Hello,
Thanks for taking the time to do this mindful performance practice.
With mindful performance,
We use breath and visualization techniques to actively rest the mind so that we can perform better at work and improve the quality of our lives.
Sitting comfortably now,
Breathing normally through the nose.
I want you to become aware of your surroundings.
Noises,
How it feels to sit on the chair,
Or if you're lying down or standing up,
How that feels.
Just experience it.
Just like a child would,
Experiencing something for the very first time.
Breathing normally now,
Just noticing the breath.
Where does it come in to the body?
Where do you first experience it or feel it?
Is it at the nose?
Tingly,
Cold,
Warm?
Maybe in the chest?
Rising and falling?
Or in the belly?
Again,
Rising or falling?
I want you to take a slow,
Deliberate breath now.
In,
Hold at the top,
And out.
And one more.
This time,
As you breathe in,
Breathing in all the good energy that's going to recharge and refresh you.
And then with the out-breath,
Blowing away everything that's happened up until this point in the day.
Our brains are great at reliving the past,
But in order to get performance,
We have to be able to live in the moment.
If our brains are busy ruminating,
Replaying conversations with colleagues that didn't go so well,
Meetings that were boring,
Or perhaps a task that you know you didn't perform as well as you could have,
It's important now that you let it go.
So with one more deliberate breath,
Breathing in,
Holding at the top,
And really blow away what's happened up until this point in time.
For the rest of the practice,
I want you to return to the breath.
Again,
Noticing where you experience it first in the body.
What you may also notice is how the brain or mind loves to jump around and get lost in fantasy and story.
Thoughts.
It's totally okay.
It's what the brain's designed to do.
But when you catch yourself lost in a thought or a story,
Some wild fantasy,
Just return back to the breath.
The breath is the home base.
And see if for just one breath,
You can follow it in and follow it out.
Just one breath.
When you catch yourself drifting,
That's the magic moment.
That's the moment of mindfulness.
Finally now taking a big breath in through the nose,
Holding at the top,
And again blowing away whatever's happened inside the practice.
You may be feeling rejuvenated,
Relaxed,
Frustrated,
Tired,
Annoyed,
Completely calm or sleepy.
There's no right or wrong way to experience a mindfulness practice.
All that matters is you keep coming back,
Knowing that by doing this,
You're actively resting the part of the brain that you're about to go and use to get your work done.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Look around the room if you're with people,
Have a smile and a stretch.
One thing I'd like you to consider is breaking up your day into 50 to 90 minute sprints or chunks of work.
The research shows that the brain can maintain a level of performance without inducing too much stress over this length of time,
Providing it's followed with a 10 to 20 minute break.
During that break,
Try to stay off your phone,
Make a cup of tea or coffee,
Go for a walk,
Or even do a mindful performance practice.
Have fun and thanks for hanging out.
