Quick Power Down Meditation

Quick Power Down Meditation

by | Jan 13, 2022 | Guided Audio, Meditation

Power Down a Busy Mind

A five-minute meditation can go a long way toward resetting your brain, but it may be hard to settle into meditation if your mind has been racing or you are not in a quiet place.

This meditation uses your breath and a count to keep your mind focused.
Find a place to sit comfortably. You can set a timer on your phone for 2-5 minutes or sit for a few rounds of breath and counting.

Power Down a Busy Mind Meditation

Close your eyes, or let your gaze drop to the floor in front of you. Then, place your awareness on your breath. Notice your inhale, then notice your exhale. You don’t need to change your breath in any way.

As you inhale, say inhale silently to yourself. Then, as you exhale, say one. Then, on the next inhale, say inhale, and two on your exhale. Continue until you reach ten rounds, and then start over again with one. If you completely lose awareness of the breath and the count, go back to one and start over.

The goal of the practice is not to reach ten. The goal is to notice when you lose attention. Then you anchor your attention back to the breath and the counting.

If at any point during the meditation you feel tense or physically uncomfortable, feel free to create movement by swaying or circling the spine or shifting your position.

Power Down Meditation

Experience a short guided meditation using the breath and counting to keep your busy mind anchored

In this audio, I lead a short guided meditation using the breath and counting to help focus your mind. First, sit and concentrate your attention on your breath. Then, pick one place like your mouth or nostrils, chest, or belly to focus your attention.

The audio is about 5 minutes.

 

5 Minute Meditation Pause

5 Minute Meditation Pause

by | Dec 23, 2021 | Guided Audio, Meditation

Take a brief pause

I invite you to take a 5-minute pause. Try to find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and sit or lie on your back.
 

 

Take a pause practice

Get comfortable. You may close your eyes or gaze just in front of you.
For the next few minutes, there is nothing you need to do. Nowhere you need to be.
Notice the places your body touches the chair or the floor. Notice the support under you or around you. Feel or imagine your body relaxing into this support. If your mind gets busy or distracted, bring your awareness back to the sensation of support and allow yourself to sink into whatever is underneath or around you, like your chair or floor.
Gently guide your awareness toward your breath. You may choose one place to notice it, like at your mouth or nostrils, or maybe you notice it in your chest or belly. As you inhale, notice any sensations created by inhaling. Imagine inhaling relaxation. Maybe you visualize this inhale as a light. You can choose the color, move the light into your chest, and spread ease into your entire body. As you exhale, imagine releasing tension.
Allow yourself this chance to take a few minutes to pause and breathe.

 

Pause with this guided meditation

In this audio, I lead you in a 5-minute pause. Find a place where you won’t be distracted, turn off your cell phone, and get comfortable.
In this guided meditation, you will use your breath and your body as objects or the focus of the meditation. If you prefer to use something external to you, you might gaze at an object near you or listen to soft, relaxing music.

Listen, let go and take the pause.

Read more about taking the pause:

Take a Pause

Enjoy!

 

Take a Pause

Take a Pause

Take a Pause

by | Dec 23, 2021 | General Musings, Meditation

In this musing, I invite you to take a pause.  You may be stressed, you may be too busy to take a break but take it anyway.  Five minutes.  Just five minutes, I know you can find that time somewhere in your day. 

Why take a pause?

Taking a pause is like resetting your brain.  It breaks the cycle of stress, which creates less than clear thinking and reactions, often not diplomatic ones.  It allows your heart rate to decrease,   cortisol levels to drop, tension to release.  

Just as your physical body needs a rest, so does your brain. Have you ever had the experience of wracking your brain on a puzzle or project, and after you walk away from it a bit, the answer is obvious.  This is because your brain could look at it from a fresh perspective.  Think of the pause as recess for your brain. So let it take a break and run free.

What does it mean to take a pause?

Taking a pause is not mindlessly scrolling through social media or watching or reading the news.  Taking a pause means disconnecting, reducing the stream of sensory input your brain gets bombed with daily.  Put down your phone, shut down or walk away from your computer, the TV, and find a quiet space if you can.  See if you can find a place where you can close a door or step outside into a park or field or the beach.  I’ve found quiet spaces in office supply closets, an empty break room, or an outside picnic table.  You may need to get creative.  Set a timer for five minutes.  There are many meditation timers available for your iPhone.  If you use your phone, set it to do not disturb if you can.  An egg timer will also work.

How do you pause a restless mind?

Slowing your brain from about 100 mph to a pause can be challenging.  Get as comfortable as you can, sitting, or if you can lie on your back, or maybe you need to walk around.  Either close your eyes (if seated or lying down) or let your eyes drop just in front of you.  The goal is to limit visual distractions.  

You need to anchor your mind, keep it from wandering off on every thought or to-do list.  Pick one object to focus on.  By object, I mean any sensory input.  By picking one, you limit distractions.  Your object may be the feeling or sound of your breath, the sensations in your body where you meet the chair or floor.  You may choose to gaze at just one object near you, like something on your desk, preferably not something that is busy and distracting like your day planner.  Soft relaxing music might be your anchor.  The goal of the anchor is to use it to pull your mind back to it each time you notice you have stopped paying attention to your anchor.  The goal is not to control your thoughts. You can’t do that, so don’t try. The goal is to pull your mind away from those thoughts and back to observing the anchor.  

If you are restless or tense, create mall movements like rolling your shoulders, swaying your spine and torso, or wiggling your fingers. You can use this movement as your anchor. For example, if you are walking, walk slowly and focus on the sensation of each foot as it meets the ground, and then the movement of the other leg stepping forward.

Take slower breaths, not forced. See if you can add some length to the inhale and the exhale.

Try to feel or imagine breathing in relaxation and breathing out tension. For example, let your shoulders and arms relax. It might feel good to move your neck and head from side to side.  

Pause as often as you can

You can take a pause when you feel really stressed, even if you don’t think you have the time.  You may notice you are actually more productive after the pause.  Take the pause a couple of times during your day if you can.  It might be really short pauses during your day to stop and disconnect.   It might be getting up and walking around a bit, getting a chance of scenery if you can maybe take a quick walk outside.  Use this time to practice using an anchor as you walk or notice your body in your chair.  Take a few deep breaths and relax.

Meditation – 5 Minute pause

It can be hard to take a pause, to sit still for 5 minutes, so I created a short guided meditation for you.

In this meditation, In this meditation, I will guide you through taking a pause.  Find a quiet space, turn off your phone and get comfortable.

Check out my guided audio, 5 minute pause.

5 Minute Pause