During unprecedented and uncertain times like these,
It's common to find ourselves shifting in and out of fight,
Flight or freeze mode,
Or perhaps even feeling like we're spending most of our time in this place.
This is actually our minds way of trying to protect us from real or perceived threat.
But the problem is when we spend too much time in this space,
We end up feeling like a ball of stress,
And for some of us it may even trigger trauma related responses.
Right now many of us are feeling on edge,
Exhausted and like an internal alarm is going off in our bodies.
When this happens,
The part of our brain that can problem solve and work its way through situations goes offline,
And we begin operating from our animal instincts.
We feel overwhelmed by worries and what if questions and scenarios.
When we're scared like this,
We also tend to turn inward,
And this can just add to our sense of isolation,
Which in turn creates more fear and anxiety.
During times like this,
It's essential that we find ways to give our mind and our body a break,
And also to stay connected to our compassion for ourselves and others.
This exercise is designed to do just that.
Together we'll focus on a few simple but effective evidence based grounding techniques that will help us to bring ourselves into the present moment.
We'll also walk through a compassion cultivating exercise.
We'll do our best to give our minds,
Brains and hearts a little breather.
So I'd like to now invite you all to close your eyes,
Or if you'd prefer to keep your eyes open and find a spot to fix your gaze and soften your eyes.
At any time during this guided exercise,
If you feel uncomfortable,
Feel free to just stop.
You're also welcome to continue sitting and just engage your mind in something else if you want a break from the exercise itself.
Just do what you need to do to get through and make this work for you.
To start off with,
Give yourself a chance to have a wiggle and a shake,
Just stretching out and shaking out anything you need to.
Maybe even having a yawn and stretching your arms above your head if that feels good for you.
And now just allow yourself to settle back into a seated position,
Finding a comfortable but alert posture.
With your back straight but not rigid.
Allow the weight of your body to sink into the floor or the chair beneath you.
Feel the support of the ground or the chair beneath you.
You might feel your shoulder blades relaxing down your back and your chest opening up as you do this.
You want your posture to be comfy and sustainable,
So just give yourself some time to find what feels right for you and adjust yourself as you go along if you need to.
Bring your awareness into your body.
Notice the points of contact between your body and the chair or the floor.
The feeling of your hands resting gently in your lap.
And any sensations that you notice arising in your body.
Let's all now tune into the sounds that we can hear together.
Start off by focusing on the sounds that you can hear that are further away.
Tuning into the really obvious sounds but also the more hidden subtle noises in your environment.
Just mentally noting the sounds that you hear without judging them as good or bad.
Then try narrowing your attention to the sounds you can hear closer by.
Even the sounds you can hear coming from your own body.
The sound of your breathing,
The sound of your stomach.
Sounds are a lovely way to ground ourselves when we feel anxious.
So,
Before we move on to focusing on our breathing together,
If you're someone who finds it unsettling to focus on your breath,
In this next part just stick with noting the sounds that you can hear around you instead.
For those who would like to,
Let's now gently shift our awareness away from sounds to the feeling of your body breathing.
Notice where you feel your breath in your body.
You might feel the rise and fall of your abdomen,
The air coming in and out of your nostrils,
The feeling of your breath passing through your throat,
Or even the rise and fall of your shoulders or torso as you breathe.
Choose one of these areas,
Any area,
To tune into the flow of each inhale and each exhale.
There's no need to change your breathing in any way,
Just following along with the natural rhythm of your in-breath and your out-breath.
If it helps,
Perhaps even saying to yourself in-breath,
Out-breath as you follow each cycle.
When your mind starts to wander away from your breath,
Just gently bring your focus back to your inhale and your exhale.
Try to resist the urge to get frustrated with yourself when this happens.
Our minds are thought machines,
They're just doing their job when they wander off,
So it's a part of the experience for all of us.
What matters is the way you bring yourself back,
Ideally in a kind and low-key kind of way.
Continuing to focus on each inhale and each exhale.
Being present and in the moment,
Following each in-breath and each out-breath.
And just gently bringing your mind back to your breath when it wanders off.
Now that we have our breath as an anchor to the present moment,
Or sounds if you were choosing to focus on these instead,
Keep in mind that you can come back to either of these as a focus if you want to for this next part of the exercise.
I'd like to invite you now to bring to mind a person you enjoy spending time with.
It might be your partner,
A family member,
A friend or someone from work.
Try to visualise this person in your mind as if they were sitting or standing in front of you and say their name silently in your mind.
Try to hold this person in your mind as you focus on these words.
Just like me,
This person has a body and a mind.
Just like me,
This person has emotions and thoughts and has experienced physical and emotional pain.
Just like me,
This person wishes to be safe,
Healthy and loved.
Just like me,
This person wishes to be happy.
I wish all of these things for this person because this person is a human being just like me.
Now bring to mind someone you don't know so well.
It might be someone you've only recently met,
A colleague,
A friend of a friend,
Someone in your community.
Try to visualise them in your mind again as if they were sitting or standing in front of you and saying your name silently,
Sorry,
Saying their name silently and picturing them as you focus on these words.
Just like me,
This person has a body and a mind.
Just like me,
This person has emotions and thoughts.
Just like me,
This person wishes to be safe,
Healthy and loved.
Just like me,
This person wishes to be happy.
I wish all of these things for this person because this person is a human being just like me.
Now let's bring to mind all of the people around the world who are impacted by our current situation.
If you feel comfortable too,
Try to visualise those impacted standing alongside you or around you.
Hold these people in your mind as you send them these words of compassion.
Just like me,
These people have experienced physical and emotional pain.
Just like me,
They wish to be safe,
Healthy,
Loved and they wish to be happy.
I wish all of these things for these people because just like me,
These people are human beings.
Continue for a few moments longer,
Resting into this feeling of empathy and compassion that you've generated for people close to you and people further away,
Also impacted by our current situation.
Notice the way this compassion feels in your body,
Any physical sensations that arise as well as any emotions or thoughts that come up.
Feel yourself surrounded by other people,
Sending empathy,
Compassion and a sense of calm out into the world.
Now let go of any effort to remain focused on this feeling of empathy and compassion and simply be with your inner experience for just a few moments longer,
Resting in stillness.
And as we bring the exercise to a close,
Start to externalise your awareness by noticing the sounds that you can hear around you.
Bringing your awareness back to your body,
Seated on the chair or the floor and when you're ready,
Gently opening your eyes.
