Welcome,
This is Allison with Mindful Pause Center,
And I'm so glad to bring you this practice today.
And in this practice,
I'm going to invite you to bring to mind a stressful situation or a behavior.
So you might want to work with a situation that you experienced earlier today,
Or you might want to choose something that's a little bit farther away,
Not so alive.
But we'll begin as we always do with just finding the posture that we need to support us for the next 15 minutes.
Just making any adjustments that you might need.
And you can notice as you settle in.
What in this posture offers you support?
Already this is an act of self-compassion.
To notice how sitting here or lying down.
Is a way that we notice how we are supported.
Supported by gravity,
Supported by.
Our world.
So finding those points of contact between you and that which is supporting you.
And as you're able,
Just resting back and down into that support.
Allowing yourself to be held in this moment.
You can bring the breath in if that feels good.
Maybe noticing if the breath is available at the belly.
Noticing if the breath is available at the chest.
Yeah,
If it feels good,
Placing a hand at the belly and a hand at the chest.
And then as you inhale,
Each hand rises more.
And if it feels good,
Then you can keep the breath in that place,
Whether it's on the belly or the chest.
Just using the hands both as feedback to notice the breath.
But also potentially as a form of soothing touch.
And during this practice,
If you're having.
.
.
Trouble because the situation you bring to mind is a little bit overwhelming,
Then you can just stop that part of the practice and come back to the breath or the body.
Or to sound.
Later,
You can use the recording.
To try again.
So I invite you,
When you're ready,
To bring to mind a stressful situation or maybe it's a behavior.
And then make this as vivid as you can.
The situation involved other people,
You can remember.
Where you were.
You can notice the environment you were in at the time.
What do you see there?
What sounds were present?
View that what the temperature was like,
Can recall the time of day.
Can see where you were in terms of like your posture,
If you were in motion or if you were still.
If there were other people,
You can see where they were at.
And notice what their posture was.
You can take in the tone of voice.
We'll start with the first attribute.
What might it look like to comfort yourself in this situation?
Using your imagination.
Maybe you can imagine in the midst of this experience naming how painful the situation is.
And reminding yourself that.
Others just like me.
Even if the situation is different,
Have known this pain.
I'm just sensing in this moment if that mindfulness and that sense of common humanity brings any comfort.
If not,
That's okay too.
And then what would it look like to soothe yourself?
In this situation.
And maybe that means in this very moment,
You would shift your body so that you feel physically calmer.
It might even mean shifting your posture.
I'm seated to lying down.
From lying down to sitting up,
Maybe even standing.
Or maybe there's a hand posture that would bring ease.
And remembering that you can always just go back to breath.
Or body can ignore my words for now.
It feels good.
You can explore what it would look like to validate yourself in this situation.
To remember.
Are there emotions present that you can name?
Is there anything that you've done in this situation that you can appreciate?
Maybe some small way you've shown up for yourself.
Some way that you've remembered your breath.
Remember to feel your feet on the ground.
These can also be very validating.
And what would it look like to protect yourself?
In this situation.
Would it help to name a harm?
Are there boundaries that you can notice that you would like to put up?
Anyone or anything you need to say no to.
And appreciating that no can come from.
An act of self-compassion.
What would it look like to provide for yourself in this situation?
What do you need?
Connection?
Support.
Ease,
Maybe play or adventure.
Maybe you need clarity.
And even if you couldn't provide these for yourself in the moment,
What might it look like to provide them for yourself?
Is there any you can meet in this moment?
Or can you imagine how you might meet these needs?
After our session is over.
And then finally,
What would it look like to motivate yourself in this situation?
What does your inner coach?
See in you.
They would like you to bring out.
How have you risen to similar challenges before?
Now we're going to let that practice go we're going to let the.
Situation,
Go.
Letting all effort go,
Let's go back to the breath.
Just notice if there's a location in the body where it's available.
If it feels good,
You can even do some breath work.
You lengthen the inhalation.
Drawing it all the way down into the belly.
And lengthen the exhalation by breathing out through the mouth.
Doing a couple breaths this way.
And letting the breath return to normal.
Just resting for a moment.
And starting to move the body in a way that feels good.
Small movements at first,
Letting them get bigger.
As you want.
Making sure to orient.
Through sight to the physical space that you're in.
Thank you for your practice.
Did you feel supported by this practice?
Leave a short word or phrase in the comments to let me know.
I'd love to be connected.
Until next time,
Take good care.
