Perhaps you are someone every week who tries to second guess what the mindfulness challenge will be this week? Since we focused on the feet last week, you are probably guessing it will surely be something else. Well, I have a surprise for you. The surprise is that this is part-two of focusing your attention on not only your feet but your legs.
The invitation this week is actually simple to do. Whenever you find you are standing anywhere; looking at flowers, standing while someone else talks with you or you talk with them, standing while you are waiting in line to purchase an item at the grocery store or hardware store – just standing – notice whether or not the weight is evenly distributed between your right foot and leg and your left foot and leg. Or, notice whether perhaps you are placing more weight and force on one leg than the other. For example, are you literally lifting one leg up and placing the tips of the toes on the floor or the ground and really forcing all of the weight onto either the right side or the left side? What is really happening when you stand? Notice.
It’s a simple challenge. It is also a challenge that I have discovered has revealed incredible insights about the imbalances that I have created in my own body by way of habit. I for one have not been particularly mindful of how I was actually stressing certain muscles in my body unnecessarily when standing.
To summarize, each and every opportunity that you find yourself in a situation where you are standing – standing anywhere, standing for any reason – focus your attention on how much weight you are placing on each side of your body. If you notice that more weight is being placed on either the left or the right foot and leg; redistribute the weight so that it is even across both sides of your body so that you are standing firmly on Mother Earth.
Admittedly this is a simple challenge, but I must say for me personally it has had profound consequences in being able to balance out the stresses and strains that were exhibited throughout my body. We can do this moment by moment by being mindful.
Robert
© Parkinsons Recovery