Today,
We'll move through an orienting practice called 5-4-3-2-1.
This practice can be helpful in connecting to the space around us,
A way to slowly help our nervous system return to the present moment.
5-4-3-2-1 uses the senses to bring awareness to our environment and our own body.
If we're overwhelmed or dissociated or just in need of some connection,
This practice can be a simple way to allow us to use our noticing brain.
This practice may not solve anything or even bring full feelings of calm,
But it may bring the opportunity to slow down,
Notice,
Feel,
Or respond to ourselves more compassionately.
To start,
Let's take a breath together.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Feeling your chest rise with the inhale and fall with the exhale.
Now I invite you to open your eyes and to look around your space and name five things that you can see.
You can get specific by naming things of only one color or category,
Or it can be as general as you'd like it to be.
I'll give you a moment more to finish naming the five things.
Great.
Now let's take another breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
If you need a little bit more time,
Feel free to pause me.
We've invited our sense of sight,
So now let's invite our sense of touch.
I invite you to name four things that you can touch.
Again,
You can be specific by naming things that are soft or hard or be as broad as you'd like.
I invite you to touch the items as you name them,
Connecting to how they feel in your hand or on your skin.
We'll give you another moment,
And when you're done naming the four things,
I invite you to take another breath.
Awesome.
Let's invite our sense of hearing to this practice.
I invite you to name three things that you can hear.
Maybe it's my voice,
The hum of an appliance,
A bird.
Explore the sounds around you and name three of them.
Once you've named all three,
I invite you to take another breath.
We've named five things we can see,
Four things we can touch,
Three things we can hear.
So now let's name two things we can smell.
If you're unsure of what to smell,
I invite you to smell each armpit and see which one smells better.
Humor can be a great coping mechanism,
And I find our sense of smell can bring some humor to us.
But maybe you have some better smelling things in your space,
So you can always choose that,
Of course.
I invite you to take another breath after using your sense of smell.
Lastly,
I invite you to name something you can taste.
Usually when we're not feeling our best,
We can be a little dehydrated,
So I invite you to take a sip of water if you have it near.
You may also have a yummy treat or can just taste the inside of your mouth if there's nothing around.
Let's take one more breath together,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
We've named five things you can see,
Four things you can touch,
Three sounds,
Two scents,
And one thing you can taste.
I hope this practice helped you feel a little more oriented to your environment and a little more grounded to your own senses.
Feel free to come back to this practice whenever you'd like,
And thank you.
Take care.
