Morning Meditation

My mum has worked in the holistic therapy field for almost 20 years, so you'd think I'm a daily practicer of meditation right? Well... no.

I have meditated and I sometimes quite enjoy the calm that comes after it, but I could never get my head into a daily situation where I set time aside for it. I usually stumble out of bed as late as possible with just enough time to be ready to leave for work. Then once I'm home I have just enough energy left to feed us, spend some low-energy time with Tom and then crawl back to bed. Sound familiar?

Well today my bladder woke me early (about 6.15 to be precise) and I just knew there'd be no going back to sleep. I had a headache already, my back was in knots and it was pretty light in the bedroom. Usually on these days I throw on the laptop and mooch about online until it's time to resume my normal routine, then lament the wasted time.

Today started similarly, but as the laptop was loading my head throbbed even more at the sight of the screen and my back ached painfully. I've seen a lot about meditation and mindfulness helping with pain and anger (something I'm becoming all too familiar with lately - thanks hormones!) so I figured "What's there to lose?"

Which is why when Tom came into the living room this morning he found me cross-legged on the floor quietly. I meditated for about 10 minutes, followed by slowly, gently stretching out my back and shoulders. Nothing fancy at all, just watching my breath and (trying) to gently let go of any thoughts, then some basic cat stretches.

And here I am at just before 7am feeling much calmer, my headache now almost gone (almost...) and my back is easing, if not completely better. Not only that, but I've almost finished writing a blog before my alarm has even gone off!

Thinking of how I felt when I first got up, I can't put this change down to anything but the meditation. So maybe I'll be trying it again very soon!

Recovering With Adult Colouring Books

Recently my sister got an adult colouring book and I was insanely jealous - especially as she had some brilliantly bright colours that brought the pages to life! I also saw this post from Three Little Buhos about them, which just furthered my need to have one in my life. While I was perusing Amazon and deciding which one to go with, my lovely mum bought me one as a treat for some of the work we've been doing together - I love my fam!

I'm not the only one with colouring envy - upon hearing that mine was on its way Tom said he wanted one, so now he has his own too. :)

I've had a number of people respond with skepticism, asking if it really is that relaxing and some have barely hidden their belief that it's a little childish (I know who you are! :p). But I've also had plenty of people asking where I got it and for recommendations so I knew it would make for a good blog!

In Annie's post (Three Little Buhos) she concentrated on how the books aid with managing stress and depression, but I've found them useful for helping with another health issue: recovering from surgery/chronic pain and fatigue.

As some of you will know I recently had my gallbladder out and it's been taking much long than anticipated to recover. Aside from working, I've not had the energy to do much and it can get very boring when your body can't do as much as your mind! Not only has the colouring been relaxing, it's also been perfect entertainment for when I wanted to do something but wasn't feeling up to a lot.

It's cheered me up to be creating something pretty and colourful when I've felt rubbish and I've been showing everyone my pictures with pride - a bit like a 5 year old really, haha!

We have 2 colouring books at the moment, both of which are nature/animal based as they're perfect for bright colours and creativity. Mine is Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom* which is full of exotic animals and patterns. The pictures in this blog are from this book. Tom's is Birds & Butterflies by Alice Chadwick* which is exactly what it says! I've been sneakily colouring in some of the butterflies in there and Tom's been working on a masterpiece of a mother bird with all her chicks.

The books are less than £10 each and offer hundreds of hours of entertainment (the tree took me the best part of an hour alone!) so they're well worth the money in my opinion.

Have you got any colouring books, or other hobbies that are similarly restful and relaxing? Let me know in the comments below - and feel free to share some pictures that you've been working on!