Welcome.
This is Allison with MindfulPauseCenter,
And I'm so glad to bring you this practice today.
You've likely had the experience at the end of the workday that you didn't get it all done.
That should come as no surprise given the work culture which expects us to do more and more with fewer resources and sometimes fewer colleagues.
The antidote to unreal expectations is right-sizing our own personal sense of responsibility.
It's accepting that we are doing our part to the best of our ability and that that is enough.
For this practice,
You'll choose an area of work that feels not yet done.
Maybe not the biggest challenge you're experiencing,
But something that you keep pushing off as other priorities take precedence.
And we're going to explore letting go of three inner critics who add undue stress.
Judging mind,
Comparing mind,
And fixing mind.
We'll end by accepting that we're doing our best and our best is enough.
So taking a moment to decide which posture would best support you in this kind of acceptance practice.
That could be seated,
But it might be standing up or lying down.
So taking time now to choose your posture and then begin to settle in.
Notice what it feels like to be sitting here,
Standing or lying down.
Where are you in contact with that which is supporting you?
Maybe notice the way gravity holds you and connects you at those points.
Perhaps you can even let go a little bit more and let that which is supporting you hold you up.
Within this foundation,
Beginning to bring awareness to the body breathing itself,
Noticing the rise of the inhalation,
The falling of the exhalation,
The rise of the exhalation.
Or perhaps you notice the breath more coming over the lip and in through the nose as it lands at the back of the throat before the exhalation.
Bringing to mind now this area of work that is incomplete in which you are having some challenge getting it done.
You might take a moment to visualize where you're at when you're working on this task.
Even remembering the last time you attended to it or the last time you pushed it farther down your list.
And recognizing if there's any impact on your attitude.
This can be a felt sense in the body of tightness,
Maybe in the chest or at the throat.
Maybe it's a kind of temperature or agitation,
A sort of buzzing.
Or maybe it's a kind of dullness,
A sleepiness that comes over you.
Just noticing that there's a way that the body physiologically responds to this,
Not getting things done.
We're just allowing that for now and noticing,
Giving it some space.
To see if we can bring some sense of ease or equanimity into this experience of not having enough time to get things done.
We'll begin to explore letting go of these inner critics.
And the invitation is going to be to repeat after me,
Silently in your own mind.
So first,
We'll let go of judging mind.
This is the inner critic who uses right and wrong to evaluate how you're doing.
So repeating after me,
In relationship to this work,
I let go of judging mind,
Of getting it right,
Doing it wrong,
To the best of my ability.
I'm just letting the phrase land,
Settle.
I let go of judging mind,
Of right and wrong,
To the best of my ability.
And just being curious if there's any response in the body or the mind to receiving this invitation to let go of judging mind.
Next,
We will let go of comparing mind.
This is the inner critic who uses right and wrong to evaluate how you're doing.
This is the inner critic who uses better than and worse than to evaluate how you're doing.
That could be in relationship to yourself,
Some past version of who you are,
Or some aspirational version of who you'd like to be.
Or it could be comparing yourself with colleagues.
So again,
Repeating these phrases,
In relationship to this work,
I let go of comparing mind,
Of better than and worse than,
To the best of my ability.
Letting the phrase settle,
I let go of comparing mind,
Of better than and worse than,
To the best of my ability.
What might this make possible?
Noticing the impact of this phrase,
Noticing any resistance,
Noticing any softening.
And now we'll let go of fixing mind.
This is the inner critic who uses should and shouldn't to evaluate what's happening.
I should be better at this already.
This shouldn't be happening.
So repeating after me,
In relationship to this work,
I let go of fixing mind,
Of should and shouldn't,
To the best of my ability.
Letting the phrase settle,
I let go of fixing mind,
Of should and shouldn't,
To the best of my ability.
If this were true,
What would be possible?
And noticing again,
The body breathing,
Catching the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation as the body breathes itself.
This breath has been here all along,
Supporting us in this practice.
Noticing the points of contact between you and that which supports you.
And ending this practice with three final phrases.
Again,
I invite you to silently repeat these.
I am doing my best.
I am doing my best.
I am doing my best.
I give myself the support I need.
I am doing my best.
I am doing my best.
I give myself the support I need.
Letting go of any effort now.
Just resting.
Noticing how things might have shifted from the beginning of the practice.
And when you feel ready,
Beginning to move the body in a way that feels good.
Lifting heels off the floor,
Making the stretch a little bit bigger,
Working out any knots from the posture.
And as your eyes open,
Beginning to take in the space around you,
Using the senses of sight or sound,
Temperature,
To let the nervous system know directly that the practice is complete.
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.
