Growing in importance every day, mindfulness and wellness are pivotal for getting the most out of life.
The practice of mindfulness combines elements of eastern and western techniques, such as psychology (the western study of the mind), and Buddhism (eastern philosophy). Its power in connecting the mind and spirit to the physical body is important in our overall well-being and mindfulness psychology.
Primal Peak includes mindfulness and wellness tips because of the many positive benefits that come from these approaches. Eating well is a great way to living well, but without giving your heart and mind the attention they need, it’s not enough that your body is in tip-top shape!
If you are new to the concepts of mindfulness and wellness let’s explore what it means to us as individuals. We will then point you in the direction of several articles here on Primal Peak with a variety of ideas you can try incorporating into your own family’s lifestyle.
What is Mindfulness?
The short of mindfulness is “living in the present,” which is easier said than done. Every single day each of us has hundreds of thoughts whizzing in our minds.
It doesn’t matter if you are a six-year-old child, a 17-year-old teen, a 30-something married mom or a 65-year old grandpa, we all have worries, fears and a constantly changing list of priorities that we feel are important to our lives.
When we focus too much on the past or worry too much about the future our minds can get fixated on details. For example, a teen can worry excessively about an upcoming test. Then they may start to panic that they didn’t study enough, or regret that they spent time on social media when they could have been cramming for the big exam.
These thoughts can cascade into the teen worrying that their future grades won’t be good enough for them to get into the college they hope to, then find a career and have what they deem as a “successful life”.
It’s completely natural for such thoughts to race through our heads, but when we become fixated on them it can lead to anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness or of not being good enough.
Mental illness can be a worst-case scenario from having such dark thoughts. The good news is that practicing mindfulness and the power of the present is a method we, and our children, can use to set racing thoughts to the side and improve our well-being.
Incorporating Mindfulness into Families
Mindfulness activities and mindfulness for kids and families are at the core of Primal Peak, so please come back as often as you wish. We keep adding new articles to Primal Peak that touch on various aspects of mindfulness in family living. Some of our favorites are listed below.
Check back to see what we’ve added!
What is Wellness?
Would you agree that most people want to feel well? But, what does feeling “well” actually mean? Are there strategies to becoming the optimum version of yourself?
The modern concept of wellness is an ongoing process that you mentally decide to take, making small steps towards being a better version of you – physically, mentally and emotionally. A person can be at various stages in those three areas, and there may be limits to how far you can go. But, as the old saying goes, the journey might be more important than the destination.
Each of us has different wellness goals in life and those goals may change depending on the stage we are in. For some, they may want to find more time for rest. Getting more sleep may help reduce the feeling of being on-edge or improve your mental clarity throughout the day.
Making small steps towards a better sleep schedule – for example, saying no to using your smartphone or other forms of electronic stimulus before bedtime – can be a part of your wellness strategy.
Learn more about the additional elements of wellness that Primal Peak encourages.
Ideas for Your Family’s Wellness Plans
Primal Peak has several articles that touch upon wellness. We examine these ideas from several different vantage points, sometimes with a light heart and sometimes more seriously. Our goal is to give you new ideas and strategies that you can try out to move your personal wellness goals forward.
New wellness articles will be added to the list below. Make sure to return here and see recent additions.
