I want to introduce to you the mindful practice of taking purposeful pauses throughout your day.
Janice Marturano, founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, defines purposeful pause as “it’s a moment in the day when you notice the swirl and choose to intentionally pay attention.” What is the swirl?
- You are in a meeting, but your attention is focused on something in the past or the future.
- You are talking with several people and at the same time reading text messages. When you walk away, you can’t recall what people were talking about.
Yuck, I’ve done that in meetings. So, how does one do a purposeful pause? Marturano says, “Take a few moments to intentionally guide your attention back to the present by feeling the breath, hearing the sounds in your surroundings, or noticing the sensations in your body.”
On a recent early morning, I felt the swirl upon waking up. My mind was like a jack rabbit, jumping from one thing to another. I felt it in my body – tense, a slight pounding in my head, and anxiousness underneath it all. It was time for a purposeful pause. Instead of my normal routine of eating breakfast while reading the newspaper, I went outside into our back yard filled with gardens. I sat at our picnic table and simply ate breakfast, focusing on the flavors of blueberries that topped my home made granola. I breathed and took in our flowers and the slightly moving clouds. Just be.
My bodily sensations I had earlier slowly lessened. I enjoyed not reading the news and just being in the midst of flowers and the early morning sky. My morning went much smoother than if I had ignored what my body was telling me.
One can do this at any time, maybe just for a few moments. Feel the sensations, breathe, and just be. Then, move on with our day. Enjoy the sip of coffee, smell the flowers, drive to work taking a different route or with no music, or eat lunch and give attention to your food. We will be more awake, able to respond rather than react, and slow down the treadmill we are on.
What are the swirls you’ve experienced? How do you take purposeful pauses in your day?