The Shift

Do you know how to shift? When I say shift I mean shift your mental state from stressed, frazzled or really any overwhelming emotion or thought. So many of us live our lives on autopilot, allowing media, work and other inputs to control our most precious resource - OUR ATTENTION. Learning how to make a shift can rest this stream of automatic thoughts or state.

The shift can be as simple as taking a minute or two to sit in stillness, breathe or focus your mind on your intention or it you could use movement, music or any form of focused attention to shift your mind.

If your feeling overwhelm or a need to regain some control over your thoughts and mind I urge you to take time to discover your shift. My go to shift is movement, it always has been and I suspect as long as I can continue moving it will be. Movement has a way that clears my mind, allows me to see through the chaos and focus on my tasks, goals and aspirations. Yes I said it goals and aspirations - I want to shift my mind to my personal goals what sets my soul on fire. Of course many times the shift is simply to stop the negative thoughts or stop my emotions from getting away from me but the overriding goal is always to find space for what I really want to do and become.

So I engage in running, swimming, rowing, mobility, walking - really any focused movement to create shift. It doesn't have to be so intense you make yourself sick rather often it is the low level or zone 2 type of movement that can provide the most profound shift and space for creativity to flow.

The other shift I engage in on a daily basis is breath and stillness - if my mind or my emotions become overwhelming I try to take a few deep calming breaths and allow my nervous system to reset and refocus. One of my non-negotiable is taking time, usually 10 minutes, to spend time in stillness and focus on breathing. This 10 minutes is often the only time I have other than my movement practices to sit and simply be. Of course my goal is always to be more present, more focused with my loved ones, my work and my life but sometimes that Monkey Mind takes over without us even knowing it.

I am also luck in my work there is and always has been a shift...as a chiropractor and movement therapist I focus intently on my patients problems and during treatment the more focused I am the more the patient benefits. So I guess my daily quest is to cultivate more presence, focus and shift my mind away from chaos to presence. Its not always done, emotions run high but if the intent and goal is there you will succeed in the long run.

I want to leave you with a few ways you can try to shift your mental and emotional state when it gets away with you. If one of them really resonate then keep doing it, cultivate it, practice and refine it to suit your needs.

1. Move - take 10 minutes to move when your feeling the need for a shift. You could go for a walk, a short run, do squats/pushups or some other interval or practice some mobility. If your pressed for time as little as just 1 minute could be enough to create the shift.

2. Breathe - take 5-10 minutes to sit comfortably, eyes closed and simply focus on your breath in and out. You could try a relaxing breath where you breathe IN for 4 seconds, Hold for 7 seconds and OUR for 8 seconds. There are so many ways you can breathe to shift take time to discover which works best for you.

3. Laugh - I mean belly laugh, the act of smiling and laughing will undoubtedly create the shift. You could watch a funny video, giggle with a friend or my all time favourite play tickle monster (with my toddler).

4. Connect - take 5 or 10 minutes to really connect with someone, focus on them, your relationship or whatever type of connection you need. When connecting to other humans our bodies release oxytocin the 'love' and 'happy' hormone and it will also create shift.

5. Gratitude - simply taking the time to think, focus and discover things your grateful for can create shift. It can be your family, friends, a fresh morning coffee or your health whatever your grateful for does not matter - what matters is the act of actively being grateful.

There are an endless list of ways you can create the shift and I urge you to try many, to see which work best for you. You likely already know what activities or things you can do to create the shift, cultivate them, execute them more frequently in order to live a more fulfilled life. Recently I purchased a small silver whistle like pendant which many would think of a gimmick. Its actually called The Shift and I wear it on my neck to allow me to shift quickly and easily whenever I need it. My 4 year old son loves using it and I have taught him when he feels overwhelmed to come over and take a few breaths. The simplicity is how it works and if your someone that might benefit from this sort of reminder I urge you to checkout their website - KomusoDesign

Start your shifting today.