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Maru and Meditation

Have y’all met Maru?

I could watch him all day. Methinks I need a Maru in my life.

Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point wrote a great post about healthy coping skills. I have definitely had my share of unhealthy coping skills for life’s stresses over the years. I tend to mope and comfort myself with food.

So I’ve been working on developing more useful, productive, and healthy ways to deal with stress. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to meditate for at least 5 minutes everyday. It’s only been a week, but so far, it’s been going pretty well. One thing I’ve noticed is that concentrating on deep breathing for just 5 minutes a day has made me more aware of my breathing during the rest of the day. It’s like my body and my brain have suddenly been exposed to more oxygen, and so they notice it more when they don’t get as much during other activities. I’ve noticed that I breathe more shallowly when I’m on the computer or watching TV, for example. And on the other hand, I’ve noticed that I breathe more regularly and deeply when I’m at the piano. So I’ve been trying to decrease my computer time and increasing my piano time. Which will be good for me in all respects.

And wouldn’t petting a cat be a wonderful way of relaxing and relieving stress? I don’t have a cat, and I will not likely have a cat anytime in the near future, so watching YouTube videos of Maru (and other adorable pets) will have to suffice for now. But seriously, how could the stress not just melt away when you watch the adorable antics of these animals? I just can’t help but laugh and squeal with delight, and as soon as that happens, my body is able to relax a bit. During the traumatic last couple of years of my dad’s life when he was battling cancer, I took so much comfort in watching cute pet videos on the internet, and would regularly send links of them to my parents, who also got some much needed laughs from them.

I wish I had discovered Maru at the time! Seriously the funniest cat ever! And what is it with him and boxes?? It’s just too cute and bizarre and awesome.

 

Posted by on January 9, 2011 in Thoughts

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