Reclaiming Your Power

When it comes to workplace stress, we may find ourselves feeling powerless as if we have no choice or freedom. Yet, mindfulness can help us to cultivate more agency and autonomy by helping us focus on what we can control, like our thoughts. So this practice can help us to work with our thoughts, letting go of our attachment to them, and detangling ourselves from the thoughts that can make us feel disempowered. We are not our thoughts, but simply observers of them. The more we can recognize this, the less power they have over us, and the more empowered we can begin to feel. So begin to settle in, sitting upright, allowing the spine to be tall and relaxing the shoulders, palms of the hands resting on the legs and resting both feet on the floor. Now closing the eyes if you'd like, and taking a few deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose, breathing out through the mouth. Now returning your breath back to its natural rhythm and visualizing in your mind's eye a beautiful scene in nature, noticing your surroundings, the details and colors. (water rushing) As you look down, you see a beautiful, gentle flowing stream with leaves floating down the surface of the water. As you pay attention to the stream, every time a thought enters into your mind, imagine just gently placing each thought on a leaf and allowing it to float by (water rushing) not just the negative thoughts, but also the pleasant ones too. All thoughts, just resting them gently on the leaves. Watching as the stream flows at its own pace, not rushing to get rid of thought, just allowing them to come and go. Noticing when the mind wanders or maybe the mind feels restless or doubtful, and placing those thoughts on the leaves too. Maintaining a soft, gentle focus on this flowing stream. And I'll let you try this on your own for a few moments now noticing the stream and when the thought arises, placing it lightly onto a leaf, allowing it to float on by. (water rushing) And now, taking a deep breath, allowing that image of the stream to fade into the background and just allowing the mind to do whatever it wants to do. And then beginning to notice the different sounds around you in your space, inviting gentle movement into the fingers and toes. And when you feel ready, slowly and gently opening your eyes and just pausing and noticing how you feel and how that practice felt. Mindfulness allows us to reclaim our lives by reclaiming where and how we pay attention. When we experience powerlessness from stress and burnout, we may be so focused on the fact that we don't have any power, and we forget that we do. When we're able to slow down, pause and take a step back, we're able to recognize where there is choice and possibility. And this reminds us that we do have control over the...