Hi friends,
This is Anne Marie.
Thanks for joining me for this meditation practice for times of anxiety and overwhelm.
The practice is called the 5-4-3-2-1,
Although primarily used by behavioral and mental health practitioners when helping their patients cope with anxiety.
It's a short practice that has great potential as a meditation practice,
And it can also be fun for families and groups.
So let's get started.
As is customary,
Let's start out getting grounded in a comfortable meditation position,
Bringing awareness to the body.
Let's notice the feet in contact with the ground,
Sitting area solid,
Back upright,
Shoulders relaxed,
Hands gently placed on the lap or thighs,
And eyes closed.
Begin by following the breath in and out of the body at the anchor spot that is right for you today,
The nostrils,
The chest,
Or the belly.
Take in a few deep breaths in and out the mouth to relax the nervous system and bring the attention.
Now notice if there are any feelings of anxiety or nervousness in our body and channel some breath to those areas.
Common areas are the temples,
Jaw,
Neck,
Shoulders,
And abdomen.
Recognizing the feelings there and allowing the breath to flow into those areas,
Nurturing them with oxygen and compassion.
If you're feeling particularly anxious,
You may want to put one hand or two on your heart,
Imagining the warmth of your heart center going to these areas of tension.
As we prepare ourselves for the 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 practice,
I'd like to invite us to stretch some areas of the body with small movements that help relax muscles and joints,
Beginning with shoulder rolls.
So we raise and lower our shoulders while making circular motions up,
Back,
And around,
Working up to 10 times in one direction and then 10 times in the other direction at your own pace.
If you need more time,
You can pause this.
Our next stretch is for the neck and the head.
So we're going to look over one shoulder and then slowly turn our head to look over the other,
Syncing with our breath.
So beginning with either shoulder,
Let's look over one shoulder and breathe in and slowly breathe out as we turn our head to the other shoulder,
Looking over the opposite shoulder as far as feels comfortable.
Breathing in,
Same shoulder,
And breathing out as we slowly move our head back.
Again,
You may pause this to do as many of these as you need and feel the gentle stretch in your head to the center.
Finally,
An easy body twist to bring blood to the lower areas.
Starting with the left arm,
Reach your arm over to the opposite knee.
So that's your left arm and hand going to the right knee.
Cup your hand either over the knee or slightly above the knee.
Just feel a little pull that starts the twist.
Your other arm,
The right arm,
Is going to reach behind you and either you will touch the ground or a cushion or your chair.
And with a pushing and pulling movement,
Just coax the body into a little twist with our head,
If possible,
Facing over the opposite shoulder.
In this case,
The right shoulder.
Make sure we breathe through this movement.
Ready,
Bring everything back to center and we'll do a twist to the other side.
So this time,
The right hand and arm reaches over to the left knee or thigh,
Cupping either the knee or slightly above,
Pulling to start the twist,
And then the left arm reaches behind,
Grabs the hold of either the cushion or the back of the chair,
And with a push and pull movement,
Start that twist.
The head then,
On an inhale,
Can look over that opposite shoulder,
The left shoulder,
Remembering to breathe in and out through the whole time.
Exhale,
Let's come back to center and begin again.
Eyes open,
We acknowledge five things that we see around us.
It could be a pen,
A desk,
Or it could be a spot on the ceiling,
A piece of artwork on the wall,
Anything in your surroundings.
Name them silently with your mind while also noticing their color and texture.
For families and groups doing this together,
They may choose to label out loud if appropriate to engage everyone in the activity,
Or just label it silently.
Five things,
Continuing to breathe slowly and rhythmically.
Any time you need some extra time,
You can pause and come back.
Next step is to acknowledge four things we can touch.
It could be your hair,
A pillow,
The ground under your feet.
You may wish to actually touch those things with your hands and your fingers to really feel the texture,
Again,
Noticing the color with your eyes,
Or keeping your eyes closed and just using the sense of touch.
Again,
For a family or group practice,
Feel free to name the items out loud if it feels appropriate.
The next step is to acknowledge three things we hear,
And this is especially helpful with the eyes closed,
Noticing things that are far from us or things that are close,
Like a grumbling stomach.
Focus on things you can hear.
Families may want to remind each other to be very quiet for this one so that everyone can hear subtle sounds like the fridge or a ticking clock.
Next,
Acknowledge two things we can smell.
Eyes closed is good here again.
Maybe you're in your office and you smell a pencil,
Or maybe you're in your bedroom and you smell a pillow.
Just notice what is available to you in the moment.
Again,
Families may remind each other to be really quiet as everyone brings their focus to what they can smell.
Lastly,
We acknowledge one thing we can taste.
What does the inside of our mouth taste like?
Gum or toothpaste?
What we had for lunch?
We invite us to bring our attention back to the breath.
Close your eyes.
We're open to enjoy a few silent moments to integrate this practice into our body.
Thank you very much for your practice today.
Until we meet again on Insight Timer,
I'd like to ask you to follow my page as I try to add new tracks periodically.
I also would like to finish with wishing all beings wellness and ease.
