surroundings, and you will start to mentally record what all of your senses were experiencing.

You are now ready to take your pictures!

You can try this anywhere and you maybe thinking what possible difference will this make, but try it, and when your back at home or waiting for your train, just recall the location you visited and you may find that the moments where you concentrated on your breath you mind will play back your personal movie complete with the sites and sounds you experienced

The clarity will surprise you and the more you practice the better your recall will become.

This technique can also be used at work and will enhance your memory during important meetings and help you stay focused and grounded. You also use your special memories collected in this to help calm the mind and relax at times of stress.

Also featured in the October issues of Yoga and Health magazine

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