Afternoon Refresh

Hi, and welcome to this short afternoon refresher. For so many of us, it's very common to bounce from one meeting to the next, without even having a moment to pause and it can leave you feeling frazzled. You might even have skipped over taking lunch, so this is your first break all day. Perhaps you've been stuck staring at a screen, which can be really draining and leave you feeling exhausted. So we're going to do a quick mindful movement exercise. So just move to a space where you will be able to walk about six to eight feet in front of you. So once you're in your space, just start with your feet, hip width apart, arms by your side, and just notice the sensation of both feet on the floor, supporting your body. And just take a deep breath, in through your nose, and out through your mouth. And with the next in breath just slowly raising your arms above your head. And then on the out-breath, just feeling that stretch as your hands reach towards the ceiling, almost as if you're trying to touch the ceiling. Just breathing normally, aware of your whole body, and both feet grounded on the floor. So take another big deep breath. And then on the out-breath, slowly bringing your arms and hands back down to your sides, and just returning your breath to normal, in and out through the nose. So just bringing your attention to your feet. Really feeling the floor beneath you. And we're going to walk very slowly about six to eight feet in front of you. So very slowly, raising your right foot and then placing it in front of you. And your left foot. Each time you lift your foot, paying attention to the movement as you place your foot in front of you. Very slowly, there is no rush. The point here is to focus your attention on the movement of your body, the legs and the feet, as you lift them up and down. So you can just turn around and then go back to where you started. Right and left. So just try that twice more on your own, going so slow it almost feels a little strange. This exercise is intended to slow the traffic of the mind as we focus our attention on the movement of the body. Your mind will wander, but each time just gently bringing it back to the body. That's great, and just coming to a stop. Again, feeling the body pressing down. Taking one more deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. And just notice how you feel. Just pausing in this moment. My hope is that it's left you feeling a little more refreshed and grounded as you head into the rest of your day. Just take a moment to be grateful that you made time for yourself and know that you deserve to rest and pause whenever you need...