When we talk about the new year, it's usually synonymous with celebration and festive events. However, it is different from Balinese Hindus who celebrate their new year in an atmosphere of silence and serenity. We know it as Nyepi Day which is commemorated by fasting and meditation, every Saka New Year. Some activities carried out during Nyepi are also useful for us to keep ourselves calm, especially amid an uncertain pandemic. Then, how to do it? The answer will be discussed in this article.
Practicing Mindfulness
source: Ekrut.com
During a pandemic, you often feel vulnerable to overthinking, becoming more sensitive and emotional, feeling tired for a long time, changing eating or sleeping patterns, and feeling lonely. This problem makes us mentally exhausted and anxious about what will happen in the future. Therefore, we need to do activities to maintain mental health, one of which is mindfulness. Now you might ask, what is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a condition to focus on the current situation, by observing thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad. The practice of mindfulness became a psychological therapy in the 1970s which was introduced by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This practice stems from Hindu and Buddhist teachings to be more aware and stay in the present state.
Although it seems to be quite attached to a certain religion, this practice can be done by anyone due to its benefits. There is a belief it can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as a coping strategy or the ability to deal with isolation conditions such as those felt during a pandemic. In addition, according to Kabat-Zinn, this practice is also beneficial for increasing satisfaction and happiness in life as well as maintaining physical health.
So for this year’s Nyepi it feels really right to start and try mindfulness. According to mindfulness practitioner Adjie Santosoputro, even people who don't celebrate Nyepi need to take a 'step aside', in this case, to pause their thoughts. So, how can you practice mindfulness?
Things You Can Do to Be Mindful
source: ABC Australia
This mindfulness practice has two main focuses, namely acceptance, and awareness. First, acceptance is observing and accepting the things that happen in life. For example, accepting if you currently have to stay at home because of the recent spike of Covid-19 cases. Second, mindfulness is focusing on the present moment. For example, when you are eating, you need to focus on enjoying your food, not thinking about what to do next, or eating while scrolling through social media timelines.
Well, at first glance it may seem quite difficult to practice. But, take it easy, you can do some of these activities to train yourself to be more mindful.
Meditation
The first activity you can do is meditation. Meditation aims to focus thoughts and feelings with high concentration. So you can do it in your spare time or before doing activities during the day. In essence, determining the best time to meditate will depend on each individual.
Meditation practice can be done anywhere, such as while sitting relaxed for 10-20 minutes. You can adjust a comfortable sitting position, concentrate on observing your mind, practice breathing with a certain rhythm, and feel what your body feels when your eyes are closed.
If you are not the type who likes to sit for long periods, maybe you can do meditation with a focus such as gardening activities or taking walks to enjoy nature. With this activity, you can let your mind wander and be free.
Eating mindfully
Next, the activity that can be done to practice mindfulness is eating. In practice, you can try to focus on the taste of food, practice breathing while eating, feel how your body feels when enjoying food whether you are hungry or almost full, and eat in a quiet room without a television or your smartphone. From here, you will feel how you can connect with your body while eating.
Do Exercise
Apart from eating, you can also practice mindfulness while exercising. You can choose a fairly light exercise, such as walking. When you walk, you will focus your mind and focus on your breath. You can choose to walk in a place that can make you more relaxed, release your mind, and observe the road conditions or the weather around you. You don't have to rush to walk. You can take a deep breath or pause for a moment.
Another option for practicing mindfulness is through yoga. Yoga is a physical exercise that focuses on breathing exercises. To practice on your own, you need to know in advance about the type of yoga you prefer, or you can choose from the easiest. Even if you find it difficult to do it yourself, you can find an instructor to know the right yoga position for beginners.
Minimize the use of gadgets
And at last, another way to learn to be more mindful is to minimize or reduce the use of gadgets and being connected to the internet, or so-called digital detox. This is to reduce stress levels when you are connected 24 hours a day, easily distracted, prone to comparing yourself with others, and fear of missing out. Before doing it, you can tell your closest people and other friends if you are going to do this detox. The practice is quite simple, namely by doing a few things below.
Reduce some applications that do not provide benefits to life. For example, choose social media that is often used and uninstall the application that is most rarely used by you.
Replace the time commonly used for activities in social media, with other activities, such as reading books, playing music, painting, and others. Yes, this activity aims to keep yourself away with gadgets and notifications from social media.
Identify yourself by finding out what we want to do and giving ourselves pause to observe how relationships are entwined with others. You can record it through a journal.
From an explanation of how to practice mindfulness, you can begin to learn to enjoy the silence, as you do during Nyepi. This mindfulness practice can also be done anytime and anywhere. Make yourself calmer in dealing with this pandemic situation. In addition, you also have space to be creative and recognize yourself and enjoy life with small joys. Because of mindfulness, you can learn to observe your thoughts and recognize what you are feeling. So, let's try to practice mindfulness to be healthier and mentally strong during the pandemic.
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