And I welcome you.
Welcome in.
I am so excited to be here today.
My name is Jen Ottaveggio.
I am a meditation teacher and a coach,
And I am here today to really use this mindfulness container.
To practice confidence.
We're going to do this through repetition and awareness.
Experience through a guided visualization.
So to frame it up a little more clearly,
Confidence is something that we can practice.
It is not something we're born with.
It's not something you either have or don't have.
It's a skill.
So another way of putting this is really self-trust in action.
Building that trust that we believe that we can handle what comes next.
No matter what that is.
So that's what we're going to practice here today.
This is not about performing perfectly,
But just really staying connected to yourself.
As things unfold.
And this practice of mental rehearsal draws from performance psychology,
Actually.
It's the same kind of performance psychology mindset that you see used by athletes.
Performers,
Public speakers.
And so if you're craving more confidence in speaking up in meetings or maybe delivering a presentation,
Of course you need to know your stuff.
And that's a separate exercise,
The content.
But if you're having a hard time even imagining yourself looking and feeling confident while delivering the presentation or speaking up in the meeting,
That's where mental rehearsal comes into play.
That's what we're going to do today.
We're going to practice experiencing ourselves as confident in our minds.
Without further ado,
Go ahead and get yourself comfortable.
If you've been seated all day,
I invite you to lie down.
See if you can get your body into a position that feels comfortable and supportive.
While also ensuring that you don't fall asleep.
See if you can let your hands rest easy.
And when you're ready.
Gently close your eyes.
And take a slow breath in.
And a long breath out.
Few more deep inhales and exhales.
Really letting yourself arrive here.
Today.
Bringing awareness to your physical body.
Noticing.
Where you're supported.
By the chair.
The floor.
The ground beneath you.
And feel the weight of your body being held.
Allow your shoulders to drop just a little.
Invite softness into your jaw.
Allow your forehead to smooth.
Take a deep breath into your chest.
And exhale slowly.
Now a big breath into your belly.
And exhale slowly.
And let your breath return to a natural rhythm.
Notice if your body feels a little more settled.
From this place.
It is a lot easier to create new patterns and new ways of thinking.
So I invite yourself.
On your next exhale to allow your body to relax even just 1% more.
1% more softening.
Now I invite you to bring to mind a specific moment from your life.
Where you felt confident.
In your mind's eye with your eyes closed.
See if you can imagine this moment.
Time when you trusted yourself.
You spoke clearly.
You showed up in a way that felt Really solid.
And really truly you.
Your best kind of most.
Aligned self.
If you're having a hard time thinking of a moment where you exuded confidence see if you can bring it down to an even smaller level like a moment where you just felt Really?
Really sure.
About you.
Maybe it's the time where you made a restaurant decision with like zero hesitation.
Could be something as simple as that.
See if you can choose one moment of confidence.
To stay with for this exercise.
Now see if you can step into that moment.
Into that memory.
As if you're there again.
See what you saw.
See if you can notice the environment around you.
In that moment of confidence.
Notice light.
Color.
Are there any shapes coming to mind?
Sounds.
Now see if you can feel your physical body in that moment.
Your posture.
Your presence.
That feeling of confidence itself,
Where does it show up in your body?
Let that feeling become even more vivid.
As much as you can,
Stay with that feeling.
Breathe with that feeling.
And allow it to expand.
Like blowing on the coals of a fire.
See if you can use your breath.
To stoke that feeling,
That felt sense of confidence.
That sense of confidence that your body already knows because you have experienced it before.
We focus so much on our fears and our worries and our anxieties and this is our chance to just really focus on all of the wonderful,
Exquisite powerful sensations that come from Confidence.
Alignment.
So really sticking with that,
Seeing if you can use your breath to really amplify that feeling of confidence inside of you.
And if you're able to notice where that feeling lives most clearly in your physical body.
Maybe it's your heart or your gut.
Your shoulders.
Maybe it's how you hold your head.
How you lift your chin.
Maybe it's the feeling of your feet connected to the ground.
Where do you most feel the confidence in your physical body?
And I invite you to place your hand gently on that area of your body.
If it's possible.
And comfortable.
And let your hand rest there.
Study.
And present.
And you can also do this energetically if your hands cannot reach that part of your body.
And as your hand connects,
Allow that feeling of confidence to grow just a little.
Take a slow breath into that space.
Feeling the connection between your touch Your breath.
And this internal state of confidence.
Gently press or hold that spot with a little more intention for a few seconds.
And then release.
And notice what remains.
Now this touch.
Physical or energetic can be an anchor for you to recall in that feeling.
Of confidence.
Into your physical body.
And if it feels helpful,
You can also pair this with a word or a phrase.
Something like Steady.
Or I've got this.
Something that feels.
.
.
Like what your heart might have been saying.
In that moment of pure confidence.
So you might use the word or phrase.
Or that physical gesture of touch to anchor in this feeling of confidence for yourself in the future when you want to call that in.
And now I want to invite you to bring to your mind's eye a real situation where you would like to show up with more confidence.
Something specific.
See the setting in your mind's eye.
Where you are.
What's happening?
And before fully stepping into it,
I want you to bring that feeling of confidence back into your body.
You can use your anchor,
Your hand.
Your word or phrase.
And let that confident feeling be present again.
And from this place.
I invite you to step into this scene.
With that state,
That confident state already active.
And see if you can imagine yourself moving through this space in this real situation where you want to be more confident.
See if you can visualize yourself.
Moving through this space.
With that confidence.
As you gaze upon the scene,
Almost like an outsider,
Notice how you move.
Notice how you speak.
How you hold yourself.
Notice what your body and your energy looks like when you engage with somebody else.
And if you're.
.
.
Having a hard time staying with this confident energy,
I invite you to use your anchor,
Slow it down,
Use your anchor.
And remember that felt sense of confidence that you have already inside of you.
And really invite it to show up here.
Let the moment unfold with this confidence.
Staying connected to yourself as the scene unfolds.
Staying connected with that confidence.
And if you've seen your scenario play out,
I invite you to gently rewind.
And run the scenario again from the moment you enter the scene.
A little more fluid,
Fluidly this time,
A little more natural.
See if you can envision from beginning.
The felt sense of entering into the scene.
Seeing what this confident you looks like in the middle of the scene.
When things come up.
Maybe don't go according to plan.
How does the confident you respond in that moment.
Do you notice more slowness?
Where do you see strength?
Where do you see softness?
And as the scene unfolds.
How do you envision yourself?
Exiting the scene.
Or wrapping the moment.
From the sense of pure alignment and confidence in yourself.
Just like you're watching yourself on an imaginary movie screen in your mind.
I invite you to rewind this scene as many times as you need to.
For the scene to become.
Familiar for you.
When people say they can't even imagine themselves being confident.
On stage,
For example,
This is an invitation.
To mentally rehearse what it will would feel like sound like?
Look like?
Even smell like.
To be.
In your fullest.
Most profound sense of confidence.
In that space.
Challenging,
Situation.
And just like a movie,
If you watch the scene enough,
It becomes familiar.
And it is much easier to act with confidence.
When you have a sense of familiarity.
So see if you can rewind,
And one more time.
Play out your most confident self.
Using your anchor if you need to.
As a source of support and physical connection to that felt sense of confidence.
And see if you can,
In kind of a fast forward setting,
See the scene unfold.
You and your confidence.
What does it look like,
Best case scenario?
For you to unfold in this example with confidence.
Now letting the scene slowly fade.
Removing your anchor.
But keeping that feeling.
Notice where it lives in your body.
That sense of something really steady.
Something available to you.
Confidence is something you can return to intentionally.
This is self-trust in action.
In this way,
You are showing up.
In a way that you can stay connected to yourself even when things feel uncertain.
This quiet knowing that you can handle what happens next.
Begin to bring awareness back to your body and the space around you.
Gently moving your fingers and toes.
Taking a deeper,
Slower breath in.
And out.
Two more breaths like that.
M.
And out.
Last one,
Breathing in all the confident energy that you have.
And exhaling,
Letting that confidence seep into every muscle and cell in your body.
And feeling what that feels like.
And when you're ready.
Opening your eyes and coming back into the space.
Thank you all for being here.
Wishing you a very confident week ahead.
