Hello, my name is Jane O’Rourke. I’m a Child, Adolescent and Family Psychotherapist, and I’m a yoga mindfulness teacher.
This is an opportunity to find the resources that are always there for us within side ourselves. The breath is an incredibly helpful way to find space and steadiness, to find a connection to our true selves.
So finding a comfortable seated posture, or you can remain standing if that feels better. And allow yourself to feel the contact with the floor if you’re standing, perhaps with your contact with your feet on the floor, or if you’re sitting then finding your sit bones so you can rise nice and tall.
Allow the shoulders to drop. Allow the face to soften, so the jaw to unlock, the root of the tongue to soften, the space between your brows to soften and just starting to notice where you feel the breath most prominently. It might be at the tip of your nose, perhaps feeling the soft breath touching your nostrils, or it could be in the chest gently rising or maybe in your belly.
And just for the next couple of minutes, we’re going to be focusing on that, just where you feel the breath most prominently. And of course your mind will wander off as minds do, it is their job to be curious about what’s going on around you. But the practice is just to gently, when you notice your mind has wandered off, to bring it back. Gently bring it back to this focus of your breath. Giving yourself permission to not be distracted by anything else just to do this for the next couple of minutes. I’m gonna be mostly quiet I might just give a little reminder or two. But for the next minute or two, just leaving you in quietness with your breath.
Gently bringing your mind back. If it’s wandered off, back to your breath.
And then becoming aware again of my voice. Feeling how your breath is now, perhaps it’s steadied a little… and staying here for longer if you need more time to study. Otherwise, whenever you’re ready, gently coming back into the room in your own time.
Being able to use the breath is a good way of finding an anchor when storms arise in our lives or if we just need some steadying. Jane O’Rourke leads us through a short practice to help us find a resource that is always with us, our breath. Jane is a Child, Adolescent and Family Psychotherapist, and Yoga and Mindfulness teacher. She teaches Yoga4Trauma in the Trauma Service at the Tavistock Clinic.
Wellbeing Quiz Profile: #MoreFrantic #RelivingTrauma
Keeping Well NCL is a wellbeing and mental health project that connects and supports the North Central London health and social care workforce during the Coronavirus outbreak.
