Be Where Your Feet Are
A client I’ve been working with has been struggling with anxiety and panic attacks in a high demand job with very high burnout potential. This week she came in and said that she has been panic attack free for 2 weeks and feeling so much better. One of the ways she started to feel better is that she shed light on a dark spot within her by opening up to her partner about something from her past. This released her from the shame of her past and also allowed her to let go of it.
The other way that she attributes to feeling better is coming across the quote “Be where your feet are” from a podcast she was listening to. She said that the awareness of her feet and where they are in space was such a great reminder of keeping a present-moment awareness.
I remember the moment I discovered this present-moment awareness myself. It was my freshman year of college and I got invited to a party and was feeling so anxious as I strolled up, trying to seem cool. All the while feeling like there was a squirming alien in my stomach.
“Occupy your space. Be where your feet are. Be present, now, here, now, here; begin again, and again, and again.”
This one particular evening I was sitting down next to someone I had just met. Mid-conversation, I had a realization that changed my life forever. It was this: rather than having fun or enjoying the moment, I was barely even paying attention to what was actually happening. I was talking a mile a minute, frantically wondering what this person next to me thought of me, did they think I was boring, were they waiting for someone better to talk to. My eyes darted around the room listening to other peoples conversations. I became aware that I was outside of my body, outside of myself. I checked in with where I was by taking a deep breath and then I instinctively pressed my feet into the floor. I felt my feet rooted there and that suddenly brought my whole body into focus. I became aware of my breathing and of myself. For a brief moment, the questions stopping looping and my mind stopped swirling some place outside of me. In this moment of quiet and calm, something came over me then, a little voice inside that said, “Occupy your space, Becky.” This repeated in my head a few times, each time getting stronger and more obvious, until I even said it aloud right there, sitting next to my new friend, who looked at me like I was nuts.
Years later I would discover that this moment of awareness, where I caught my thoughts looping and jumping and racing around, and then brought it back to the present-moment with a breath and body focus, is a moment of Mindfulness. Mindfulness Meditation is a practice that has been taught to enhance focus, concentration, and improve mood for more than 2500 years.
Occupy your space. Be where your feet are. Be present, now, here, now, here; begin again, and again, and again.
When was your first moment of mindfulness? Share below in the comments section!
