Mindfulness can be a powerful tool for navigating change,
And many schools of mindfulness teach us different ways to manage the constant change in our lives.
Whether you call it coming home,
Finding your anchor,
Or turning inward,
Each of these practices aims to help us get to know a place of internal stillness that we can turn to,
Even when the external world is anything but still.
Today we'll practice tuning into that stillness to help navigate the ups and downs of change.
Organizational scientists studying change often approach their research from a within-person perspective.
This means they look at how much individuals tend to vary within themselves when it comes to certain factors in their approaches to change.
When change is flying all around us,
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and ungrounded.
Our experience of change can be like a roller coaster.
One day you might feel like you can handle any change the world brings your way,
While another day just the thought of dealing with something different could feel completely overwhelming.
Mindfulness can help us to cultivate a more steady approach to change.
Tapping into a place of stillness within ourselves can help us to stay centered internally,
Even when change is swirling externally.
Today's session will help you bring your awareness to that place of stillness and stability within yourself.
This can help to make the roller coaster of change a little less abrupt.
To start,
Let's settle in.
Remember that your well-being during mindfulness is completely your own responsibility,
So choose somewhere safe and comfortable with no distractions.
Let your eyes close gently and rest your hands somewhere effortless.
Open up your posture by sitting up a little bit straighter and a little bit taller,
And drop your shoulders away from your neck and down from your ears.
Now start tuning into your breath.
There's no need to do anything special here.
Just breathe at your natural pace,
And then start to notice where you're most aware of your breath.
Do you notice cool air flowing in near your nostrils?
The rise and the fall of your chest?
Your abdomen expanding near your belly?
Without thinking about it too hard,
Let your breath show you where to focus your attention.
Then bring your awareness to this place and continue to focus your attention there.
All you need to do is continue breathing naturally with your focus resting gently on that place.
If your mind starts to wander or any thoughts start to drift in,
Gently remind yourself that you've set aside this time for mindfulness,
And bring yourself back to focusing on the breath again.
Continue to keep resting your attention at this place for a few more moments,
Reminding yourself that there's no action you need to take.
Just tune in to whatever steadiness or tranquility you might find.
As we start to wind down,
Go ahead and ease back into your day with some small movements,
Like wiggling your fingers or wiggling your toes,
And then start to notice any sounds in the room around you,
And maybe take a nice long,
Deep sigh.
Try to open your eyes last so you can let your other senses guide your return to being present.
The more you practice tuning in to this place of stillness,
The more accessible it will become for you in times of change.
You can come back to this session over and over again.
