Gently move in the direction you are going.

As I mentioned yesterday, I had the occasion to be in New York City over the weekend. The pace of New York City is a  frenzied, manufactured pace – one that is demanded by the architects of culture. People moving fast going nowhere. The image of a hamster in a revolving cage comes to mind.

The last time I was there in 2004 was the impetus to create my CD RELAX IN 2 MINUTES. I asked myself how could I help people slow down their pace so that they didn’t rush past the moment in an effort to get to another moment. The simple answer came to me quickly. It was to focus on the body.

Your body is always in the present moment while the mind frenetically darts back and forth between the imagined future and your personal history, commonly called the past. The body is always here and now – so focus on your body when you want to ground yourself. It is such a terrific way to get yourself out of your head. That’s one of the main reasons people enjoy massage. The contact made with their body keeps them focused on the movements being made by the massage therapist and the soothing feelings being generated in each muscle group. This focusing on what is happening now naturally leads to a quieting of the mind. The result is your pace slows down to a natural, rhythmic movement – not an artificial tempo generated by a pulsating drumbeat from your head.

You don’t even have to buy my CD to learn how to relax, recharge and get grounded in the moment. You can just take a couple moments out of your day and do this exercise.

Take a nice, deep breath and then exhale slowly. Then just gently close your eyes. Next, start putting your attention on your body parts. You can start at your feet and work your way up or start at your head and work your way down. Just notice or sense what is going on in the body part your are focusing on. Don’t try and make that body part do something – just focus your attention on it and sense what’s going on there. Once you’ve noticed the sensations in that body part, gently move to the next body part until you complete the sequence. With practice, you will eventually be able to do this in 2 minutes or less. You will feel, calm, recharged, and more space will show up between your thoughts.

If you want formal instruction in the exercise, order my CD RELAX IN 2 MINUTES and I will hand walk you through the exercise. After listening for a few times, you will be able to do this simple exercise anytime, anywhere and come back to the only place where life is happening – the here and now.

Focusing on your body is a passport to the present.

All the best,

John