Creideann go leor daoine go bhfuil go leor oibre i gceist leis an aireachas a chleachtadh. Síleann siad go gcaithfidh siad rud sa bhreis a dheanamh le go mbeidh cleachtadh acu ach tá mise anseo le hinsint duit nach bhfuil sin fíor!

A lot of people think that to practice mindfulness you have to put work into it. It can be thought of as something else to add to an already full to-do list but I am here to tell you that that doesn’t have to be the case! 

Táimid ar fad an-ghnóthach cheana féin agus níl aon rud eile uainn sa saol le rudaí a dhéanamh níos gnóthaí! Agus leis an smaoineamh sin, le haireachas a chleachtadh ní gá duit ach a bheith airdeallach ar an méid atá tú ag déanamh cheana féin. An tseachtain seo caite labhair mé ar an gcaoi gur féidir leat suigh nó a bheith má tá tú ag iarraidh suigh síos go ciúin in áit éigin leis an aireachas a chleachtadh. Bhí mé ag déanamh tagartha do chleachtadh ar leith; nuair atá am ar leith agat le gur féidir leat suigh síos agus a bheith ciúin. Muna bhfuil am mar sin agat is féidir leat aireachas a chleachtadh ag úsáid rudaí a dhéanann tú cheana féin.

We are all already really busy, we don’t need to add anything else to our lists and so that is how we can practice mindfulness. We can use something we already do and simply bring a mindful awareness to it and voila! We have a mindfulness practice! Last week I spoke about how to sit or lie when you are practicing mindfulness but that blog referred to a seated meditation practice, if that is what you have time to do or what you want to do but sitting in quiet meditation is not the only way to practice mindfulness.

Mar shampla, is féidir leat cleachtadh aireachais a dhéanamh as do bhricfeasta. Bí airdeallach ar an mbia a roghnaíonn tú le hithe, bí airdeallach ar an mbealach go ndéanann tú an bia sin réidh agus mothaigh an bia sin i do bhéal, an blas, conas a mothaíonn sé agus tú críochnaithe. An ólann tú aon rud? An bhfuil an rud sin té nó fuar, cén boladh atá aige.

For example you can practice mindfulness when you are having your breakfast. You can become aware of your food choices, the colours of your food, what you do in order to prepare it, how does your food taste? Do you drink anything? What does your drink of taste look like, taste like, smell like?

Agus sin do chleachtadh aireachais. Ní gá duit rud mór casta a dhéanamh as, coinnigh go simplí é agus beidh sé i bhfad níos fusa duit!

And that is your mindfulness practice. Please don’t make it more complicated then that, because it is not complicated! Mindfulness is simply the practice of bring awareness to what we are doing so if you bring that awareness to whatever you are doing then you are practicing mindfulness. Simple.

Ag leanúint ar aghaidh ó bhlag na seachtaine seo caite tá mé ag iarraidh labhairt ar an mbealach le suigh nó le luigh agus tú ag cleachtadh aireachais. Tá go leor amuigh ansin nach aontóidh liom ach mo thuairim féin air ná bí compordach. Má dhéanann tú iarracht suigh nó luigh ar bhealach atá míchompordach beidh an cleachtadh ar fad dírithe ar do mhíchompord.

Continuing on from last week’s blog a little bit, I want to talk about how to sit or lie or just generally be when you are meditating. There are lots of people out there who will disagree with me but my thoughts on it are very simple; be comfortable. If you try to force yourself to sit or lie some why that is uncomfortable for you the whole practice will become about your uncomfort. That is all that you will be able to think about or notice.

Rinne mé traenáil leis an eagraíocht Breathworks. Bíonn siad agus mé ag múineadh cúrsaí do dhaoine atá faoi strus agus daoine atá ag maireachtáil le pian. Toisc go mbíonn na rannpháirtithe sa darna cineál ranga i bpian deir muid leo iad féin a dhéanamh compordach agus is mar sin a bhím an t-aon rud a bheidh tú ag smaoineamh air.

I did my mindfulness training with the English organisation, Breathworks. They and I teach mindfulness courses for people suffering from chronic stress and chronic pain. Because the participants for the pain course are already in pain, we tell them to make themselves comfortable and I personally extend that sentiment to all of my class participants.

Má luíonn tú síos bíonn an buaireamh ann go dtitfidh tú i do chodail agus beidh an seans sin ann cinnte ach mas rud é gur sin an t-aon bhealach compordach atá agat le bheith ar feadh tréimhse aireachais luigh síos! Le do thoil! Má cheapann daoine go gcaithfidh siad a bheith ar bhealach ar leith nach bhfuil compordach dóibh is lú seans ann go leanfaidh siad leis an gcleachtadh.
If you lie down when you meditate there is the fear that you will fall asleep but if that is the only position you can comfortably sit in for a meditation session then by all means go ahead! If people think the only way to meditate is to sit in a certain position that is uncomfortable for them they there is a high chance the will not return to meditation. I would rather they are comfortable so they may choose to continue to practice.

Go bunúsach, bí compordach, cuir blaincéad ort má tá seans go n-éiríodh tú fuar, múch an fón nó fiú an fhuaim ar an bhfón agus déan iarracht a bheith in áit chiúin, rud go d’fhéadfaidh a bheith deacair faoi láthair le gach duine sa bhaile ach is fiú an iarracht a dhéanamh agus b’fhéidir iarraidh ar dhaoine a bheith beagán níos ciúine duit ar feadh tréimhse gairid.

Basically, be comfortable. If you think you’ll get cold use a blanket, turn off your phone or at least the sound on your phone and try to find somewhere quiet. This however may be a challenge due to everyone being at home but maybe you could ask your household to keep the noise down and if not, try to use the sounds. Can you hear the sounds going on around you and not react, just hear them and not make up a story about them? Let me know how that goes for you!

Le go mbeidh slat tomhais agat, bím féin i mo shuigh ar mo leaba nó ar an talamh agus cuirim mo dhroim in aghaidh balla le mé a choinneal díreach agus cuirim mo chosa díreach amach os mo chomhair. Sin an bealach is fearr domsa ach go bunúsach, níl bealach ar leith níos fearr ná bealach eile, déan an rud a oibríonn duitse agus beidh tú i gceart!

To give you an idea, when I meditate I sit on the bed or on the floor and I lean my back against the wall. I put my feet straight out in front of me and I always use a blanket because I tend to get cold. This is a way that works for me; I am comfortable and I am warm. Find a way that works for you and stick with that.

Má tá tuilleadh moltaí nó eolas ag éinne nó má tá stiúir uait i do chleachtadh aireachais tosóidh mo chéad chúrsa aireachais eile ar an Déardaoin, 8 Aibreán. Bígí i dteagmháil liom más suim leat é a phlé. 

If anyone is looking for more information or advice or if you’re looking for some guidance on your meditation practice I will be starting another adult mindfulness class on Thursday, 8th April so let me know if you want to have a chat about it!