8 Amazing benefits of making IS-ness your business

So what exactly is IS-ness?

I’m sure you’re wondering what IS-ness is? It’s a current and perhaps more modern term (coined by the wonderful Marie Forleo of www.marieforleo.com) to describe the act of being in the present moment. You’ll have probably heard of meditation and mindfulness somewhere along the line. It seems like a topic you can’t ignore these days.  Admittedly when I first came across meditation I too, like many others, thought this was something only yogis or Buddhist monks practised on idyllic mountaintops.  I was rather ignorant until I looked into meditation more but soon came to realise that this is – in simple terms – a technique to help still the mind, slow down our mental chatter and help us feel at peace in a very busy modern life.  I was quite astounded to learn that we have an average of 60,000 thoughts per day.  No wonder our heads can feel fuzzy during the day with constant self-talk!

Why do I need IS-ness in my life?

Take a moment now to review your current day-to-day life.  How many to-dos do you need to get through on a daily, weekly and monthly basis in your job and in your personal life?  From the moment you wake up there are probably thoughts of a million-and-one tasks to get through just in one day…and that’s before achieving any of the big stuff.  Add to that, the constant noise in life from marketing messages, technology, social media, news headlines, traffic etc.  It can all become overwhelming and make you want to step out of your own life, just for a break. This is where meditation and mindfulness come in.  Several studies have shown a number of benefits from the practice of stilling the mind to slow everything down, so you can become clearer in thought, calmer in mind and live life at a slower pace through which you can enjoy the experience more fully.

I took up meditation and mindfulness a few years ago now and it’s helped me hugely throughout a very busy and demanding career in the corporate world. I used meditation to clear my mind of the thousands of thoughts I would ruminate on; what I had to do, what I haven’t done and the things I stressed about not being able to do.  I was living in a constant state of stress and worry which showed up in my body, my relationships and my life overall.  I was – from the outside looking in – living a great life, but this was far from the case inside me.  However implementing what I learned on IS-ness, really did change the way I was able to think more clearly, make decisions from a much calmer place and could really identify what was actually important in life, and what I no longer needed to stress over.

I encourage everyone to make IS-ness their priority business in life.  You can adopt the practice of meditation and/or mindfulness in very easy steps to begin with, and aim to progress from there.

Getting started with IS-ness

Here are some really simple tips to get you started;

• Take long, deep breaths in and out of the body to slow down your internal dialogue and notice what's happening inside your physical body and all around you.

• Really use all 5 senses to fully experience whatever you're doing; eating a meal, hugging a loved one, walking in nature, writing, playing or listening to music etc.  What do you see? Can you smell anything?  What can you hear? What can you taste? How does what you're doing make you feel?  Really aim to savour your experience in a mindful way.

• When you feel overwhelmed in life and stressed with everything you still have to or want to do, just take a moment to be still and bring yourself to the present moment where everything - right now - is OK.  (Ekhart Tolle’s book, ‘The Power of Now’ is an excellent read on being present in life).

• Meditation is a fantastic tool for being present and there are so many tools you can use to help.  Some apps I recommend are; Headspace, Buddhify and Omvana.  You can also explore so many meditations on You Tube too.  What one person will enjoy may not be good for another.  The key to meditation is developing a consistent practice.  Starting with just a few minutes each day (whenever suits you best) is a great way to build a habit in meditation. 

The big wins from making IS-ness your business

There are amazing benefits to being mindful and present. Here are 8 to start;

∙ Reduction in stress

∙ Improvement in concentration

∙ Encourages a healthy lifestyle

∙ Increases self-awareness

∙ Increases happiness

∙ Increases acceptance of yourself and your current life circumstances

∙ Slows down ageing

∙ Improves cardiovascular and immune health

Aren't these benefits alone worth giving meditation and mindfulness a try?  Give it a go and see for yourself what works best, and how you can consistently implement this into your daily life.  I would love for you to connect with me and share how you get on and any changes you notice as you practice.

Picture Credit; www.thefreelancer.co