Mind Tools & Inspirations: Letting off steam
Perhaps something in the world is bothering you. Even then, it’s OK to feel a little bit better.
In this 4-minute experience I guide you to use breath and attention to release tension or tightness.
TRY THIS…
If you have time, let me guide you so you can focus on your experience.
HERE IS THE PRACTICE
Bring your attention to how your body is feeling. Check in with your body.
To the extent you can, keep your attention on your body and refrain from going into WHY you are disturbed.
Bring your attention to your back. How does your back feel?
Bring your attention to your chest. How does your chest feel?
Bring your attention to your shoulders. How do your shoulders feel?
Allow your back and shoulders to gently move.
Notice sensations in your neck, then gently move your neck to be comfortable.
Notice if there is tightness or tension in your forehead. Let your forehead relax.
Notice how you are holding your jaw. Let your jaw relax.
Inhale through your nostrils.
As you exhale lightly close your lips and slowly let the air out.
Breathe comfortably and relax.
And on the next exhale again slowly let the air out, like you are releasing air from a balloon.
Breathe comfortably and relax.
Continue this cycle of a slow release of air, and then breathing comfortably. Doing this with your eyes closed helps you focus on the experience.
Gently bring your attention back.
Perhaps you have experienced a slight reduction in the intensity of HOW you are feeling. Perhaps there is a little more space inside.
WHY DO THIS?
WHY we are disturbed is different than HOW we feel.
WHY is in your mind, the explanation, your story, of what is upsetting.
HOW you feel is what happens in your body in response to the WHY.
Mulling over and mentally repeating the WHY intensifies the HOW, almost like keeping your foot on the gas.
In this week’s Mind Tool experience you focused attention on exploring HOW you feel. Hopefully this exploration temporarily interrupted some of the WHY.
Then you exhaled slowly, releasing a little of the tension, releasing a little of the steam.
Breathing comfortably between releases.
Letting off steam doesn’t solve the problem but it can evoke a slight shift.
Reducing self-talk, focus on bodily awareness, and using exhale to release tension are advanced skills that develop with practice. Perhaps you experienced a taste of how these work.
Mind Tools & Inspirations are experiences for busy, smart, curious people to help you operate your human system.
To access the full set of Mind Tools visit https://substack.com/@yogamindtools
I add a new experience every week.
Kindly,
Carrie
Carrie Heeter, PhD
Yoga Mind Tools
Photo credit: Ken Boyd from pixabay.com