“Take some deep breaths and settle into the present moment.” If you have ever been to a yoga class or meditation gathering, you have heard a version of this. If you were new to these places, you may have even thought “Well where else am I going to be?” The Present Moment isn’t just about your physical surroundings and what your actively doing, it’s about where your whole body is. Your Mind, Body and Spirit are at peace when they are all 3 aligned, but this takes more effort than you may think.

We live in a world of planners and schedules. We are writing on calendars, planning childcare for work hours, scheduling health appointments months out, writing to-do lists for the next day at the end of the day before, and setting reminder alarms when needed. We are even creating vision boards, creating future goals, setting intentions, and looking for future retreats. We are healing past traumas, digging deep into things we had forgotten about until triggered to remember, and forgiving those who are no longer physically present in our existence. Whether it is for daily life doings, goal setting for a future we are dreaming of, or healing things from the past, ALL OF THIS removes us from NOW.

The problem is, our nervous systems can’t always tell the difference between a memory, a plan, or the present moment. When we mentally time-travel, either back to something painful or forward into something uncertain, we activate the same stress responses we would if that thing were happening right now. So while we might just be sitting on the couch, our bodies are bracing like we’re about to be hit by a bus. Over time, this contributes to chronic anxiety, depression, burnout, and even physical symptoms like tension, inflammation, and sleep disruption.

Neuroscience has shown that the brain tends to default to what’s called the “default mode network” when it’s not actively engaged. This is the part of the brain responsible for mind-wandering, daydreaming, and self-referential thoughts. And while that’s helpful for creativity and reflection, when overused, it drags us out of the now and into a loop of rumination. Studies show that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.

On the flip side, research has found that regular mindfulness and meditation practice can help quiet this mental chatter. Meditation strengthens the prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain responsible for focus and awareness) while calming the amygdala, which processes fear and emotional reactions. This means meditation literally rewires the brain for presence. It creates a gap between stimulus and response, allowing you to breathe before reacting, notice your surroundings, and ground yourself in what’s actually happening, not just what your mind is spinning on.

And here’s the best part: you don’t have to meditate on a mountain with monks for two hours a day to get the benefits. Just sitting with your breath for five minutes, putting your feet in the grass, eating a meal without distractions, or even noticing the feeling of water on your skin in the shower can bring you back. These little check-ins throughout the day shift your awareness from what was or what might be to what is.

We’ve been taught that productivity, planning, and healing all require us to be anywhere but here. But your peace, your clarity, and your power, well they all live in the present. The more often you return to it, the more available life becomes to you in the ways that actually matter.

So ask yourself, when was the last time you were really here? Not planning, not remembering, not distracting, not healing the past, not wondering about the future…just being. Can you recall the smell in the air this morning? The way your coffee actually tasted? The sound of your own breath when you weren’t rushing or multitasking? This life is unfolding one moment at a time, and if we keep missing them, we’ll eventually look up and wonder where it all went. What would happen if you stopped running toward the future or digging through the past long enough to let the now be enough? What if presence wasn’t a luxury, but the foundation for everything else? You deserve to live a life you can actually feel. And it starts with this moment, right here.