Present State Awareness

Present state awareness, also known as the 5-4-3-2-1 practice, is a simple form of mindfulness that guides you to focus on what your senses are noticing right now: what you can feel, see, hear, smell, and taste. Instead of one fixed anchor, your attention moves from sense to sense, returning you to the present moment.

Transcript

Welcome to today's meditation. We're going to be focusing on a technique called present state awareness. This is both a great alternative to traditional mindfulness practices, But also can be used as a response to anxiety or indeed even panic attacks. The basic premise is simple. You draw your attention to the feelings coming from your senses. That is, What you can see, Hear, Touch, Taste and smell. From an anti-anxiety perspective, By focusing on your senses, You are directing your attention out of your head and into the present moment. You are grounding yourself in what is happening now, Not on what was happening or what you think was happening or what you think might happen. By drawing mindful attention to the sensations, We are able to see reality for what it is as it is. So without further ado, Let's begin the practice. To begin, Just take a slow, Deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Now draw your attention to what you can feel. What does the ground feel like? Can you feel the wind? Is there any pressure, Tension or sensation coming from inside your body? What do your clothes feel like? Are you hungry? Do you feel hot or cold? Have you felt anything new? Now move your attention onto what you can see. Notice the colours. The lines. The shapes. The textures. Notice the play of light and the casting of shadows. Have you seen anything new? Now move your attention onto what you can hear. What sounds are coming to your ears? Are they natural or man-made? Can you hear music or a conversation? What is the pitch and the tone? Is it loud or is it quiet? Have you heard anything new? Now move your attention onto what you can smell. Focus on the air coming into your nose. Are there any smells that you can instantly recognise? Are there some that you can't place? Is there an undertone of a particular smell? Have you smelt anything new? And finally move your attention onto what you can taste. Focus on your mouth and your tongue. Are there any residual tastes in your mouth? Perhaps you can still sense some of the stronger flavours from your last meal or toothpaste. Have you tasted anything new? Okay, So that's the basic rundown of this practice. And of course you can choose to use this practice in a number of different ways. You could cycle through all five senses just once, Like we did. You could cycle through them all a multitude of times. Or you could focus specifically on one or two. Personally, I like to use sound and feeling. Because I find that they best enable me to ground myself in the present moment. Without sort of getting lost or distracted in thought. So if you're looking for an alternative way to begin a meditation practice. Or looking to address feelings of anxiety and rumination and panic attacks in the moment. Return to this meditation, This practice of present state awareness. And get out of your head and into the present moment.