Super,
So choosing a comfortable seat,
Sitting on a chair with two feet firmly on the ground.
Your back nice and straight,
Your hands can be on your knees or in your lap.
Or you can sit on a cushion on the floor,
That's also fine.
We spoke a bit yesterday about creating a beautiful space for yourself.
And if you like you can drop your chin and just close your eyes or leave your eyes slightly open.
So let's flatten the curve of the invisible pandemic that is affecting everybody and that is anxiety and stress.
Let's take in three beautiful deep breaths.
Let's breathe in through the nose,
Breathing in.
And release slowly out the nose.
Once again breathing in and slowly release.
Slowly release.
Last one,
Breathing in through the nose.
And then release out the mouth,
Making a sound.
Let it go,
Let go of what doesn't serve you today,
Any obstacles,
Anxieties or stress.
Just release,
Release.
And return to a normal breath.
When we practice stress management our body listens carefully and acts accordingly.
Our cortisol levels reduce,
Our adrenaline levels reduce and we move into a parasympathetic resting state.
Which is so beneficial for our immune system and our healing.
And for those telomeres to grow back from the harmful effects of stress which will hurt us one day physically.
Setting your mind on your breath,
Finding the breath,
One particular point,
It could be in the abdomen,
It may be in the chest or it may be at the nostrils.
Just choosing one place,
Feeling that movement,
Maybe an expansion as you breathe in and a contraction or a falling as you exhale.
And just resting your attention,
Relax,
Relax,
Relax.
That's it.
True relaxation is an odd form.
And we need to also relax the mind and this is why we practice mindfulness.
The body may be relaxed,
Now we relax the mind and we do so by learning to disengage from a story line.
From someone that said something to you that upset you and you know what,
Let it go.
Can you let it go?
Letting it go is a practice.
And what we practice grows stronger.
So resting your awareness on your breath.
If you feel a sensation in your body,
Let's not make a story out of it,
Let's just label that feeling,
Feeling.
If you hear a sound,
Maybe your neighbors are making a noise or the kids are making a noise or as she said,
You know,
It's the dishwasher or the washing machine.
Just label that sound hearing,
Hearing.
There's no need to be annoyed about it or get into a story about it or a judgement.
And then finally whatever thoughts may arise,
Whatever story lines may arise,
Just label that thinking,
Thinking.
So you've got three labels,
Thinking,
Thinking,
Hearing,
Hearing,
Feeling,
Feeling.
I'm sure you can remember that.
Always returning to the breath.
The breath is your anchor into this present moment.
And as things arise,
We jump off the story line and we practice pure mindfulness by labeling hearing,
Thinking and feeling just twice and then let it go.
Just let it go and return back to the anchor into this moment,
Your breath.
Let's try that now.
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Some of you may have a visual mind.
You can imagine little post-it notes on your thoughts,
Your feeling and your hearing.
Try not to focus too intensely on your breath.
That can also cause a lot of agitation which will lead to more thoughts.
Just softly,
Softly focus on the breath.
It's just an anchor.
It's not winning a race or anything like that.
It just is in this moment.
There's no destination.
There's no amazing state of mind that we're trying to achieve.
We're just building our muscle of awareness and introspection.
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Where is the mind?
Remember the labels.
Remember the breath.
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