Many have made the concept of presence more complicated than it needs to be.
Presence is simply noticing the sensations in your body.
It is even as simple as noticing your breath or your heart beating or your digestion.
In this brief guided practice,
I'm going to walk you through the simple practice of what we call conscious breathing and how it puts you in touch with your sensation and the gift of being present.
So get into a comfortable position.
You can pause here if you need to and take your glasses off.
Get really comfortable.
The body is always tolerating all day long positions it doesn't want to be in.
This is an opportunity for us to do the opposite.
Get really comfortable.
Now close your eyes and place a hand on your heart space right there in the center of your chest and the other hand on your belly.
Tip your chin down just a bit so that your observing mind is paying attention to your chest and your belly.
What's happening inside of you?
Now we're going to loosen things up a little bit.
First,
Stretch your jaw wide open so you can loosen the tension in the jaw and if it's sore,
This is an indication that this stretching exercise is good for you to do every day.
You are likely grinding your teeth at night.
Now roll your shoulders forward or backward five times.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Now in the reverse.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Now take your time rolling your neck one direction.
Nice and easy,
Nice and slow.
Roll the neck the other direction.
Relax your tongue on the lower palate of your mouth.
Keep your teeth separated,
Top and bottom teeth separated and only when you breathe in will you close your mouth.
So begin to breathe in through your nose.
Nice long deep in breath on the counting of two,
Five.
So one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
That's a nice long in breath and out through your mouth slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly counting to eight,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Okay,
We're going to repeat that practice.
So you'll have a chance to catch up now breathing in through your nose.
One,
Two,
Five and out two,
Three,
Four,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
This is nice long deep breathing.
Keep breathing on the count to five on the in breath,
Eight on the out breath.
Stay with me and keep breathing.
That's it.
Keep breathing.
Take your time and savor each part of that breath.
In through the nose,
Track your breath as it moves through the nose to the throat into the body and back out again.
Tracking each part of your breath.
Notice temperature of the breath as it enters the body,
The contrast of that breath and its temperature against the body's temperature.
Notice how each time you breathe,
The chest rises and falls,
Lungs expanding,
And contracting.
And you may even notice on your out breath a little bit more contact with the support underneath you.
The whole vast earth holding you here,
Her strength holding you in this moment.
And breathe.
Keep breathing,
Feeling the weight,
More weight of your body being held by the earth.
Gravity helps us notice the weight of our body.
Notice that on your out breath.
Breathe.
Keep tracking your breath.
This also helps quiet the mind.
Counting may also help if today you have more of a monkey mind.
That'll give the mind a task.
Counting to five out breath,
Counting to eight,
Taking your time.
Slow,
Deep breathing.
That's right.
Keep breathing.
Keep noticing things changing inside.
Perhaps you feel more calm or more settled,
More grounded inside,
Feeling more spaciousness in the chest,
More relaxed,
Or something else.
Whatever words best describe the sensation inside your chest and belly.
The weight of your body,
Temperatures in the body,
Perhaps more warmth in the chest,
More warmth in the belly or coolness.
Whatever it is,
Is perfectly fine.
We just want to notice sensation and whatever that sensation is inside.
That's what tells you you're present.
100% present in this moment.
If you can notice it,
You're here.
Here's something as you keep breathing.
Here's something I highly recommend you do.
Every day,
You go through transitions throughout your day.
Transitions like waking up,
Having breakfast,
That's a transition.
Or waking up going to take a shower,
A transition.
Waking up going to work,
Or somewhere else.
That's a transition.
Transition between meetings,
Classes,
Classes,
Coming home and going to bed.
That's a transition.
Or coming home,
Making dinner,
Exercise.
These are different aspects of our day that we call transitions,
What's happening in between those activities.
In between during those transitions,
Try to practice conscious breathing.
It doesn't have to be what we just did.
You don't need to close your eyes,
Place a hand on your heart space,
Slow everything down.
But just three simple,
Conscious breaths.
In between meetings,
Breathe three times in through your nose,
Out through your mouth.
That will help you stay more present,
Less stressed,
And will keep things like anxiety,
And downright burnout,
Stress,
Overwhelm,
Or as we've been calling it lately,
Quiet quitting at bay.
You see,
All of those things are examples of when we are not present.
Bring that practice into your daily life into your daily routines throughout your day.
Three conscious breaths to stay present,
To give yourself more energy to move throughout your day.
Take care of you.
