Mindfulness involves being present and observing your thoughts and feelings without judging them.
Cultivating mindfulness can be really transformative for leaders.
It can help them remain calm under pressure,
Make better decisions and improve their relationships.
It allows them to increase their active listening skills and emotional intelligence.
Meditation,
Which is really just a formal mindfulness practice,
Trains the mind to stay present,
Which reduces stress and enhances emotional self-regulation.
Leaders who cultivate mindfulness and meditate become more resilient,
Adaptable and effective in decision making,
Communication and foster trust,
Collaboration and productivity within their teams.
I call this intentional leadership.
As a leader in any context,
From corporate to parenting,
How you show up is so important,
Because your energy and your demeanor affects the people around you or those you lead.
If you have ever had a good morning in the office,
But then your boss came in angry or stressed,
And the entire office energy went downhill,
Then you know what I mean.
Leadership is a big responsibility.
But if you are intentional about your leadership,
You can quite literally transform your organization,
A community group or even your family.
And you're not just doing this for them.
You will also feel a whole lot better.
It will help you reduce stress,
Which as we know has so many health implications.
You will build stronger connections and have more meaningful interactions.
There's a joke that goes,
You should meditate 10 minutes a day.
Except if you're really busy,
Then it should be 20 minutes.
And this is especially true if you are in a leadership role.
Cultivating mindfulness through meditation will be so important in order to stay calm and being an intentional leader.
Now,
If you're brand new to mindfulness and meditation,
You can still benefit from this session.
But I do encourage you to look at other content that is more introductory.
But for now,
I will guide you through a simple yet powerful practice of auto-training training,
Which brings you into a relaxed state that can help you cultivate inner peace and make space for intentional leadership.
If you're not already,
Make yourself comfortable.
I recommend laying down for this,
But if you fall asleep easily and it's not evening yet,
You might want to set yourself an alarm.
Laying down,
Rest on your back with your arms on either side.
Close your eyes and just relax your eyes.
I'm going to say a phrase twice,
And I encourage you to repeat what I say either mentally or out loud.
Let's get started.
My feet are heavy and comfortably warm.
My feet are heavy and comfortably warm.
My calves are heavy and comfortably warm.
My calves are heavy and comfortably warm.
My thighs are heavy and comfortably warm.
My thighs are heavy and comfortably warm.
My hips are heavy and comfortably warm.
My hips are heavy and comfortably warm.
My back is heavy and comfortably warm.
My back is heavy and comfortably warm.
My hands are heavy and comfortably warm.
My hands are heavy and comfortably warm.
My arms are heavy and comfortably warm.
My arms are heavy and comfortably warm.
My shoulders are heavy and comfortably warm.
My shoulders are heavy and comfortably warm.
My belly is soft and warm.
My belly is soft and warm.
My heartbeat is calm and regular.
My heartbeat is calm and regular.
My breath flows freely.
My breath flows freely.
My forehead is comfortably cool.
My forehead is comfortably cool.
My whole body is heavy and comfortably warm.
My whole body is heavy and comfortably warm.
I am relaxed and at peace.
I am relaxed and at peace.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
I hope you felt really relaxed and made some space to cultivate your own intentional leadership.
With practice,
You can do this yourself.
It's fairly simple and that's why it's called autogenic,
As in self.
Otherwise,
You can always come back to this track until you're comfortable.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
