Last week I mentioned my “shortcuts” in the pursuit of mindfulness, because it’s hard to both notice our breathing AND focus on an object. For those of us who endure anxiety, it’s especially challenging to be present and in the moment. To be at one with ourselves can feel like a luxury – we’ve got too many burning ripples in our stomachs; the physical pain alone is distracting.

Even if we do try to focus on numbers relating to our breathing, we anxious people tend to quicken the speed when reciting the figures in our head. It’s hard to slow down.
Breathing in a focused or controlled manner, in conjunction with practising mindfulness, truly does help our mental wellbeing, For over almost a decade now I’ve collected many quirky, unique techniques to help me get through the day…

The beautiful rose

One day, as I was rushing to a catch a bus, I noticed a huge pink tea rose hanging over a garden wall. Instantly it evoked a happy memory – being in my late nannie’s garden. I quickly buried my nose into its welcoming bloom – the scent took me back years. I recalled the warm sun on the nape of my neck…

The bus churned noisily behind me. I stooped to the ground, popped a petal in my pocket, and thanked “her” for the warm memory. It’d pulled me away from my nagging painful gut that was competing, and largely at odds with, my overly-frazzled mind. Too much thinking, and insufficient processing time!

But then I realised something. Because I wasn’t driving, I didn’t have to concentrate on the traffic. I had a sliver of time to relax. I saw the invisible pen check “Drive to meeting” off my stressful list of “Things Which Make Me Anxious”. This time, I allowed myself to sit in the moment of relief – I enjoyed the sigh, so did it again, as I played with the petal between my fingers.

Instantly I was back in Nannie’s garden. She loved roses to such an extent that every variety adorned her “bowling green” lawn of her perfect cottage retreat. It had been my retreat too, once.
Soon I recalled the glorious plethora of scents. A large lavender bush flourished in the central flower bed and exuded such a sense of peace in its calming bouquet. It made me think again of the sweet, happy-evoking scents of the roses. They hung regally, in every delicate pink, yellow and red hues imaginable – every bloom wafting its perfume. Nannie’s garden was like an orchestra of smell!

As I rode the bus in an anxious lull, I consciously looked at as many flowers outside as I could. My breathing had calmed, and the worry-rash on my neck had disappeared.
I thought about the imminent meeting from a new perspective. I knew the people well, and it was really more of an informal catch up. It wouldn’t run on late… and actually, I did have enough time to pop to the bank after all!