Hello and welcome to today's practice.
Today we will be doing a grounding exercise.
These are great if you notice yourself getting caught in anxiety and focusing your attention outside of the present moment.
For today's practice we will be paying attention to our five different senses,
Sight,
Touch,
Hearing,
Smell,
And taste.
We will go in that order and try to notice five things that you see in your environment,
Four things that you are touching,
Three sounds,
Two things you can smell,
And one thing you can taste.
To begin let's take a couple deep breaths.
So go ahead and breathe in one two three four and out one two three four and breathe in one two three four and out one two three four.
Once more breathe in one two three four and out one two three four.
Okay first we will start with our sense of sight.
Go ahead and scan your environment and notice five different things around you.
Try to find something you haven't noticed before or notice something that you typically take for granted.
Once you have found your five things that you see and that you notice then go ahead and either soften your gaze or if you're comfortable close your eyes.
We're going to take a deep breath and move on to our second sense,
Our sense of touch.
Notice what your body is in contact with.
If that's the chair you're sitting on,
Notice how your body rests and is supported by your chair or notice your feet resting on the ground or your how your clothes feel on your body or simply notice how your breath feels in and out of your nose or your mouth.
Once you have noticed four different items or things or sensations take a deep breath and we will transition to our sense of hearing.
Notice three different things that you hear whether that's the sound of a fan or the air conditioning or the wind outside or maybe there's a helmet or fridge or computer.
Pick out three different sounds in your environment and take a deep breath and we will transition to our sense of smell.
Notice two different scents around you whether that's a lotion you use or your shampoo or hair product.
Maybe your room has a specific scent to it,
Anything at all that you notice.
Once you have picked out those two different scents around you go ahead and take a deep breath and we will transition to our sense of taste whether that's your most recent meal or your snack or the last beverage you had or just noticing how your mouth feels right now.
Noticing your taste buds.
Now I'm going to ask you again to breathe in one two three four and out one two three four and breathe in once more one two three four and out one two three four.
If your eyes are closed then take a moment to do a couple blinks to return to your environment.
Thank you for joining me and really focusing on this present moment with me.
As you go about your day try to refocus your attention on the present as often as you can.
Thank you and enjoy your day.
You
