Hello,
Thank you for joining me today for this meditation on managing work stress.
During our time today,
We'll focus on the breath,
Relax the body,
Listen to the heart,
All the while learning strategies to not let work get us down.
So when you're ready,
Find yourself in a comfortable seat or feel free to walk around if you're taking a break.
If you are seated,
Feet flat on the floor,
Spine is upright,
Shoulders rolled back and down.
And if it feels right for you and you're not too activated,
Close the eyes.
If you are in a time where work is stressing you out,
It might be uncomfortable to have the eyes closed.
Maybe you have a lot of busy thoughts running through your mind.
And if that's the case,
Have your eyes cast down,
Gently gazing ahead.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
If this is the first time you're noticing your breath today,
Exhale all your breath out and inhale deeply through the nose for the count of four.
Inhaling two,
Three,
Four and exhaling completely for five,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Just take two more breaths like this,
Inhaling deeply,
Feeling your chest rise,
Stomach expand and exhaling completely,
Letting your exhale be slightly longer than the inhale,
Letting your body know that you are safe and this is a time of rest.
One more time together,
Inhale deeply through the nose and exhale through the nose or the mouth,
Letting it all go.
Breathing naturally for yourself,
Noticing just how three deep breaths can help bring us into the present moment.
Knowing that we're safe,
We're okay and we can handle anything that comes our way.
So now let's move our awareness to different parts of the body,
Just noticing where the work stress sits.
For some of us it may be in our hands,
In our chest,
Behind the eyes.
So as you breathe,
Allow yourself to relax your muscles in your body.
Starting at the top of the crown of the head,
Allow a wave of relaxation to wash over you with each breath,
Noticing if there's tension behind the eyes or in the back of the head.
And the idea is to not make this go away,
But to just notice and sit with it.
Sometimes just the simple awareness can help lessen the stressful symptoms or at least allow us to tolerate it.
Breathing deeply,
Unclench your jaw,
Allow your cheeks and your ears to soften and melt.
Your next breath is dedicated for your neck and your spine and your shoulders.
Letting the weight of the world just roll down your arms,
Off your fingertips and into the world for that energy to be used in more useful areas.
Noticing any sensation you feel in your chest,
Heaviness,
Swirling,
Maybe you feel your heart beat.
Allow this area to soften,
Allowing deep full breaths,
Sipping in the oxygen and letting all the things you don't need go with the out breath.
Allow your stomach to be heavy and to hang,
Releasing your stomach muscles and your leg muscles,
Thigh muscles,
Lower back,
Breathing,
Settling in.
Allow your arms to be heavy,
Your legs to be like lead,
Feeling gravity do its job,
Anchoring you to earth,
Feel rooted and grounded,
Stable like the base of a tree,
Resilient.
Knowing in your mind that this too shall pass,
Whatever stress you're feeling right now,
Will come and go.
Allow your hands and your feet to release any tension they have.
Notice if you're gripping,
If you're clenching and allow a softness to wash over them.
Your next breath is for your whole body,
Inhaling deeply,
Feeling cool new life energy come into you.
And as you exhale,
Your body softens and relaxes and you are receptive to learning a few strategies to help you at work.
You may know all of these strategies yourself,
But sometimes just having a helpful reminder when we're in the moment can help us.
So as you breathe and relax and settle,
Your body is soft,
Open to suggestion.
Take a moment to feel your heart and your chest area,
Setting an intention or saying something kind to yourself,
Something surrounding work.
What is your heart telling you?
As we breathe,
Being aware of our true intentions,
Think about these suggestions.
During work,
I encourage you to schedule time not to work,
Taking your breaks as they are intended for,
The 15 minutes,
The 30 minutes to 60 minutes for lunch,
Another 15 minutes.
What can you do during these times of break to keep you refreshed and energized?
Allow your heart to answer the questions.
And if no answers arise,
Allow these seeds to be planted so that as your day goes on,
Insight comes to you.
The next suggestion is keeping your day and your work life in perspective.
Again with the thought,
This too shall pass.
Most of us do not have critical roles.
It's not the end of the world if a task does not get done.
Remind yourself that when we have deadlines throughout the whole day,
Day in,
Day out,
Week after week,
Month after month,
We can forget that we are in control of how our body responds to our tasks.
Phrases like this too shall pass.
This is not the end of the world.
I can come back to this tomorrow.
This is not a life or death situation.
If you find yourself working in environments where that's the case,
Then there are other resources that can help.
We won't address them in this meditation today.
But for the sake of most of us who run the world with the smaller jobs,
The day to day jobs that need to be done so our society functions,
Just know we are in control of our perspective.
Another suggestion is to approach tasks pragmatically.
What needs to happen now and what can you do later?
Create a step by step routine early on so that you're not overwhelmed.
It is okay to let something go or delegate or ask for help.
These are acts of kindness and this alone can manage large amounts of work stress.
If your mind has wandered or your body is tensed,
Take another deep breath and as you sigh out the air,
Relax completely.
Come back to this yummy state of in the moment right here,
Right now.
Breathing deeply and relaxing.
Notice if this next strategy would be helpful for you.
Allow yourself plenty of time to do your tasks.
Some of us do our best work when we procrastinate,
But most times if we plan out,
It can alleviate so much tension,
Stress and worry.
The next strategy is to take your breaks.
This is very similar to the first one,
But this one is more directed if you feel that you're having a crash or you're about to burn out.
Listen to those cues,
Those bodily sensations.
Maybe it's a headache,
A stomachache,
Chest pain,
Back pain.
Your hands are hurting,
Your feet are hurting.
Take a break when this happens.
Put things down,
Turn your computer off and just go.
Sometimes just getting away for 20 minutes,
An hour can be so helpful in refreshing us so that we can do our best work.
The last strategy is to make and keep a to-do list.
Very similarly to having a step-by-step guide,
But this breaks it down a little bit more.
Maybe you try to get three things done in a day.
Whatever feels right for you.
Hopefully some of these suggestions resonated with you.
And again,
If your heart didn't reach out and tell you something immediately to do,
Allow this to be a guide for you as the day goes on to hopefully find something that can help.
Allow these seeds to be planted so they can grow.
You can do your best work by taking breaks,
By planning,
By remembering and keeping it in perspective.
As we wrap up our time together,
Let's take three deep breaths in,
Exhaling all our breath out.
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
This time for a count of five.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And exhaling it all out,
Maybe even sighing it out slowly for the count of six,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Two more times,
Inhale through the nose.
And exhale through the nose or the mouth,
Letting your body sink into the chair,
Feeling loose,
Relaxed.
One more time together,
Inhale.
And exhale.
Before you open your eyes,
Continue to breathe naturally and deeply and notice if there's been a shift in your mind or your body.
Take note of the changes you feel.
Remembering that you are in control of your perspective,
You can change your environment at any time.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes,
Wiggle your fingers in your toes.
Thank you so much for allowing me the precious gift of your time.
Until next time.
