Welcome to Wonderable.
How are you doing?
This is day 15 of our mindfulness and isolation course.
Keeping you company and helping you use the time to learn a healthy new habit.
Today we're going to play a game with our thoughts because becoming aware of thoughts is a way to help us build a gap between them and our reaction to them.
Over time this practice has been shown to lower the activity in the amygdala.
Lower activity in the amygdala correlates with improved focus as well as decreased stress.
These brain changes have been measured by scans after just 20 minutes a day of mindfulness for one week.
So we're going to take an exercise that researchers call mindful attention training and we're going to turn it into a game.
Let's start by focusing in on the body and the breath.
Take a minute to put your attention fully into your body.
Feel the weight of your body.
Notice your posture.
Notice how your body feels right now.
Now take a deep breath in filling your lungs completely and then let go.
Let go of your breath.
Let go of any tension in your body.
One more big breath like that.
Big breath in.
Let it out.
Let go completely.
Okay we're going to play a game called thought pop.
You're going to try and keep your focus anchored into your body and breath.
This is your blank screen.
And now we just wait and watch.
Before long a thought will appear.
Then this thought appears on the screen as a colourful bubble.
Maybe it's a small bubble or maybe it's big,
Bright,
Busy.
Maybe it's a whole series of messy confused bubbles.
Just wait and watch and then when you spot the bubble imagine in this mental video game that you can pop it and make it disappear.
Pop,
Pop,
Pop.
And then come back to your watchful state.
Back to your blank screen.
How's that?
You can do this at night.
When you're trying to get to sleep.
Or you can do it while you're walking.
Or anywhere.
Let's have another go.
This little game reminds us that mindfulness is not about being in a state where you have no thoughts.
But about developing the skill of noticing the thoughts that come.
Each time you notice and pop a thought bubble you strengthen a neural pathway in your brain.
I'm going to leave you with some music so you can keep going.
One day at a time.
Thanks for being here.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
I'm going to leave you with some music.
