Hello and welcome.
My name is Jen,
And I'm so glad you're here.
I'm going to be guiding us through a brief.
Midday work break practice in which we will introduce a bit of movement.
Into this part of our day.
And then engage in a brief attention practice where we will focus on our breath.
Before setting an intention and heading back into the rest of our work day.
For many of us,
We are chronically busy at work and often also outside of work.
Work can be very engaging and consuming for many reasons,
Including that we really care about it.
That we have a lot of meaningful tasks to get done.
Sometimes we feel a lot of pressure.
From deadlines.
Expectations or demands from other people or maybe even ourselves.
And this can lead to.
.
.
Either forgetting to take breaks or feeling like we can't take breaks.
I am an occupational health psychologist by training,
And I,
Of all people,
Should know the importance of taking breaks for our physical health,
Our mental health,
Our mood,
And also our productivity.
There's a lot of really powerful research that shows that taking brief breaks is helpful for creativity.
For accomplishing tasks for collaboration for all sorts of important work outcomes and yet I like so many people often get so involved in my work and the list of tasks in front of me that I can fairly frequently.
Spend entire days sitting at my desk where I barely move away from my computer and then I complain that my back hurts and my neck hurts and I feel like I can't see straight from looking at a computer so long.
Even when we know breaks are important,
It can be difficult to.
Prioritize.
Taking that time.
Let's work at it together,
One brief practice at a time.
I work from home,
So I have a lot of flexibility in how I move around my space,
And no one can see me except for my two cats.
I realize that that may not be the case for everyone,
So feel free to adapt this practice based on who's around you,
Kind of the norms of that environment,
And just within those constraints,
Taking a little bit of time for ourselves,
For our body,
And for our mind so that we can have the best rest of our day possible.
Before settling into some stillness,
Let's invite some movement into the body.
I'm not going to be overly prescriptive about this.
Let's just take whatever feels good to you.
So this can be some gentle shoulder rolls in one direction and then the other.
Maybe bending into the wrist.
Which stretches the hands and the wrists and the forearms.
Possibly raising both arms up and then lowering them back down.
At whatever pace feels right to you.
Reaching one arm up.
Towards the ceiling or the sky and then the other.
Maybe straightening and bending the legs,
Just getting some movement into those joints and giving our body some stretch.
Just taking a few more moments here to do whatever feels best in your body right now.
And then whenever you're ready,
Just settling into some relative stillness.
I encourage you to take a different position than the one that you are normally in at your desk or workspace.
So if you're in a shared office space right now,
This could just mean.
Standing up for a few moments.
Or sitting in a different position.
If you are in a private space and have a little more flexibility,
You could sit on the floor.
You could lay down on the floor.
You could put your legs up the wall.
All sorts of options.
You end up.
.
.
On the floor in the fetal position either because that feels good or that's just the kind of day you're having that is also great.
Just get into whatever position feels appropriate for your space that's comfortable.
To you.
No need to worry about what it looks like.
And then if it feels comfortable to you,
Either closing the eyes or softening the gaze.
And just starting to notice the breath as it is.
No need to change it or breathe in any particular way.
Just noticing.
What is it like now?
Noticing the breath.
Wherever we feel it the most,
Whether that's where the air enters the nose.
The feeling of the air at the back of the throat.
Maybe the rising and falling of the chest.
Or the belly.
Or the back body.
Wherever it is.
Just noticing that sensation.
And the feeling of breathing in and out.
The encouragement is that throughout this short practice,
We keep our attention on the breath.
Of course,
The mind is likely to wander.
Probably multiple or many times.
That's just what the mind does.
Nothing to worry about.
When that happens,
Just gently bringing the attention right back to the breath.
It can be helpful.
When we notice that the mind has wandered off to just note.
Where the mind has gone.
Has it?
Return to problem solving around work issues.
Is it planning?
Organizing.
Remembering.
Just lightly labeling where the mind has gone before bringing it right back to the breath.
This activity of noting can help us not get so involved or attached to the thoughts.
But rather just.
Notice what is happening in the mind and return right back to the anchor of the breath.
Continuing to notice.
How is the breath in this moment?
And missed one.
Remembering that when the mind wanders off and we notice that it's wandered off.
That's the awareness.
That's just another opportunity to be mindful.
Continuing to notice.
How is the breath now?
Aware of the sensations of breathing.
In each moment.
Now beginning to.
Expand our awareness as we get ready to close the practice.
Back to the whole body.
Feeling what it's like to be in the space that you're in.
Maybe bringing a bit of movement back into the fingers and toes.
Starting to open the eyes if they were closed.
Maybe.
Giving yourself another good stretch.
Maybe raising the hands above you and the arms.
One of those first stretches in the morning types of stretches.
Thanking yourself for taking the time for this practice.
And as we move into the rest of our day.
Maybe setting an intention.
For the remainder of the workday and beyond.
Perhaps it's to come back to this practice.
Perhaps it's to take even just 60 seconds in a few hours to stretch,
To notice the breath.
To step away from the desk.
And to take care of your mind and your body.
In a moment,
I will ring the bell three times.
Just remembering that.
This awareness that we are cultivating.
Is something that we can take with us into the rest of our day and days ahead,
Long after the sound of the bell ends.
Thank you for your practice.
You
