Sit in a way that's comfortable for you,
So your body is alert and relaxed.
Bring a curious mind to the process of breathing,
Noticing the rise and fall,
The softening of your shoulders,
Your body as a whole.
Have your feet flat on the floor,
Your hands resting on the tops of your legs.
Allow your eyes to close gently if you like,
Or simply gaze softly at the ground in front of you.
Let's bring attention to the breath to allow your mind and body to arrive right here and now.
Just noticing that the body is breathing,
Allowing the experience of the breath to arise naturally in your field of awareness.
The RAIN practice starts with R,
Recognizing what is happening with a kind,
Curious attention.
As the recognition of feeling stressed or pressured arises,
You might sense changes in your stomach,
Your throat,
Your face,
Heat,
Tension,
Or tightness.
Notice the thoughts that are here when you feel pressured,
Overwhelmed,
Or under stress.
As you recognize emotions and thoughts,
See if you can identify which thoughts are creating the pressured response in your body.
Is it that you don't have enough time?
You don't have what it takes?
You won't make it?
The deadline,
The projects,
The resources,
Bringing curious attention to what's arising.
The next step in RAIN is to allow.
With kindness,
See if you can accept that this is here right now and just allow it to be there.
Making space for what is here to just be here with an allowing acceptance is the second step in RAIN.
With an attitude of kindness,
Try softening and allowing,
Relaxing your shoulders,
Your face,
Your hands.
Notice what it feels like to allow emotions to be there.
And now let's turn to investigate the I in RAIN.
Invite curiosity and inquiry to uncover what is happening and create more space.
What is this like?
What am I feeling right now?
Where is this most noticeable in my body?
Name what is there.
Sadness in my abdomen.
My throat is clenched.
Tightness in my chest.
Name the emotion with kind attention.
Sadness.
Anxious.
Fear.
Hopeful.
As you investigate,
Start with investigating emotions in the body.
And as you pay attention to emotions,
What do you notice?
Do they evolve?
Transform?
Come and go?
Now bring investigation to thoughts.
Again,
Invite curiosity.
What am I believing?
How do I know that this thought is true?
Can I let go of any judgment,
Fear,
Or concern?
Looking at thoughts with freshness.
Curiosity.
The final part is investigating what you need.
It might be to let go of some things,
Or create clearer boundaries,
Or to say a firmer no to requests,
Or communicate with more precision,
Or to take more breaks.
And now we'll move to the last step in RAIN.
The N is for Nurture.
What do you need right now?
See if you can bring tenderness to this moment of feeling under pressure.
Meet it with curiosity,
As you bring a curious awareness to needs.
Seeing yourself as having the same kind of needs that most people have.
How your needs are part of the human experience.
As you start to see your needs more clearly,
See if you can notice your thoughts in a relaxed way,
Not needing to act on them immediately,
But allowing them just to be there.
You can use a physical gesture,
Such as placing your hand on your heart,
Or you can simply pause and breathe for a moment of recognition,
Acceptance,
And self-compassion.
Self-compassion is soothing,
So send an inward message of kindness to the feeling of being pressured or overwhelmed.
You can say to yourself,
This is a hard moment,
Or I'm feeling pressure and stress.
Many people experience pressure and overwhelm.
This is part of the human experience.
What do I need right now?
Bring attention back to the breath for a few cycles of easy,
Natural breathing.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Calm.
Easy.
Great job.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Slowly return your attention back to the space around you.
Bring this sense of a calm,
Open,
Curious mind to whatever comes up in your day.
Take care.
May you be well.
