Welcome.
We're going to do a short practice called Pause,
Relax,
Open.
So there's three steps to this practice.
And we'll take a few more minutes with each step,
But this is really a practice that you can do really quickly,
30 seconds,
A minute,
Two minutes.
You can do it before you enter a room.
You can do it before a meeting at work,
Before you send an email,
Before you have a conversation.
It can be a really,
Really helpful tool to do exactly what it says,
Which is pause,
Relax,
And open.
So as we go through this,
I'm just going to give the framework that we're going to do these three steps both internally and externally.
Okay,
So you can just kind of have that in mind,
And I'll walk you through it.
Okay,
So the first step is pause.
So wherever you are,
Whatever you're doing right now,
Just physically,
Externally,
Take a pause,
Stop your body,
Slow down,
And internally,
See if you can take a pause.
Whatever it is that you're doing,
Whatever it is that you're thinking about,
Have the intention of taking a pause.
Okay,
And the second step is relax.
So take a moment and adjust yourself physically.
Do whatever you need to help your physical body,
Your external container relax.
And then think about your internal world relaxing as well.
So can you soften?
Can you become gentle?
How can you relax internally?
Just take a moment.
If it's helpful,
You can close your eyes.
You can take a few deep breaths.
You can unclench your fingers.
Loosen your jaw.
Really set the intention of relax.
And the third step is to open.
And so this is opening internally to your experience.
So whatever's going on,
Just open yourself to it.
Invite it in.
Have an open attitude,
An open approach.
Whatever is going on,
Just allow it to be here.
Be open to it without an agenda,
Without a judgment,
Without wishing it was a different way.
Just being open to your experience just as it is.
And when you feel ready,
You can open to the external world as well.
So if your eyes are closed,
You can open them.
Notice what's in front of you,
Whether that's literal or the next thing that you have to do in time.
And can you just be open to it?
If you have a conversation you need to have,
Can you drop the agenda and just be open?
Can you show up in an open way?
And take a moment and just notice what does it feel like to be open in your body?
What does openness feel like?
There is a DBT practice called willing hands.
And what you do is you place your hands with your palms up like this.
You can place them by your side.
If you're standing,
You can place them on your knees or thighs,
Your lap.
And notice what happens when you open and you have willing hands.
And you become receptive.
Just notice if there's any difference energetically in your body.
And it's from this place that you can move forward and navigate the next steps.
Okay?
So that's the practice.
It's very simple.
Pause,
Relax,
And open.
So feel free to come back here and try it again or give it a go throughout your day and see what you notice when you take a moment to pause,
Relax,
And open.
