Adapting to Job Loss

Hi, and welcome to Adapting to Sudden Change. So whether your circumstances have changed as a result of global health crisis, or whether they've changed for some other reason, losing our job or having a change in our working circumstances can be a huge shock to ourselves and also to the people around us. It's really tempting in those moments to go inside of ourselves, to get very caught up in the inner chatter in the mind, the dialogue, the worry, and sometimes even a sense of panic. And it's really easy to feel overwhelmed by emotion. So in these times, it's more important than ever that we apply tools and exercises that allow us to step out of that type of thinking to allow us the space and the time to actually process how we're feeling in that change. So this exercise is designed to do just that, to allow us to step back. It's not that anything will change immediately, but it will create the space where the body and mind can let go of a little bit of tension. And my hope is that after this exercise, you'll continue on to one of the courses where you can become much more familiar with the technique and thereby get a lot more benefit from sitting down and doing something like this. For now, though, we're gonna start with our eyes open. And you can do this sitting up, lying down, whichever feels most comfortable for you. But we're gonna start with the eyes open. A nice, soft focus, just aware of the space around you. Not really looking at one particular thing, but just aware of the space. And just starting with a couple of big, deep breaths, breathing in through the nose, and out through the mouth. So on this first bit, just allow any thoughts to come and go, just focusing on that, feeling the sensation of the body breathing in. And as you breathe out, just noticing how the body sinks down into the seat or the floor beneath you. And as you pause there for a moment, just allowing the body and mind a moment, just to settle, to be still. Notice how the body feels, notice any areas of tension. Just giving the body, the mind a bit of time to unwind. So it can feel really counterintuitive, when there's lots going on, to take time out like this, but really important for our mind, for our health. As you become more aware of those physical sensations, at the same time, just starting to become aware of the breath as well. So as the body breathes, it naturally creates a rising and falling sensation. So you might feel that in your chest, in your stomach. Doesn't matter where you feel it, and you don't have to breathe in any special way. If you can't feel that movement, just gently placing your hand on your stomach, and just noticing that rising and falling sensation....