Welcome to the STOP practice.
We'll begin with the first letter of this practice,
S,
Which stands for stop.
And so just stopping what we're doing right now,
Getting in a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
And next,
Just taking a few deep breaths.
Maybe in through the nose initially,
And out through the mouth.
With each exhalation,
Allowing your body to soften a bit more.
As long as we're here with the breath right now,
Allowing your body to settle into its natural rhythm of breathing.
Breathing in and just sensing the breath coming in.
Breathing out and just sensing the breath going out.
Allowing your body just naturally take the breath it needs in its natural rhythm of being alive.
Now moving on to the O of this practice,
Which is just observe.
So beginning to observe your body,
Noticing if there's any tension or tightness anywhere,
Including the face.
And if you do notice any of that,
Just allowing that to soften or just mindfully adjusting your body as it feels like it needs to.
And also being aware of how you're feeling emotionally right now.
If there's a sense of calm or ease,
Maybe some restlessness or irritation.
Maybe there may be sadness or could be a neutral feeling.
Whatever is here,
Just seeing if you can be aware of it.
Notice how it feels physically in the body.
Just continuing to observe yourself physically and emotionally in this moment and just letting be.
And also being aware of and observing your mind right now.
Noticing if it seems distracted or cluttered or if it seems like it's settling into being here.
Either way is okay.
The O of observe is just to allow us to be aware of our experience in the moment,
Physically,
Emotionally and mentally.
The moment we notice our mind is off is a moment we're present.
So just settling in,
Being aware of the fullness of your experience physically,
Emotionally,
Mentally,
And just letting be.
And in a moment we'll come to the end of this practice as we'll end with the P,
Proceed.
And proceed is just dropping the question in what's most important for me to pay attention to right now?
Or what am I needing right now?
And just allowing whatever answer is there just to percolate and arise.
What is most important to pay attention to right now?
Or what am I needing right now?
And proceeding with that in this next moment.
And always remembering to acknowledge yourself for taking this time.
This is a great act of self care.
And so just taking the final moment to acknowledge yourself for taking this time.
