Five Mindful Minutes

Hi, it's Eve here. Welcome to this course that is designed to help you take a five-minute mindful break each day for five days. All you need to do is to allocate five minutes, and I will guide you through each session. And try to see it as a treat for you. I know how hard it can be to find time for oneself, to just have a few minutes to pause and to settle the mind and the body and to breathe. Breathing is something we do all day every day, but very rarely pay attention to it. We very rarely pay attention to our body and to how we're actually feeling. But when we're more in tune with the mind and the body, when we train the mind to come into the present moment, we actually develop skillful ways of dealing with challenges or stressors that we might encounter. So, this short course is all about taking an intentional break each day to calm and settle the mind and body. So, let's put it into practice. Finding a comfortable spot, either sitting in a chair or lying down, and taking a moment to settle, to notice your posture, closing the eyes or softening the gaze, and feeling the contact of the body pressing down into the surface beneath you. Softening the jaw, the forehead, and taking a couple of big deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and then out through the mouth. Allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm, natural rate, and gently noticing where in the body you feel the sensation of breathing. Could be in the nostrils, the shoulders, the chest, or the stomach. And not manipulating the breath in any way, simply allowing the breath to breathe itself. It's very normal for the mind to think, to get distracted. Each time you notice that the mind has wandered, gently, softly, guiding the attention back to the breath, back to this anchor point in the body. And gently coming back to this moment. Letting go of any focus on the breath, allowing the mind to rest in that space, just for a few moments. Bringing a bit of movement into the body, maybe wiggling the fingers and the toes, opening the eyes if you had them closed, and pausing for a moment to notice how you feel. It's okay if you don't feel any different. Remember, this is a practice, and it can take time getting used to pausing in this way, to rest in this way. We're so used to being busy that actually stopping and resting can sometimes feel quite strange. But I'll leave it there for today, and I really encourage you to try to find five minutes tomorrow. This time is for you to rest and to recharge. Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you next time....