Breath Awareness Mindfulness Practice
These are trying times.
How are you holding yourself through everything going on in the world?
Years ago I would look outside of myself to manage my stress. I would hope and pray the external factors I had little to no control over would change and I'd miracously feel less overwhelm, fear and worry. I felt disempowered and out of control. I didn't realise back then what I know now. There are tools I can use to support myself, practices that can hold me steady in uncertain and stressful times.
A decade ago I was in absolute survival mode. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed at life. Someone I love dearly was extremely unwell with depression and three of my patients were terminally ill from brain tumours. I was an occupational therapist, I understood and often taught stress management! Yet I was really struggling with my own stress. I had difficulty managing my thoughts and processing the big emotions I was experiencing. I felt exhausted by the weight of my world. Burnt out.
I remember coming home from work late one night recognising that my overwhelm was getting out of hand. I was worrying a lot, my mind was very busy. Everything was taking me longer. My brain was foggy, my heart was racing. I was withdrawing from my friends and pouring myself into more work (which was the last thing I needed). I thought is this all there is to life? Worry, pain and suffering. I collapsed on my bed that night and surrendered. I lay there and closed my eyes for what felt like a lifetime but was no more than 10 or 15 minutes and I breathed. In and out. Something shifted. The cloud lifted. There was a sweet relief. A few moments of less overwhelm, less worry, less stress, less aching for the pain of others.
Today I want to share this practice with you. I hope it provides you with some comfort, as it did me all those years ago and ever since whenever I practise.
Whether you have 10 minutes or just 30 seconds, this practice is worth it. A few moments in your day to connect with your breath. Connect with your body. To breathe and just be. To make space for all that is. The external chaos, the busy mind, the racing heart. Each breath a promise to transmute the stress into solace, the chaos into calm, the uncertainty into a sense of stability.
We all owe it to ourselves right now. Press play and hold yourself steady, go gently during these times.
May you be safe.
May you be well.
May we all be free from suffering and at peace.
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