Narelle Hunter RURAL LIFESTYLE

Introduction to Meditation. IF YOU WOULD ENJOY NARELLE'S AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS POST, PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK TO THREE RECORDINGS ON SOUNDCLOUD:  Introduction to meditation by Narelle Hunter Moving Meditation AUDIO by Narelle Awareness Meditation AUDIO by Narelle    “Meditation is the practice of moving towards an inner stillness. Some days this feels easier to achieve than others.  Therefore, there are many ways to adapt our practice, depending on how we feel and what commitments we have on the day.    Meditation can be anything from sitting in stillness, focusing on the breath for a few moments to walking in nature, drawing our attention to the trees or other details we enjoy.    If practiced regularly, meditation has the potential to anchor us to an inner steadiness that can serve us well when during times of stress.    Learning a breath focused meditation can be particularly helpful.  The body is watching the breath, therefore if we can maintain a smooth, calm inhalation and ex

Where is your attention?  This is actually an interesting question.  ·        Our focus can be outside of us (exteroception)  ·        We can be noticing where we fit within our environment (proprioception) and  ·        The other place we can have our attention is within ourselves ( interoception.)  Another way of understanding these 3 ways to focus our attention is by asking  1/ What is going on around me?  2/ Where is my body within this space ? (This is handy if we don’t want to bump into others in a crowd or we are trying a new yoga posture or a stretch.)  3/ What is my gut instinct in this situation? What is going on within my own body and mind. Is there a steadiness within me? What does my body, mind and spirit need right now?   In our busy world it is easy to have our focus outside of ourselves most of the time. We can become concerned with what others people think and what others need, putting our own dreams and needs to the side. It sometimes feels easier to be flexible and n

I noticed something about my daily mindfulness practice that really works for me and I would love to share this with you. Mindfulness has consistently pointed me in the direction of my most purposeful and peaceful life. There is something so magical about pausing and seeing the world in a whole new way.  Finding the pause is the tricky part.    I recently gave an example of this on Instagram @narelle.hunter. I recorded what the landscape looked like when I was rushing, then I stopped for just one minute and took a short video of the sheep by a dam on sunset. Reflections of red and orange clouds where in the water as two ducks swam by. It was truly lovely and my whole body took a breath.    I often say that I try to keep one foot in the present but what I noticed this morning, might be a more useful tip.  There are very precise places in my garden and on the farm, that stop me in my tracks.  For example, I have a little garden outside our kitchen window. There are two bird baths there a