Welcome.
Work stress accumulates in the body and mind.
Perhaps tight shoulders,
Racing thoughts,
That heavy-to-do feeling.
This practice helps you release it without needing hours or a weekend away.
I invite you to find a comfortable seated position where your spine feels supported and your feet can rest flat.
Allow your hands to rest easily on your thighs or lap.
If your laptop's nearby,
Close it,
Silence notifications if possible,
And put the phone away.
Eyes can soften or gently close.
Whatever is comfortable for you.
This is your time,
Your little mini-break to restore you through your work day.
Let's begin with three grounding breaths.
Inhaling to the count of four,
And exhaling to the count of six.
Let us begin.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Again,
Inhaling through the nose.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Let's try exhaling out through the mouth.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
And one more time.
Inhaling,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Sit for a moment.
Noticing how your body feels.
And where's your body carrying the work?
Common spots are shoulders,
Jaw,
Lower back.
Let's observe.
Where are you carrying your work tension?
Let's try a shoulder shrug release.
I invite you to lift your shoulders to your ears.
Hold for three seconds.
Two,
Three.
And then drop heavily.
Repeat this three times,
Pausing in between the shrug,
And going at your own pace.
Let us begin lifting those shoulders.
And then drop.
And now we'll move on to the jaw.
I invite you to open your mouth wide like a yawn.
Hold.
And then release.
Wiggle your jaw side to side.
It's releasing any tension.
Let's try that again.
Time.
Open your mouth wide like a yawn.
Hold.
And release.
Wiggle the jaw side to side.
Time.
Open your mouth wide like a yawn.
Hold.
Release.
And then wiggle your jaw side to side.
And now we'll move on to the eyes.
I invite you to rub your palms together for warmth,
Getting them nice and warm,
The friction allowing warmth to increase,
Rubbing those palms back and forth.
Now I invite you to cup the palms gently over your eyes,
No pressure,
Just feeling the warmth.
Breathing into the darkness for 20 seconds or about that.
And feeling the workday weight leaving.
When ready,
Removing your palms from your eyes.
I invite you to picture your mind as an inbox,
Overflowing with emails,
Tasks,
Worries.
You can see it all piling up,
Which often causes stress.
We're going to do what's called a breathe dump.
Inhale,
Gather all the undone tasks,
Picturing them,
Breathing them in.
And then exhale,
Let them float away like balloons.
We're going to do that for four more times.
Inhaling,
Picturing all those undone tasks,
Breathing them in.
And then exhale,
Letting them float like balloons away then.
Remember,
Inhaling all the undone tasks,
Whatever they may be.
Inhale,
Letting them float away,
Float away like balloons.
And again,
We're inhaling all the undone tasks.
Again,
Whatever they may be,
Breathing them in.
And then exhale,
Let them float away.
Perhaps as you exhale,
Blowing them out your mouth,
Pushing them out the air,
Floating them away with the balloons.
One more time.
Inhaling,
Gathering all the undone tasks.
Just resting,
Observing.
And then name one or two tasks that you'll handle tomorrow.
The rest,
Don't worry about it.
What are the one or two tasks that you'll either handle tomorrow or after you're done with this reset?
Your mind quiet when you decide what's urgent versus urgent seeming.
What absolutely needs to be done and what can wait?
Imagine a soft glowing boundary around you.
Like a bubble of sage light or light blue,
Whatever color is calming to you.
The work stays outside unless you invite it in.
I invite you to inhale through your nose,
Drawing the energy from the bubble.
Calm and focus.
And then exhale,
Releasing the work pressure beyond the boundary,
Letting it go beyond that bubble of yours.
Let's try that again.
Inhaling through your nose,
Drawing the energy from the bubble.
Exhaling out your mouth,
Releasing anything beyond the boundary,
Releasing and letting go of the work pressure beyond the bubble.
Drawing energy from the bubble,
Breathing in through your nose,
That calm and focus,
And then exhale out your mouth,
Releasing anything that doesn't serve you for the work.
Let that work pressure go beyond the bubble.
Just rest in the bubble.
Resting inside your bubble of calm and focus energy.
Protecting your energy.
Protecting your energy with that pause.
This bubble of calm and focus.
And as you're resting in your bubble,
I invite you to recall a moment you felt capable at work.
A small win,
A good connection.
Feel that confidence in your chest or hands.
I invite you to place a hand on your heart,
Repeating after me,
I choose my energy.
Work serves me.
Let's begin.
Hand over heart.
Repeating silently or out loud.
I choose my energy.
Work serves me.
I choose my energy.
Work serves me.
I choose my energy.
Work serves me.
This moment is resting in your bubble.
Calm,
Focused energy of the bubble.
That protective boundary.
Pushing any pressures outside of the boundary of the bubble.
Knowing this bubble is here whenever you need it.
Visualizing it.
Resting in it.
When ready,
I invite you to begin to add gentle movement back into your body.
Wiggling your fingers and toes.
Perhaps rolling your shoulders.
Any gentle stretching.
And when ready,
If your eyes are closed,
Slowly flutter them open.
Just noticing how you feel.
Taking a moment to honor yourself for showing up.
And remember that you can carry this reset.
Pause.
Shrug.
Breathe boundaries.
You can return midday or any time.
Thank you.
