Welcome to the six minute pause.
Gratitude and kindness relaxation.
I'm Louisa Cain at the pause before.
Great to have you join us today to take some time out to support your well-being and to check in with your mind,
Body and energy.
On a scale of one to 10,
One being not so great and 10 being amazing,
Ask yourself,
How am I today?
Let go of any expectation or judgment and take the time to be curious about yourself in this moment in time.
The mindfulness techniques of gratitude and kindness have been shown to dial down our stress hormone cortisol and increase our feel good mood regulators,
Dopamine,
Serotonin,
And oxytocin.
Let's settle in.
Sitting or lying comfortably,
I invite you to close your eyes or take your gaze to the floor.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
As we come into our mindfulness space and take our awareness inwards.
As you breathe slowly and deeply,
Think of three things you're grateful for today.
For example,
Your pet,
Family or friends,
Something in nature,
Or even your cup of tea.
Take a few moments to bring these to mind.
Now I'd like you to focus on the one that you're most grateful for.
If it's a bit difficult to choose,
Maybe just use the first one that came to mind.
Really bring the thing that you're grateful for into your mind.
Does it have a particular colour,
Sound,
Texture,
Smell,
Or even taste?
As you do this,
Become aware of your thoughts,
Your body,
Energy,
And emotions,
And just see what you notice.
Be curious.
For example,
You might notice a smile as you think of your pet.
You might notice a smile as you think of your pet.
Or a feeling of warmth across your chest as you become aware of this energy.
Really focus on the energy and allow it to expand.
So it becomes an imprint in your mind,
Body,
And energy.
Next,
Let's turn our awareness to a kindness mindfulness exercise.
The words go like this.
May I be free from fear.
May I be safe.
May I be healthy and happy.
May I be protected.
If you like repeating the words,
You may notice a smile as you think of your pet.
May I be free from fear.
May I be safe.
May I be protected.
If you like,
Repeat after me out loud or in your head,
Granting yourself these wishes or intentions.
May I be free from fear.
And let's look back at how these words land with you and what arises.
Let's take this wider.
May my friends and family be free from fear.
May my friends and family be safe.
May my friends and family be happy and healthy.
May my friends and family be protected.
Again,
Notice your mind,
Body and energy as you listen to or repeat these words.
Let's take these intentions out to our communities.
May our communities be free from fear.
May our communities be safe.
May our communities be happy and healthy.
May our communities be protected.
Finally,
Let's take these well wishes out to the world.
May the world be free from fear.
May the world be safe.
May the world be happy and healthy.
May the world be protected.
Pause here and just become aware of your mind,
Body and energy.
What do you notice?
Tapping into that calm,
Relaxed,
Positive energy we've built.
Allow it to infuse all of your cells.
Creating an imprint that you can come back to at any time.
Now imagine allowing this energy to form a bubble around you.
You might like to choose a colour or colours to help with this visualisation.
Allow the bubble to expand and fill with the colour you've chosen to reflect the energy.
With each in-breath,
Allow it to expand and get bigger.
As it supports you to feel even more calm and relaxed.
Imagine this energy spreading into your mind and body.
Coming up into the soles of your feet,
Your ankles,
Knees.
Upper legs.
Hips.
Base of your spine.
The whole of your lower body is relaxed and calm.
Allow it to soften and feel a bit heavier.
The energy continues to your mid-back,
Upper back.
Tops of your shoulders.
Elbows.
Wrists.
Palms of the hands and all of your fingers.
Allow your upper body to feel calm and relaxed.
Allow your upper body to soften and feel heavier.
Now allow the energy to flow up to the base of your neck.
The back of your head.
The top of your head.
Forehead.
The space between your eyebrows.
Cheeks.
Jaw.
The whole of your face.
Allow your whole body to feel calm and relaxed.
Allow your whole body to feel calm and relaxed.
Your whole body is soft and heavy.
There's no tension or tightness left.
As you're curious about your mind and body and your energy,
Bring to mind what you're grateful for.
Allow a gentle smile if that feels right for you to spread across your face.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Feel free to sigh it out if you wish.
Once more together,
A deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Take a stretch or make any movements you'd like to make as we transition back into the world and the rest of the day.
As you transition,
Checking in on your scale of one to ten and noticing where you are.
Have you gone up the scale,
Stayed the same,
Or even gone down?
Just notice,
Be curious.
Remember,
You can come back to this recording or any of the others in this series at any time.
You might like to create a daily gratitude practice of thinking of three things you're grateful for and writing them down.
You could even try and think of three different things each day to make it more challenging.
These practices of mindfulness are like going to the gym.
Each time we practice,
Our muscles get stronger.
And with mindfulness,
It's the same,
But we're strengthening our neural pathways.
And as these get stronger,
As we practice more regularly,
It makes it quicker and easier to feel more calm,
Relaxed,
Positive and empathic.
For the best results,
We need to practice mindfulness every day,
Even if it's just five minutes to start with.
Thank you for taking a pause with the pause before and joining our mindfulness community.
Come and pause with us again soon.
