Hello,
My name is Hilary Lafon and I'm so grateful you joined me for today's quick exercise on learning how to manage stress with a simple technique.
We're going to be using the SBNRR strategy.
Stop,
Breathe,
Notice,
Reflect,
And respond.
So find yourself seated in a comfortable position or lying down.
Take a moment to allow your body to settle.
Allow your spine to be long but with a natural curve in the low back.
You can close your eyes or keep them open with a soft gaze downward a few feet in front of you.
Allow the belly and the shoulders to relax.
We'll start by cultivating a sense of ease,
Openness,
And space even if you have difficult emotions right now.
To begin this practice,
We're starting with the S,
Stop.
Whatever is stressing you out,
Whatever thoughts are in your mind,
Just allow yourself to stop and sit or lie.
And then moving on to the B,
Breathe.
Let's take some deep breaths together,
Exhaling all your breath out.
Exhaling deeply for the count of four,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And exhaling completely for five,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Two more times,
Inhale through the nose,
Feeling your chest rise,
Stomach expand,
Sipping in the air,
Filling up the lungs,
And then exhale completely,
Maybe even sighing it out.
One more time,
Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
Allow your body to soften and relax as you breathe normally and naturally for yourself.
Moving on to the N part where we're noticing how we feel.
Breathing and noticing,
We've taken some time to stop,
Breathe,
Notice.
Allow yourself to melt into the chair or the ground or the floor,
Allowing the muscles around the face to soften,
The shoulders,
The neck,
The spine.
With each deep breath,
These areas are finding ease.
As you breathe in,
Breathing in warmth and openness,
And as you breathe out,
Letting go of any tightness,
Tension,
Anything that does not serve you.
Notice any other areas of tension,
Soften them on each exhale.
Feel free to move or shift your posture if that feels helpful.
Now bring your awareness to the mind,
Noticing if there's any stories taking up space that don't have to be there at this moment.
Either cling to them or push them away.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Checking in with the heart.
Are there any sensations in the chest or the front of the body?
Notice any warmth,
Tightness,
Tension,
Or openness that's there.
Just observing and noticing without judgment.
Moving on to the R,
The reflect.
Reflecting on how you feel at this moment,
How you handled the situation that just passed.
And without judgment and with a sense of kindness,
Just let it go.
Moving on to the respond.
Responding versus reacting.
This is why we use this technique so we can create some space between an event that we can't control and our response that we can control.
Breathing deeply,
Relaxing your body.
Know that you can use this stop,
Breathe,
Notice,
Reflect,
Respond strategy anytime.
It only takes a couple of minutes.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Have some movement in your hands and your feet.
Take deep breaths.
Thank you so much for allowing me the precious gift of your time.
Until next time.
