Ariana Dunne – Life & Business Coach

As a life and business coach a common and recurring theme exists with many of my clients. In today’s busy world getting time to yourself and feeling fully present is a constant struggle. My clients come to me frazzled and burnt out and looking for answers to help them slow down and recapture some lost parts of themselves.

My question to them is always the same. 

Do you practice mindfulness? 

In the majority of cases the answer is no, or ‘I try to but I don’t know how’. 

I can empathise with this. For years, before embarking on my new career path, I too was frazzled and burnt out. I tried yoga and meditation, I made homemade glitter water bottles and read books by the Dalai Lama but nothing ever seemed to be able to quiet my over exerted little mind. I lived mostly in the future and often in the past but the present eluded me. But one day I decided to quit my job and pursue other passions.

A few weeks later I booked myself into a writers and artists retreat in the south of France where I lived for three months almost entirely off grid. This was where the present came fully into focus. I would sit by the stream and marvel at blue dragonflies for what seemed like hours listening to nothing but the birdsong and the bees. I would breathe in the fresh air and say hello to the octogenarian neighbours who pulled fresh courgette flowers from the ground to eat for their lunch not 15 minutes later. This slow paced way of life was an eye opener. The people in the tiny valley village didn’t care about US politics or Brexit or Instagram influencers. They didn’t have traffic to navigate or emails to tend to. They simply lived moment to moment, day to day and were as content as could be doing so. 

Of course my time in this idyll did not last forever and soon I was back in the hustle and bustle of the real world but the experience taught be that we need to teach ourselves, or be taught the art of mindfulness. Like Yoga it is a constant practice. Something we should constantly and consciously be aware of in order for it to be affective. We must work on pulling ourselves back to the present through things like positive self-talk, mindful eating, awareness of ourselves and the space we hold at any given moment. Of course this is not possible 24/7. We live in a fast paced world where our senses get assaulted with over 11 million bits of information per second. So that is why mindfulness becomes an even more necessary tool for humans to integrate into their daily routine. 

My clients often know that mindfulness will help them, they just struggle with the how. Which is why I always recommend doing a mindfulness course. A course which will help them to not only understand the benefits mindfulness can bring, but also the practical elements of how to put it into practice and eliminate the guilt that can often accompany a desire for ‘me time’. 

Self-care is so important to the wellbeing of not just ourselves but also for our families, our colleagues and just about everyone we interact with. Making yourself happier is, in the long run the best thing you can do to make a difference in the world because a happier you has unlimited possibilities.

When clients are having a coaching session with me they are in essence slowing down, being present and practicing mindfulness by focusing on themselves in that present moment.  

Coaching, Mindfulness and Yoga are all things being offered by Jenny McGrath under The Mindful Tree umbrella so make sure you get in touch if you want to know more about how these amazing disciplines can help you.

Ariana

Life & Business Coach