3 Spiritual Practices For Busy and Tired People
It’s tempting to think that a quick meditation or yoga practice is all we need to feel well. But the reality is that we are both human and divine. Spiritual practices need to form the foundation of your life in order to bring the soothing calm when then waters of life are choppy.
Too often, when we are feeling overwhelmed, we use spirituality to mask our feelings of loss, grief, anger and fear. This is avoidance with a spiritual exterior. Sadly, it doesn’t fix our ill-ease.
Understanding the concept of spiritual bypassing is crucial. It’s a practice that may make us feel worse in the long term as it suppresses our pain, feeding the shadow side of ourselves that often causes chaos in our lives (through self-sabotage, addictions, and anger).
Work Through Your Mental Issues
Contrary to popular belief, spiritual practices don’t require hours of dedication. They can be simple, short, and easily incorporated into your daily routine.
“Many people who come to spiritual practice are frightened by their feelings. They hope meditation will help them to transcend the messiness of the world and leave them invulnerable to difficult feelings. But this is a false transcendence, a denial of life. It is fear masquerading as wisdom.”
– Jack Kornfield
Here are three of my favourite low-energy and time spiritual practices
Mindfulness – Taking a walk in nature
Dedicate 15 to 30 minutes to walking outside in nature. Listen to the birds, feel your feet against the ground, look up to the sky, and smile at strangers. Walking can be active mindfulness.
Breathwork – Take a long exhale
Long exhales quieten the parasympathetic nervous system, which induces relaxation and well-being. Check out this week’s YouTube video.
Choose a simple mantra to ground and centre yourself.
Mantras hold ancient significance in various religions, but their use is not limited to any particular faith. They are a universal tool for grounding.
Some of my favourite simple mantras are the following:
- So Hum (or Soham) – is my favourite mantra, as you can time it with your breath. Inhaling in is ‘so’, and exhaling out is ‘hum.’ So Hum means “I am One with Reality.” or “I am That“,
- Om Mani Padme Hum (om mah-nee pahd-mey hoom) – This beautiful mantra is grounding but soothing. It means, “The jewel of consciousness is in the heart’s lotus.”
- I Am – This mantra is profound but straightforward. Rest in the I Am, or the Source of that which you are, is a central practice of self-inquiry and jnana yoga.
