Welcome.
This mindfulness practice is called 5-4-3-2-1.
This is a practice that can help you feel more grounded and connected to the physical space that you're in.
It can be particularly helpful at times of high stress and overwhelm,
Including times when you might notice racing thoughts.
You can do this either sitting or lying down.
You can also do it standing up.
Moving around works well too.
You can also do that.
So really any kind of position.
You're going to start with tuning in to what you see in the space around you.
So just start to look around in the room that you're sitting in or the area that you're in and notice five things that you see.
And don't just list them off really quickly.
Like,
I see a book.
I see a shelf.
Notice something about it.
What color is it?
Is it big or is it small?
And go ahead and just name to yourself those five things,
Even doing it out loud if that's helpful for you.
Now you're going to move to observing four things that you can touch and you can physically feel.
Here you can use your hands and your fingers to reach out and make contact with something around you.
Noticing what it's like,
The temperature,
The texture,
And observing that.
So again,
Not just as simple as it's a table.
Maybe you notice that it's smooth.
Maybe you notice that the pillow that you touch is soft.
So observe what it's like to tune in to the sense of touch.
Now move to three things that you can hear.
One of the things could be the sound of my voice.
And perhaps there are things in your environment that you can also hear.
If it's really quiet,
You can also snap your fingers near your ear so you can hear that or touch a tabletop so you can hear that.
You're welcome to make the sounds yourself.
Now we'll notice two things that you can smell.
So two things that stand out to you when it comes to smell.
And feel free to grab something and smell that.
Maybe if you have a cup of tea,
You can smell that.
Maybe on your clothing,
You can smell laundry detergent or you can smell the shampoo on your hair.
Feel free to grab anything from the environment to smell and just notice that smell,
Taking it in through the senses.
Last,
Notice one thing that you can taste.
Maybe you can still taste something that you ate or drank earlier.
This is also a place where you're welcome to grab something in your environment and taste that.
A mint,
A sip of water or tea,
A snack that's right there.
And notice the taste and the flavor as if you're experiencing it for the first time.
Again,
What we tuned into is five things that you can see,
Four things that you can feel,
Three things that you can hear,
Two things that you can smell and one thing that you can taste.
This is an exercise that can be done whenever you need a few minutes to feel more grounded and more connected to the environment around you.
As we're closing,
Just feel your feet connected to the ground underneath you,
Feeling your hips connected with your seat if you are sitting down.
Go ahead and take a few grounding breaths here with a long slow inhale in and a deep exhale out.
And go ahead and do that again in your own time.
And I wish you well as you continue to practice mindfulness and grounding.
