Managing Stress | 💆 One Step at a Time 💚 | Mindfulness Meditation for Stress Relief

In this mindfulness meditation practice learn how to manage stress and live in the present moment by taking one step at a time, increase self awareness and boost mental health. If you feel overwhelmed it's time to slow things down.

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Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to Soothing POD's meditation. Inthis session, we'll explore why slowing things
down could be helpful when we're overwhelmed. Start by finding a comfortable seat,
Let your back gently straighten, andwhen you're ready, let your eyes softly

(00:29):
close. Take a few moments torelease tension. Soften your forehead and eyes,
Relax your jaw, your entire face, allow your neck and shoulders to

(00:53):
soften, and let that feeling ofreleasing spread down through the rest of your
body. Now tune inward and takea few deep breaths, long, slow

(01:34):
inhales, calm, easy exhales,and now return to your natural breath.

(02:38):
Allow your breathing to settle into aspontaneous rhythmic pattern all on its own.

(03:20):
To keep your focus on your breath, begin to count them. You're not
trying to get to a particular numberhere. Instead, counting your breath is
meant to help you stay present witheach inhale and exhale. Breathe naturally,
and at the end of your exhalesilently count one and again breathe in and

(03:51):
out, and at the end ofyour exhalation, count two. And if
you lose your count or you getdistracted, Simply start again at one.
No judgments, no labels, Justreturn to your breath and your count again
and again. Whenever you reach thecount of five, lovingly returned to the

(04:16):
beginning and start over at one.Um m M. Now release the count

(06:03):
and keep your attention on your breath. As you stay with the breath flowing
in and flowing out, let yourawareness open up to include your whole body,
and without searching them out, noticeany physical sensations that come and go

(06:26):
in your body. Just breath andsensation. Huff, and I'm now let

(08:05):
your attention soften. Life moves atincredible speed. Our days are packed with
obligations, and we find ourselves cuttingcorners to save on time. We send
emails while brushing our teeth, eatour toast while scrolling through social media,

(08:30):
and as we rush our way throughthe week, we miss out on all
of it because we're not truly beingpresent. But what have we slowed down
enough to notice what's happening in thevery moment. When we're eating our toast,
we just eat our toast. Whenwe're brushing our teeth, we just
brush our teeth. When we talkto a friend, we're present in the

(08:54):
conversation, not checking our text messages. Slowing down and being present reminds us
to enjoy the process rather than impatientlywaiting for the results. So when you
find yourself scattered, rushing from onetask to another, remember to pause and

(09:15):
take a breath. Notice what it'slike to slow down and pay attention to
what you're doing. Find pleasure inthe little things, and the big ones
won't seem so overwhelming. Now takea few soft breaths and notice how you

(09:39):
feel, and when you're ready,gently wiggle your fingers and toes and slowly
open your eyes. I hope you'veenjoyed this practice. See you again tomorrow.