HEALTH YOURSELF
WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING LATE
We invest in gadgets, stock up on supplements and sign up to gym classes to improve our health and wellbeing, but what if we told you the most powerful tool you have is actually free? In our new weekly column, JANINE THOMAS explains how using your body, mind and breath can help you sail through life — and it won’t cost you a cent. Each week she takes a different, often challenging, scenario and shows you how to make the best of it using the simplest methods.
THIS morning I had a hospital appointment for my daughter. The HSE letter seemed overly fierce about punctuality, stating that if we were late or failed to turn up, we would be taken off the waiting list — and that was that.
The HSE has a point. My six-year-old had waited 18 months for this audiology appointment — and I’m guessing all the other children scheduled to be seen today had waited this long, too. Any tardiness might mean another child would not be able to get a vital check-up.
This might sound harsh, but being late is intrinsically selfish. Your delay is wasting someone else’s time while they hang around and wait for you to show up.
However, a delay is sometimes unavoidable, and there can be no worse feeling. If, like me, you hate being late, you immediately move into panic mode. I get flustered, anxious and start rushing, which gets me nowhere fast.
You see it all the time — manic drivers performing dangerous manoeuvres, people dashing down the streets — we make mistakes, forget things and work ourselves into a right old state, all for the sake of a few minutes.
Ironically, the best thing to do when you’re running late is to slow down. This simple meditation will help you do this. You can try it whenever you’re running late and on your way, either in the car, on public transport or walking:
1. Bring your attention to the breath. If you’re rushing, the rhythm of your breath might feel fast and uneven, or a little jagged around the edges.
2. Keep your eyes open. Allow all the muscles of your face to soften, especially focusing on the space between your eyebrows. Relax your shoulders and feel the belly soften, too.
3. As you inhale, say to yourself, in your head, ‘Slow’. As you exhale say to yourself ‘Down’.
4. ‘Slow.’ ‘Down.’ Continue for as long as you feel necessary.
You will be surprised how effective this is, both physically and mentally. After all, you don’t want to arrive at your destination a sweaty, nervous wreck.
If you are always running late, that’s another matter. Were we habitually late before the invention of mobile phones? Of course not. It was rare to have to find a pay phone and call a friend who had stood you up. Now we can text or call to let people know we are delayed, which many of us think lets us off the hook.
But there’s still that person you’re meeting, who is left hanging around. If that’s you, use your time wisely. If you’re waiting for someone, it’s easy to get annoyed or waste your time swiping through social media. Instead, try the ‘Slow Down’ meditation to curtail your frustration, or use your phone to read the news, make a to-do list or catch up with online chores.
If you’re indoors and sitting comfortably, you could try a short visual meditation to clear the mind and increase your concentration levels. This involves staring at a single point such as a small object or candle flame.
You can use anything nearby, from your fingernail or a ring on your hand to an object on a coffee table, such as a sugar cube or coin.
1. Focus your gaze on your object of choice. Examine it closely, looking at every minute detail, without blinking.
2. When your eyes feel tired or start to tear up, close them and hold the image in your mind’s eye.
3. Repeat three times — or until the person you’re meeting shows up.
If you’re running late, try to be more realistic about your scheduling. It doesn’t hurt to be ten minutes early — and if you are, it might be you sitting there, all chilled out and focused, savouring a much-needed break in your day.