Anyone who’s had dogs knows that two of the most basic and vital commands is to teach sit and stay. After listening to one of my mindfulness practices this morning, I realized how those two commands can also be so helpful to tell ourselves.

The narrator described sitting with our emotions, allowing this time to give to ourselves. Allowing us to take a few moments to sit with ourselves and try not to let the worries of the day ahead interfere in this moment, if even for a few minutes.

She even said the word “stay”. That’s what started me thinking about the dogs. The minute she said the word, I felt a huge relief. A big weight lifted off of my shoulders. That in this moment of only 10 minutes in my morning routine, I am going to allow myself to sit and stay. Everything that lays ahead of me the rest of today can wait.

Just as in training dogs, I’ve learned how much of what we do is taking away their power or their responsibility, in a way. I never realized how much of that is in the command “stay”. By making my dog sit and stay, I have given away all of his power, all of his intention. He can just sit and wait, without worry, until I release him. How powerful is that??? In my moment of mindfulness practice, the second I heard the word “stay”, I let go of all my responsibilities in that moment. I allowed myself to sit and stay and all my worries subsided.

As I put this into practice during my day I’m going to remind myself of my dog in his sit and stay moment. What a relief to be able to take those moments, especially when things seem so overwhelming…just “sit and stay”. The world will be there when I return.