Mindful Monday- Sit And Know You Are Sitting

    This month I am "inviting the moment" as often as I remember. Some of that entails sitting and knowing that I am sitting. We might call that being grounded. A definition of grounded is mentally and emotional stable: admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious. I think I'll settle on the mentally and emotionally stable. The picture below is an example of what my mind looks like sometimes. The dishes are not ordered and seem ready to slip away. 

                           They are not grounded

   A day ago while standing in a line at the bank, I watched a new teller interact with customers. He perched himself on a stool slightly askew, hunching forward to see the computer screen. Every few seconds he looked behind him and over to the side at the other tellers. When I arrived at the desk he delayed making eye-contact with me, taking my paper work and sorting through it. Suddenly, he thrust his hand over the desk and said, "I'm Michael, how are you?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued sorting and looking around. My thought was that this experience was making him feel very ungrounded. I introduced myself and forced him to make eye-contact. He smiled back thinly. 
   Being grounded means placing our weight evenly. If we are sitting, it is sitting deliberately and feeling our place, in the moment. Present moment awareness slows down our mind. It invites breath to slow our heart. In those seconds we know we are sitting, or standing, or lying down. It brings us back to "now."
    I had a moment yesterday at the piano. While teaching my left hip felt a sudden pain. I invited a moment to regain my groundedness. I actually said in my mind, "sit and know you are sitting." This provided space for me to adjust my posture which was compromising my left side. I came back to my student in just seconds but with a more grounded mental and physical state. 

               Invite the moment to come back to now

  This month I am being more mindful of the moment. It is part of my year long exploration of mindfulness. You can read more about my Year of Mindfulness here.