Welcome to your mindful check-in practice.
If possible,
I invite you to find the most quiet location that you can,
But you cannot be disturbed.
If the location you are in is imperfectly silent,
No problem.
Simply do the best that you can.
This practice can either be done sitting down or standing up.
Give yourself a few moments to orient yourself and find the best location suitable for you right now.
Often we are rushing around throughout our days,
Completely unaware of what we are doing,
Let alone finding full presence in it.
This practice will be a short mindful quick check-in to allow you to recalibrate back to your mind,
Body and breath.
The beauty of the 5-4-3-2-1 method is its ability to quickly drop back into the present moment by simply focusing on one sense at a time.
Once you feel settled into your space,
Mindfully begin to bring an awareness towards your breath.
If it feels easier,
Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly.
Begin to tune into the physical sensation of each inhale and each exhale.
Observe how the belly expands and the chest rises on your inhale,
And how the belly contracts and the chest lowers as you exhale.
Notice these two contrasting movements within the body and within the breath.
Now taking a little more control of the breath,
I will guide you through three rounds of square breathing.
You will be inhaling for a count of four,
Holding the breath for a count of four,
Exhaling for a count of four,
And holding for a count of four.
Follow along as best as you can,
And you can even visualise a square shape within your mind's eye.
If appropriate,
Close the eyes down for a moment.
To prepare the body,
Take a nice deep belly breath in,
And as you exhale,
Take an audible sigh out of the mouth.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale two,
Three,
Four.
And hold for two,
Three,
And four.
Take another deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Sigh it all out.
Come back to the natural rhythm of your breath now.
And if your eyes were closed,
Open them up again.
Begin to use your sense of sight,
And begin to observe five things that you can see around you in your immediate environment.
Whatever item or thing your gaze lands on,
Get curious as to the color of these things.
What does the texture of these items look like?
Observe these five things for a moment now.
Really get curious as towards these items that you're looking at.
Is there anything you notice in the room that you've never noticed before?
Release in your sense of sight now,
And then allow the eyes to flutter down and close again for a moment.
Start to bring your awareness to four noises in your surrounding area.
They could be a bird tweeting outside.
You could be hearing colleagues in the background talking.
What four sounds are you currently aware of,
Right now in this present moment?
Remember if the mind loses focus,
It's okay.
Simply bring the awareness back to your sense of sound.
Let's focus on the sense of touch now to ground ourselves further.
Bring into your awareness three things that you can feel.
Remember there is no right or wrong here.
This is what your senses are currently experiencing,
And what is real for you right now.
Your sense of touch could range from the clothes against your skin,
Your sitting bones against a chair,
Or even your hand holding your phone.
Observe these three things now.
It's now time to release your sense of touch.
Take a deep conscious breath in,
And as you do,
Begin to bring into your awareness two distinct smells and aromas that are around you.
Let these two smells draw you back into your immediate surroundings,
And the present moment now.
Keeping your awareness onto these smells for a few more moments.
Finally,
To complete the cycle,
Begin to focus on your sense of taste.
What one thing do you taste in your mouth right now?
It could be the taste of a drink which you had a few moments ago.
Maybe you're chewing a gum,
And you can taste the fresh minty taste inside your mouth.
Observe this one thing for a few moments.
Releasing the awareness of your sense of taste,
And begin to orient yourself back into your whole physical body.
On your next breath in,
Draw the shoulders up to the ears,
And as you exhale,
Float the shoulders back down.
Twice more,
Deep breath in,
Shoulders up to ears.
Exhale,
Lower them down.
One more time when you're ready.
Your practice is now coming to an end,
And you're welcome to come back to this practice anytime,
But especially when you feel overworked,
Anxious or out of balance.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
