Wind-down Wednesdays

[MissinTooth]

Things are not feeling so great, got a lot of anxiety and it's rising at the moment...so trying to calm it down....

3 things I can see...

- A whale jumping out of the water on TV. 

- A big ball of grey furr sleeping beside me, on top of my weighted blanket. One eye constantly watching what I'm doing.

- my blue oodie with grey koalas on it, that I'm currently wearing. 

3 things I can hear...

- My TV - watching a show about photographing sharks on Netflix

- the ceiling fan rotating slowly

- the whirr of the fridge in the kitchen behind me. 

Move 3 parts of my body...

- my jaw, wriggling it back and forth

- wriggled my right leg - clenching the muscles and releasing

- cracked both of my ankles. 

[tyme]

Thanks for the reminder!

3 things I can see...

1) computer screen

2) my blanket

3) lights

3 things I can hear...

1) distant cars

2) typing on keyboard

3) feint buzz

Move 3 parts of my body...

1) my toes

2) my knees

3) my nose

[rav3n]

Welcome back to Wind-down Wednesdays! 💗

We're halfway through the week, and if you're like me, you're feeling exhausted already! It might be a good time for us to all take a few minutes out of our day and try this week's wind-down activity.

This week we're exploring...

Body Scans 

Body scan is a guided, meditative practice that involves mentally ‘scanning’ through various body parts from head to toe (or toe to head).

It can help notice sensations, tension, or discomfort without judgment, which helps us reconnect with our body and stay present.  

Have you ever felt discomfort or tension, but couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from or why? Do you experience flashbacks? Struggle with sleep? This might be a good exercise for you to try.

With regular practice, body scans can help improve sleep quality, help reduce anxiety, stress and pain, help with building self-awareness, and encourage self-compassion. 

Here’s a few body scans videos to try out – there’s a couple that’s for kids, but they’re just as useful – i find that the ones for kids tend to explain things in a more simple and clear way! 

Pick whichever one you feel most comfy with! 

• Body Scan Mindfulness Meditation - A Short Guided Body Scan Meditation (approx 7 mins)
• Stress and Anxiety Release (approx 3 mins)
• 13 Minutes Body Scan Meditation For Teens and Adults/ Mindfulness For Children - (approx 13 mins) 
• Mindfulness Exercise: Body Scan (approx 6 mins)

Here are some kid-friendly body scan videos - these ones encourage visualising things (such as a butterfly or x-ray) to help practice it. Especially for beginners, these can be easier to start with - and you can also get your kiddo to join in!

• Butterfly Body Scan - uses ‘butterfly’ visualisation to help meditate (approx 5 mins). 
• The Body Scanner – uses an ‘x-ray’/body scanner visualisation (approx 6 mins). 

Feel free to try a different one each day, or if there's another body scan video/podcast, etc., that you love - please share it with us! 

Looking forward to hearing everyone's reflections around:

• What part of your body held the most tension today?
• What emotions came up during the scan, if any?
• How easy or difficult was it to sit with uncomfortable sensations or feelings?
• How are you planning to take care of your needs/discomforts/tensions today? What's one thing you'll do to show yourself some compassion?

@MissinTooth @Cherub23 @Shaz51 @Eve7 @Dreamy @Cuddlebear @Snowie @Bow @Sunnyside226 @oceangirl @Appleblossom @Till23 @Jellybeans25 @Oaktree @Clawde @Patches59 @Judi9877 @Emelia8 @Eve7 @outlander @Captain24 @ENKELI @Healandlove @TAB @Meowmy @StanD @Dimity @avant-garde @The-red-centaur @Sparky79 @Bunniekins @ENKELI @Sorry13 @Reba @cdtofi @KC11 

[rav3n]

For those who don't like videos, here's a written-down version from this article: Body Scan Meditation: Benefits and How to Do It

You can think of a body scan as a mental X-ray slowly travelling across your body.

1. Get cozy. Start by getting comfortable. Lie down or sit in a position that allows you to stretch your limbs easily.
2. Focus. Close your eyes and begin focusing on your breath. Notice the sensation of your breath filling and leaving your lungs as you inhale and exhale.
3. Choose where to start. Begin anywhere you like — the top of your head, left foot, right hand, right foot. Focus on that spot as you continue breathing slowly and deeply. Then move to another part of your body and do the same.
4. Pay attention. Open your awareness to sensations of pain, tension, discomfort, or anything out of the ordinary.
5. Go slow. Spend anywhere from 20 seconds to 1 minute observing these sensations.
6. Acknowledge. If you begin to notice pain and discomfort, acknowledge and sit with any emotions these sensations bring up. Accept them without criticism. For example, if you feel frustrated and angry, don’t judge yourself for these emotions. Notice them and let them pass.
7. Breathe. Continue breathing, imagining the pain and tension decreasing with each breath.
8. Release. Slowly release your mental awareness of that specific part of your body and redirect it to your next area of focus. Some people find it helpful to imagine releasing one body part as they breathe out and moving on to the next as they breathe in.
9. Move along. Continue the exercise along your body in a way that makes sense to you, whether you move from top to bottom or up one side and down the other.
10. Note drifting thoughts. As you continue to scan your body, note when your thoughts drift. This will probably happen more than once, so don’t worry. You haven’t failed and can easily get your thoughts back on track. Just gently return your awareness to where you left off scanning.
11. Visualise and breathe. Once you finish scanning parts of your body, let your awareness travel across your body. Visualise this as liquid filling a mould. Continue inhaling and exhaling slowly as you sit with this awareness of your whole body for several seconds.
12. Come back. Slowly release your focus and bring your attention back to your surroundings.

Here are a few more body scans, they're 8-13 mins each: Body Scan Meditation - Medito Foundation

[Shaz51]

Hello @rav3n , @tyme , @MissinTooth , @Cherub23 , @Eve7 

It is wednesday again , wow 

[Eve7]

Thanks for the tag @Shaz51 💙💙💙