Hi,
This is Helena from Therapy with Helena.
Welcome to your calm the mind practice.
Let's start.
Begin by finding a comfortable seat.
You can sit on the floor.
Sometimes it's nice to support your hips with a cushion,
A pillow.
Or maybe you prefer to sit on a chair.
It's not so important what you're seated on.
What's more important is that you focus on having a tall spine.
An open,
Soft front.
And a strong,
Stable back of the body.
So find your seat and as you do so,
Allow the shoulders to relax back.
Allow the muscles of the face to soften.
And you might imagine that there's a string attached at the very top of the head,
Just lightly pulling you upward.
To keep your spine long so the energy can flow in and out.
In and out.
Through the vessel of the spinal cord.
And as you find your seat.
You can see what feels best for your gaze today.
Sometimes it feels better to have the eyes closed.
Sometimes it might feel nice to have the gaze on what we call a drishti or a focus point in front of you.
Something stable that's not moving,
Maybe about a meter or so in front of you.
And once you found your seat and found your gaze,
We'll start to tune in to the awareness of the breath.
Notice that you're breathing.
And without trying to change the breath in any way.
Just observe that it's there.
Moving in and out.
In and out.
In and out.
And as we move into some moments of silence.
You might notice that the mind feels quite busy or full.
Maybe it's jumping around to different to do's or.
Ideas.
Maybe there's judgment about the busy mind.
Why can't I?
Have a clear,
Calm mind.
Right now.
That's why we're here,
To practice.
Begin our practice.
By on your next inhale,
Feel a sense of space.
And on your exhale count internally the number five.
Inhale,
Space.
Exhale,
Four.
Inhale,
Space.
Exhale,
Three.
Inhale,
Space.
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale.
Feel the sense of space.
And exhale,
One.
When you're feeling the sense of space,
If you're a visual thinker,
It might be helpful to imagine a blank page.
Or perhaps an open,
Big field.
Or maybe the ocean wide.
Whatever.
Arises in your visual field that connects you to this sense of space,
Spaciousness.
Or perhaps you can just feel what it feels like.
Be in that sense of spaciousness.
Clearness.
Like there's nothing standing in your way.
And every time that you notice the mind wandering,
You might lose the count.
And that's okay.
Just start over again at five every time you notice the mind wandering.
And you continue this practice until you've made it all the way through to one.
Without the mind wandering too far away.
Let's practice together again.
Inhale.
Exhale,
5.
Inhale,
Space.
Exhale,
Four.
Inhale,
Feel the sense of space.
Exhale 3.
Inhale,
Feel the sense of space.
Exhale 2.
Inhale space.
Exhale,
One.
Nice job.
Now try this round on your own.
Just internally.
Can say the word space on the inhale.
And on the exhale,
Count the number five and count all the way down to one.
I'll give you some moments in silence to practice on your own.
Go for it.
Whenever the mind wanders.
Just notice that it's wandered.
And gently come back to the practice,
Starting over at the number five.
Being soft.
And gentle.
And kind to yourself throughout this practice.
That's really important.
Completing your final round wherever you are.
And it's okay if you didn't make it all the way to one today.
You can come back and try again.
Practice is meant to be something that we come back to again.
And again.
And again,
And again.
And to close this practice,
You might place a hand on your heart center.
Maybe you placed your other hand on your belly.
Or maybe you just imagine that there's a hand placed on your heart and your belly.
And just offer yourself a sense of gratitude.
For making time to.
Be with your mind in this way.
It's not always easy.
Can also be quite confronting at times.
But nice job for making the space.
Feel free to come back to this practice at any point in your day.
When you notice that the mind is busy.
And you'd like to practice.
Calming the mind in this way.
Sending love and light.
Have a beautiful day.
