Take a deeeeep breath in and let it out slowly…

No, really! Try it. Stop what you’re doing for a moment and take five super-deep breaths, in and out. Take the time to feel the air as it enters and leaves your body. What do you notice? Can you feel the coolness of the air as it travels to your lungs? Do you notice any tension leaving your body as you breathe out?

Now take a moment to really notice your surroundings. Use this simple technique anytime to bring yourself into the present moment:

Name 5 things you can see (for example, dust particles floating in a sunbeam or my shih-tzu sleeping at my feet)
Name 4 things you can feel (I can feel the rim of my glasses resting on the bridge of my nose and the fabric of my socks against my feet)
Name 3 things you can hear (the whir of the dishwasher, my snoring shih-tzu)
Name 2 things you can smell (the apple pie I just baked, thankfully not my shih-tzu)
Name 1 thing you can taste (ginger tea)

These are some simple ways to bring yourself back into this moment and out of your head. Why bring yourself into the present moment? Because it’s the only one you’re faced with right now. Life happens in the present moments of our days. Letting everything else go to live in the moment can be liberating, while allowing us to notice the richness of each passing second. This is an aspect of mindfulness. A practice I have gotten to know well over the last five years, and I invite you to give it a try.

A regular mindful practice can reduce your stress levels, alleviate aspects of anxiety and depression, improve performance, enhance sleep, and increase your ability to care for yourself and your loved ones. If you stop to think about it, dwelling in the past can sometimes get you down, while thinking about the future can potentially cause anxiety. But living for the here and now? That’s truly all there is. And it’s usually quite manageable if you take it one…moment…at…a…time.

Of course, we all think about our yesterdays and tomorrows. That’s human nature and often quite necessary. But sometimes, it serves us well to put those away and just be here now. Constantly being in our heads can rob us of our true life experiences. We can miss a whole lot when we’re not fully present and aware.

For me, using mindfulness was an integral part of scheduling and following through with my boudoir shoot. In the planning stages, it certainly helped whenever I found myself worrying, or ‘musterbating’ (i.e., I ‘must’ do such and such, it ‘must’ turn out like this or that…). I worried about whether I’d be nervous and sweaty or shaky during the shoot, whether my outfits would fit right, and whether I’d be happy with my final images. The truth is, all the worrying in the world wasn’t going to have a positive impact on my outcomes.

Happily, I actually found it easy to be in the moment during the shoot itself (although I give Asif much credit for that). When you’re being guided to “arch your back, bend your right knee, put a little more arch in your back, tilt your head back, arch your back just a teensy bit more…now, hold it!” there’s really not much room in the old noodle for anything else. Thankfully, I had enough experience with my own mindful practices to fully take in the experience. All the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations made it a day to cherish and remember always.

Mindfulness, like most things in life, is a practice, not a perfect. It takes gentle reminders, over and over and over again, to get out of that headspace where we’re either trapped in the past or caught up in some worry for the future. I chose to focus on mindfulness this week not only because it is a great tool to enhance your boudoir experience, but also because this time of year can be challenging for many of us. We all have different circumstances. Some of us may be spinning around with shopping, planning, cooking, social gatherings, entertaining, decorating, and so on. While some of us may be missing those hustle and bustle days now that the kids are grown. Some of us may be without loved ones, feeling somewhat disconnected from that holiday cheer we hear so much about. Whatever your circumstances, you might be able to get a leg up (but don’t forget to arch your back) by trying a little mindfulness.