Centering Exercises

BBLISSFight? or Flight? Those are the two options our brain (the amygdala portion) knows when it comes to stressful situations. The object of this meditation is to increase your ability to be in charge of whether you experience the impluse to fight a problem or run away from it... or to do something entirely different!

You get to make conscious choices about how you will respond to stressors that might ordinarily lead to fight or flight and this BLISS exercise helps you develop the ability to make those choices. A tremendous additional benefit is the power you develop to choose when and how you will “be centered” in your path.

B – Body – bring your awareness to your body w/ a body scan starting at your big toe. Spend a good 30 seconds feeling how your big toe feels and then your other toes …. and move up like a flashlight of tactile, kinesthetic feeling …. scanning your body with no judgment …. Take several minutes to do this. You will of course, be breathing as you scan. But the real focus on your breathing happens next.

B – Breath – 3 full rounds of breath – noticing the natural pause after your inhale and before your exhalet. Then noticing the natural pause after your exhale that happens before you allow the inhale to simply happen again, there is no effort involved. Simply notice without judgement

L – Listen out – listen to and notice sounds around you (this includes the “sounds” of light, color, temperature, textures….) Notice your environment…. Continue to breathe!

L – Listen in – notice the stories you are telling yourself…. Simply notice w/o judging and continue to breathe. Notice your words/thoughts and simply allow them to be

I – Acknowledge your “I” in the stories – acknowledge and validate the reality of your stories, no judging!

S – Sensations – again w/o judgment, notice the feelings and sensations in your body that result from your stories and thoughts and from the “I” you are acknowledging

S- Sense – finally, sense the life force running through you – and experience and notice your gratitude and your appreciation and choose to express them.