Mindfulness Skills IRL*
Here’s a 5 minute mindfulness exercise to check in with yourself and your parts - it’s a short version of my “Four Corners Meditation”
First, find a good seat. Gently close your eyes, if you are comfortable doing so, or have a soft gaze. Take some regulating sighs (your nervous system will thank you). Then, simply follow your breath. Maybe even say, “Breathing in, Breathing out” on the in-breath and out-breath. Or, as Thich Nhat Hanh teaches, “Breathing in, I am alive. Breathing out, I smile.”
After you pay attention to your breath for a few cycles, expand your awareness to include your body sensations: What you are feeling, physically? Just notice - no need to change or fix anything. A simple body scan - like a laser beam going down your body.
Then, expand your awareness from your breath and body feelings to your emotional feelings. What do you notice? Often, the feelings in our body can lead us to our emotional feelings. Again, just notice. Try not to judge what is there. Just a gentle stance of care and kindness towards what is present. Breathe naturally.
Expand your awareness once again to include your thoughts. What “mental formations” are happening inside right now? Try not to get caught up in your thoughts, but simply notice and acknowledge what is present. It can be helpful to label the topic of the thoughts, such as “worry” or “planning,” or simply “past” or “future.” If you become distracted by your thoughts - which is totally normal and natural! - simply come back to your breath and your body.
The final step of this process is to notice how you feel toward all of these parts you have just identified: your sensations, your emotions, and your thoughts & beliefs. Just check - can you be open-hearted toward all that is present inside? If you feel something other than a gentle curiosity or compassion, simply note the emotion or feeling that is present, and include it in your awareness. Repeat this process until you can feel some care and kindness toward your internal system.
Finally, take a few moments to offer gratitude toward all that inside of you. Smile inwardly to your parts. Take a final regulating sigh, and allow your eyes to open.
If this mini meditation is difficult to do, don’t worry. Our hearts and minds and bodies are full of so many things right now. The most important thing is to notice and acknowledge what is present. And by noticing, you are doing a little unblending from your thoughts and feelings. Unblending is regulating. Every little bit helps.
*In Real Life, for you non-millenials :)
