Whatever you're carrying from work today.
Set it down here for a moment.
Not permanently.
Just while we're together.
It will be exactly where you left it.
Find a comfortable position.
Sitting with your feet flat on the floor works well for this one.
Hands resting open in your lap.
Eyes closed.
Gaze softly downward.
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
And a long breath out through the mouth.
And again in.
And out.
Drawing a gentle line.
Between the working part of the day.
And this moment together.
Professional overwhelm.
Has a particular texture.
It's not one large thing.
It's the accumulation of many things.
Too many priorities,
Too many people needing something.
Too many decisions that all feel so urgent.
The mind moves at pace and never quite lands.
When we're in that state for long enough,
The body tightens.
The breath shortens.
And our capacity to think.
Clearly actually diminishes.
Which makes everything feel even more overwhelming.
It becomes a loop.
This practice breaks the loop.
Not by solving anything.
But by bringing you back into your body and your breath.
Where the nervous system can settle.
And clarity has a chance to return.
Before we move into the body,
Let's ground you here.
In this moment.
In this room.
Without closing your eyes fully.
Let your gaze soften.
And notice five things you can see.
Simply see them.
Let your eyes gently move around the space.
Now close your eyes.
Notice four things you can physically feel.
The temperature of the air on your skin.
The contact of your feet with the floor.
The weight of your hands and the surface beneath you.
Three things you can hear.
Perhaps something close or something further away.
Two things you can smell or simply notice the quality of the air as you breathe in.
And one thing you can taste.
You are here.
In this room.
In this body.
In this moment.
The overwhelm is real.
And this moment is also real.
And both can be true.
Now let's notice where the day has settled in the body.
Moving quickly.
And simply acknowledging.
Your forehead and face.
Is there any tension?
Your job.
Try to soften on the out breath.
Your shoulders,
Where are they?
Let them drop on the out breaths if you find that they're a little bit high.
Your chest.
Breathe here.
Let the chest expand slightly on the in-breath.
Your stomach.
Release on the out breath Your hands.
Unclench them if you've been holding them tight.
Try to open the palms.
Your feet.
Both feet on the floor.
Grounded.
Here.
The whole body breathing.
A little more settled than it was.
Now let's move on to the breath.
So in through the nose.
One.
To 3.
.
.
Four,
And out through the mouth slowly.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
The End.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out.
Bye.
Sick.
Continue at your own pace.
In for four,
And out for six.
The longer the out-breath is what activates the calm.
It helps to settle an overwhelmed nervous system.
Notice the quality of the mind right now compared to five minutes ago.
I'd like to offer you something briefly.
When we are in overwhelm,
Our attention narrows.
The to-do list becomes the whole world.
And everything feels equally urgent and equally impossible.
From this slightly more settled place.
I'd like to invite you to ask one simple question.
Of everything that feels overwhelming.
What actually matters most.
Not what is the loudest.
But what matters most?
That is the one thing.
If anything that deserves your attention.
Everything else can wait.
Or can be delegated or reconsidered.
Or simply allowed to be imperfect.
A clear mind does better work in less time.
This practice is not time away from your work.
It is an investment in it.
Thank you for being here with me today.
Take good care of yourself and I'll see you next time.
