Breath And Body Practice: Neuro-affirming | ADHD And Autism

12:42

12:42

Breath And Body Practice: Neuro-affirming | ADHD And Autism

by Dr Jamie Brown

Rated

4.5

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

21

Join me for this gentle, neuro-affirming mindfulness practice designed to help you settle and regulate your nervous system. What to Expect: • Poetic Grounding: We begin with a reading of Wendell Berry’s "The Peace of Wild Things," setting a tone of quiet observation and "finding your song". • Flexible Breathwork: You are invited to use whatever form of breath awareness serves you—whether that is box breathing, petal breathing, or simply noticing the unique movement of this specific breath. • Expansive Body Scan: We move a "spotlight of awareness" from the toes to the crown. • Observing the Wandering Mind: Rather than trying to "clear" the mind, we practice celebrating the moment we notice it has wandered. We bring curiosity to where the mind goes before gently guiding it back to our chosen anchor. Recorded live in week 4 on an MBCT class adapted for neurodivergent people.

Mindfulness Breathwork Body Scan Adhd Autism Nervous System Regulation Mind Wandering Mbct Relaxation Poetry Lotus Breathing Breath Awareness Posture Adjustment Shoulder Relaxation Breath And Movement Synchronization

Meet your Teacher

London, UK

Meet your Teacher

London, UK

Transcript

Okay, So this is going to be a breath practice, So you can do this in whatever posture you like. It's often done seated, But whatever will serve you right now, You might want to lie down unless you're very, Very tired and then you might fall asleep, But that's okay. And I'm going to offer us two variations in this practice, So we can either notice the sensation of the breath in the body, Or we can bring some movement to the breath, And so we can, There's a thing called lotus breathing, I don't know if anyone's heard of it before. It's when you, As you breathe in, The hand opens, And as you breathe out, It shrinks. So I'll offer both variations and you can choose whichever one you'd like to do. Okay, So with that said, Should we find ourselves in a comfortable posture, Whatever that is for you today. And you have the options with the eyes, Maybe you'd like to turn away from the screen, Have a loose gaze, Maybe you'd like to half close the eyes or fully close the eyes, Perhaps slightly tucking the chin and finding space in the back of the neck. Taking a deep breath in, And as you breathe out, Letting the shoulder blades slide down the back, So there's space between the ears and the shoulders. Taking a moment to notice if there's anything you could do to be a little bit more comfortable. Once more, Noticing those parts of the body that rest on the air, Perhaps noticing feet, Those points of contact, Pressure, This might be subtle, There might not be a lot to notice. Maybe the sit bones, Not the idea but the felt sense, What's here for you in this moment? The head, The hands, And any other parts of the body which are resting on the air. Gently expanding your awareness to notice this body, The whole of the body, And we'll do a short sweep of the body, Starting with the feet, And working our way, Noticing the feet, The ankles, Calves, Sensing into the body, Knees, The thighs, And if you come across any tightness, Any tension, You might like to breathe into this, Maybe offering a releasing as you breathe out, The pelvis, The sit bones, Chest, The upper back and the shoulders, Sensing into the arms, The hands, The throat and the neck, Sensing the whole of the scalp, And then moving awareness to the forehead, The eyebrows, The point between the eyebrows, Eyes, The cheeks, The jaw, Maybe relaxing the jaw, And holding the whole body in awareness, Noticing, And beginning to notice the gentle movements of the body as the body breathes, And if there's a part of the body that feels comfortable to notice the breath, You might like to rest awareness here, Or perhaps noticing the breath where it first enters the body, Maybe the nose or the lips, Or perhaps bringing awareness to the hand, Lifting one hand, And beginning to gently time the movements of the hand with the breath, As you breathe in, At the petals of a flower, The hand opens, And as you breathe out, The hand closes, Just a gentle movement, Moving with the waves of the breath, Not needing to change the breath, Simply noticing the body's natural rhythm, And spending a few moments noticing the breath, Wherever you've chosen, Where you sense it most in the body, Where the breath first enters the body, Or with that movement of the hands, And when you notice the mind's wandered off, Celebrating that noticing, Knowing nothing's gone wrong, This is the nature of the mind, Perhaps noticing where the mind's gone, Maybe naming that in your mind, Worrying, Whatever it might be, And then whenever you're ready, Gently guiding awareness back to this moment, To this breath, To the sensation, The experience of the breath in this moment, Many times as the mind wanders off, Noticing this, And gently and kindly guiding your awareness back, Back to this moment, Bringing your curiosity, Your interest in this experience of breathing, And we're coming towards the end of the practice, In a few moments we'll begin to close the practice, And as we come towards the end, You might like to lower the hand if you've been raised, And taking a long, Slow breath in, And a releasing breath out, As you begin to release your awareness of the breath, Once more sensing the weight of the body held by the earth, And perhaps beginning to notice the space around you, The sounds, Whenever you're ready, Starting to bring some movement back to the body, And in your own time, Starting to open the eyes if they've been closed.