By JACCI GRUNINGER
MS, C-IAYT, ERYT500, RPYT
Los Alamos

We have at our disposal at any moment, the perfect tools to be mindful and take a quick break. Our senses play a big role in our day to day living but have you ever considered using them to help you be present and mindful? Consider the following thoughts.

Smell

I have always felt I have a heightened sense of smell. I can walk into a room and smell mold where no one else can. Cigarette smell I find incredibly offensive. However, I am just as overpowered by the scent of lavender or any kind of perfume. Sage is another killer. I may be oversensitive when it comes to smell, but I am okay with that. I often categorize smells as good or bad or somewhere in between. Some smells have distinct memories for me while others seem to be alerts.

When I visited India, there were various kinds of smells mixed together. Many of the hotels used an oil with a very strong perfume smell to keep away the mosquitos. Then there was the pollution and people’s smells.

The smells of the food were also something I noticed. When walking into a temple one could find many smells – incense, flowers, people and sometimes the smell of dampness.

I find myself very repelled by certain smells, automatically making judgements. I am trying not to judge it and just be with it. I’ll tell you, it is not any easy task. Whether I think the smell is good or bad, I immediately make associations. This is a wonderful practice to cultivate just being with what is. I’ve also noticed that smells change as I stay with them. I wonder if I am just getting used to it or if it mellows and becomes more neutral when I don’t judge it?

Taste

Sweet, salty, savory, sour and bitter. Tasting is one way we learn, especially as small children. As children our taste buds far outnumber our parents’ taste buds. A friend of mine shared this with my son when he was little in an effort to encourage him to try things more than once, saying your taste buds are always changing. He, of course, turned it around on me saying, “Well you know I have more taste buds than you do so I might not like as many things.” I’m happy to report that now as a young adult he has expanded his palate and is open to many unfamiliar flavors and tastes.

I’ve been told that various parts of our tongue taste different things and if we can’t smell we might not be able to taste. I find it interesting as well that we use the term taste to also explain circumstances. We often say an experience left a bad taste in our mouth.

I sometimes find I can taste something, an essence, without eating or drinking anything but then I also have a good sense of smell. It’s harder to explain but various places seem to me to have different tastes. It is an interesting experiment and notice what’s going on in your mouth as you move through your day.

Touch

When I have pain, I use my hands to help relieve the pain or soothe the area. A friend once told me when you bump into something and there is pain, make an ever-widening circle around the spot to reduce the sensation. In yoga we often tell students to try turning upside down when they are stuck on something or to be in their body – notice what it feels like.

We often lose connection with touch. Try this – sit for a minute with your eyes closed resting your hands on your knees. After a bit has your connection with your hands changed? It might feel as if your hands are now more a part of your whole body rather than a separate piece.

When working with clients who feel a little out of control, I encourage them to “touch” base with their feet. To feel their feet on the ground, even if they are wearing shoes. A lot of yoga therapy is about coming back into and feeling our body.

Try it the next time you are feeling overwhelmed and ungrounded.

Sound

Are there certain sounds you are drawn to? How sensitive is your hearing? How selective? When I worked in Wellness I’ll never forget a sound program I went to at a wellness conference. The presenters brought in these huge speakers and asked us tall to lie down on the floor. Then they played a variety of songs. They encouraged us to feel what we heard as well as hear it and see how the music affects us on all levels. It was an interesting experiment.

Because of this activity, I have always known that vibration from music/sound affects not only what I hear but how I feel in my body. The energy pulse or vibration of sound affects me. Sounds that please me are smooth without hard edges. I also like repetition to some extent – like mantra.

But I also sometimes will use loud music to dance/move my stress away but even that is smooth but energized. Even in this situation, heavy metal does not do it for me. Hard rock and heavy metal feel like an assault on my sense of hearing. Alarms ringing and beeping also disrupts my sense of wellbeing.

I am drawn to new age and coffee house music, sounds I find soothing. Often, I just want quiet – no sound. I will drive in the car without music. So different from my son who seems to need sound around him at all times. I wonder if it’s something (quiet) we grow into or out of?

Sight

I just got a new windshield. I tell you, it was so clear I didn’t think there was a windshield installed. Sometimes we just need to clean our line of sight to see things more clearly. There are so many things that hide in plain sight whether they are physical, mental or emotional that we don’t see. And, there are those things that hide just below the surface and those that are in the deep recesses of our being in a place where light never shines.

The style of yoga I teach, Kripalu & Pranakriya, teaches us to practice witnessing; watching as if on the outside. It is a great tool, when used for cultivating an ability to see. You can use this technique to see what’s going on inside of you or just use it to look at things differently. Try really seeing crumbs on a table without judging them. Notice shape, texture, color. Gaze at anything to strengthen your seeing muscles.

To put it all together, try this 5-Senses Mindfulness Exercises:

• First, notice 5 things that you can see;
• Second, notice 4 things you can feel;
• Third, notice 3 things that you can hear;
• Fourth, notice 2 things you can smell;
• Finally, notice 1 thing you can taste.

Jacci Gruninger is a Certified Yoga Therapist and Thai Yoga Massage Therapy. She regularly helps clients manage stress with yoga, meditation, breathwork and bodywork. Her office is at 190 Central Park Square #209. Visit her website at www.yogawithjacci.com to find out more.