Mindful Monday Activity for the 31st of January: Origami
Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding!
Origami is a form of a focused attention meditation, a category of meditation that trains the mind on an object. It is an activity that has been associated with mindfulness because it brings focus and awareness to shapes and the feelings of textures and creases – and slows us down.
For this week, I thought I would share my favourite origami piece to fold: a heart.
What you need:
- A square piece of paper!
If you do not have a square piece of paper, you can make it out of an A4 sheet using these instructions
I personally find origami to be really relaxing, though challenging (in a good way!). For those who have never done origami, it can definitely become a frustrating and confusing process.
The art of mindful origami is about how you approach the process of folding, taking thoughtful and careful steps, making sure you are aware of your own senses and feelings as you do it.
Here are some things to think about to be more mindful when you do origami:
- Slow down: it’s okay to pause and think about how to do the next fold before folding.
- Enjoy the paper: take time to listen to the sound of the paper moving (or the music in the video if you prefer!) and appreciate the feel of the paper as you fold it.
- Practice acceptance: it’s okay to make a mistake when folding, and for the final piece to look a bit different to the video. Mindfulness is all about taking the time out to be aware of what we are doing ‘in the moment’, without judgment or expectation.
There are so many other origami pieces to try if you enjoy this activity! Let me know how you go 😊
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Mindful Monday - A focus on breath
(a day later)
Moments for mindfulness can sometimes feel like they are hard to build into our day. If your days look busy, here is a quick activity you can build into your day, anywhere and any time. This week we are focusing on breath- whether you have 1 minute, 5 minutes or longer, take some time out to re-centre your mind and body with your breath.
Find a space that feels comfortable
Where possible, find a nice, quiet place to take a moment for breath.
Place one hand on your stomach, and another on your chest. You might choose to close your eyes, or focus on an area of your surroundings.
Take some deep breaths in and out
You might want to follow the gif above, use a breathing app, or count in your mind. If you are counting, one method is to try breathing out for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and repeat.
Try to notice the rise and fall of your chest and stomach. Where do you feel the breath? Do you feel it move all the way down to the base of your stomach?
Once you have finished your breathing time, take a moment to come back to your day
Take a moment to notice how you are feeling. If you are comfortable to, share with the Forums what this feeling was like for you.
Breathing can help our minds and bodies reset, and give us a moment of mindfulness even on the busiest of days.
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