Welcome to day two of the hormonal health challenge here on Insight Timer.
Hormonal changes can affect how you feel,
Think and get through the day.
Today we'll explore a simple strategy to help you feel more supported through those changes.
Let's jump in.
Hello and welcome back to the Hormonal Health Challenge.
My name is Carolyn Watkins.
If you've been forgetting words mid-sentence,
Losing track of what you were doing.
Or rereading the same paragraph several times,
It can be easy to become frightened by those changes.
After losing my mother to dementia,
I understand personally how quickly moments like these can bring up fears about memory loss or cognitive decline.
But hormonal brain fog is often less about losing the ability to remember.
And more about attention becoming harder to hold.
When attention is interrupted.
Information may not fully register in the first place.
That distinction matters because attention is something we can gently practice.
Even on a foggy day.
Today we will work with one simple point of focus,
Noticing when the mind wanders,
And practice returning without criticism or frustration.
So let's begin.
To get started,
Find a position that feels comfortable and supportive for you.
You might be sitting,
Lying down or resting somewhere that allows your body to soften just a little.
There is no need to sit perfectly still or to hold yourself in any particular way.
Allow your eyes to close if that feels comfortable or simply soften your gaze.
Take a slow breath in.
And let it go.
Allow yourself a moment to arrive here.
You do not need to clear your mind.
You do not need to force yourself to concentrate.
Simply notice that you're breathing.
Begin to bring your attention towards one place where you can feel the breath most clearly.
You might notice the air moving in and out through your nose.
Perhaps you feel the gentle rise and fall of your chest.
Or the movement of your abdomen as you breathe.
Choose one place to rest your attention.
Nothing complicated.
Just one simple sensation.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
See if you can stay with the experience of one breath.
And then the next.
You may notice that your attention quickly moves somewhere else.
You may begin thinking about something you need to do.
You might remember a conversation,
Notice a sound.
Or realize that you've completely lost track of the breath.
That is not a mistake.
Mind-wandering is not evidence that you are doing this badly.
The moment you notice that your attention is moved is an important part of the practice.
When you notice,
Gently return.
Back to the sensation of breathing.
Without criticism or a need to start over.
Just notice and return.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Your attention may stay for several breaths,
Or it may wander almost immediately.
Both are okay.
Each return is a small moment of practice.
Much like strengthening a muscle,
The practice is not in holding your attention perfectly.
The practice is in recognizing that it has moved and guiding it back.
Notice,
And return.
You might imagine that you're gently taking your attention by the hand and leading it back to the breath.
Not pulling it.
Not scolding it.
Simply guiding it towards where you have chosen to be.
Take another slow breath in.
And a longer breath out.
Continue resting your attention on this one simple experience.
The air entering,
And leaving.
And when the thoughts appear,
You do not need to get rid of them.
You can allow them to be there without following them.
Notice the thought.
And return to the breath.
If your mind feels especially foggy today,
You may find yourself returning again and again.
That does not mean the practice isn't working.
That returning is the practice.
There may be a part of you that feels frustrated.
A part that believes you should be able to focus more easily.
See if you can meet that part with some gentleness too.
You might silently say.
Of course this is difficult today.
My mind and body are working through a great deal.
And I can begin again.
Return once more to the breath.
Just this breath.
You do not need to hold on to the breath that came before.
Or prepare for the one that comes next.
Only this one.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
As we begin to close,
Consider how you might offer your attention a little more support on a foggy day.
Rather than expecting your mind to hold on to every thought.
Write things down as soon as they come to you.
Let the paper or your phone remember for you.
When possible,
Focus on one task at a time.
Moving between several things can place additional demands on attention that is already working hard.
And when something feels too large or overwhelming.
Try making it smaller.
Ask yourself what part of the task could be completed in just a few minutes.
You are not failing by needing more support.
You are responding to what your mind needs today.
Take one more slow breath in.
And let it go.
Allow yourself a brief moment of stillness.
When you are ready,
Begin noticing the room around you.
The surface supporting your body.
The sounds nearby.
And gently open your eyes or lift your gaze.
However many times your attention wandered today is not a measure of how foggy you are,
And it is not a measure of how well you practiced.
Each time you noticed him returned,
You were strengthening your ability to gently guide your attention back.
On a difficult day,
The goal is not to force your mind to work differently.
Is to understand what support it needs and be able to offer that.
Tomorrow we will work with a different kind of depletion.
The Low Energy Day.
And what the body may be asking for during those moments.
Thank you so much for spending this time with me today,
And good luck with the rest of the challenge.
Take care.
