Welcome.
Today's session is focused on reducing anxiety through digital detox.
Before we begin,
Take a moment to turn off your phone or put it in do not disturb mode.
And then just set it aside facedown.
This time is a gift that you're giving to yourself a few quiet minutes to pause,
Breathe and restore.
Find a comfortable position either seated or lying down.
If you're sitting,
Let your spine be tall,
But relaxed and your shoulders soft.
If you've chosen to lie down,
Allow your body to feel fully supported by the ground beneath you.
I invite you to take a slow deep breath in through your nose and let a long exhale out through your mouth.
With this next breath,
Breathe in deeply through your nose again.
And as you exhale,
Allow the tension of the day,
Notifications,
Messages,
Worries,
Allow that to slowly fade into the background.
There's nowhere else you need to be right now.
Nothing you need to do.
Just be here to pause,
Breathe and restore.
Now allow your breath to just return to its natural rhythm.
Feel the air moving in through your nose,
Your chest rising and falling.
You don't need to change anything.
Just simply observe the breath,
The sensation of the air as it enters through your nose and the release of tension as you exhale.
There are thoughts that arise maybe about work or your phone or what's going to happen next.
Just gently bring your focus back to your breath.
Allow that breath to be that anchor into this moment.
You're training your mind to stay calm and steady,
Even when there are a lot of distractions around you.
If it helps you can kind of imagine your thoughts as gentle waves moving through your mind,
Appearing and flowing and fading away.
Again,
There's nothing you need to do with those thoughts right now.
Just simply observe that they're there and then return back to the breath.
A nice breath in and an exhale releasing tension.
We're going to begin by doing a short body scan.
This is a way that allows your body to just begin to relax part by part.
So bring your awareness now to the top of your head.
Notice if there are any sensations,
Warmth,
Tingling,
Stillness,
You may not notice anything and that's okay.
Bring your awareness to the top of the head and allow your face the muscles in your forehead to begin to soften as you exhale.
Move your attention to your eyes and your jaw.
And again on that next exhale,
Just focus on letting those muscles,
Your eyes relax.
Bring your awareness to your neck and your shoulders.
Many of us carry a lot of weight and stress in our shoulders and our neck area.
Holding phones,
Reading screens,
Reacting to things,
Shrugging our shoulders,
Tightening up.
With this next inhale,
Take a nice breath in bringing oxygen into your body and then as you exhale,
Focus on your neck and shoulders and just let them drop.
Let that tension ease.
Imagine any stress that you're holding in that area just melting away.
Now move your attention slowly down through your arms to your hands and to your fingertips.
Let your arms just grow heavy next to your side or in your lap.
And bring your awareness now to your chest and your belly.
Feel the air as it enters through your body into these areas.
And as you exhale,
Let the belly soften.
Allowing each breath as it comes in to be fuller and deeper.
And with each exhale,
Allowing that tension to release.
Continue scanning now down through your hips and your legs.
Notice your knees,
Your calves,
Your ankles and your feet.
Feel them supported by the chair or the ground beneath you.
Your entire body is now calm and relaxed and grounded.
Begin to deepen your breath again,
Taking a nice long inhale in through the nose and out through your mouth.
Just feel your connection to the space around you.
Notice the temperature of the air,
Sounds in the room and support beneath you.
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Take a moment to notice how you feel.
You may feel calmer,
Clearer,
Or simply more aware.
However you feel is okay.
Even a few minutes of digital detox through mindfulness helps us to retrain our brain to respond rather than to react.
As you move forward from here,
May you respond with intention.
May you speak with clarity.
And may you walk in peace.
