The Apple Habit: Patterns of Mind, Movement & Emotion

I have developed the habit of bringing an apple to school every day. The convenience of such a portable snack is more important to me than the adage, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’. But when I have extended time away work, I can quickly get out of my apple habit.

Habits are like that. The more you do something,
healthy or unhealthy, the more ingrained the pattern becomes
until the habit is formed.

Consider your healthy patterns of mind, movement and emotion that will become strong, foundational habits to make the transition back into the school year smooth and built on a firm, mindful foundation.

1. Mind – Gratitude
Complaining is an all-too-common pattern that easily becomes a habit. We are socially wired to see the negative first. But gratitude is a free and simple antidote that can override the complaining habit. What if you started and ended each day with three things for which you are grateful? Aren’t you curious to see if the pattern of noticing the positive first quickly becomes a mindful habit?

2. Movement – Mobility
Apparently ‘sitting is the new smoking’. When I’m out of my regular work routine, I can often create the pattern of seeing being sedentary as a reward for working so hard. While times of rest can be restorative, we are also meant to move regularly with ease and stability. And to learn from the wisdom of our moving bodies. What if we separated mindful movement from the concept of exercise for fitness and practiced the pattern of movement as a gift we give ourselves?

3. Emotion – Pause
Automatic emotions can come up ‘out of the blue’ and we often live in the pattern of being totally unaware of their source. Since emotions come directly from our thoughts then pausing long enough to know what thoughts preceded the emotion is key. Pausing, taking a breath, counting to ten, considering if the preceding thought was distorted and noticing where the emotion is showing up in our body are all valuable ways to create a thoughtful, emotional-regulation habit.

Take a moment to consider your own patterns of mind, movement & emotion. What choices could you make now to begin growing patterns and building habits in each of these areas that will be a strong base to firmly ground you for this coming school year?

posted by Danette Adams, Student Services