Clearing Distress and Strengthing the Good
Welcome. This 20 minute respite is about body mindfulness and a focused time to connect with self in the context of a group situation.
Format for Groups
This group template is to give a form for meetings of six or more people. It can be used in an informal situation or in a clinic.
If you have water with you, drink some now. Being hydrated is essential to good brain chemistry. If you don’t, that is okay, just remember to bring a water bottle next time or stop at the drinking fountain on the way in.
-My online stress relief has four protocols included here. Quickly, intuitively read the “Purpose” and see which one calls to you. Whatever choice you make is exactly right. You may use the same protocol for weeks, you may choose a different one each time.
The vital piece here is going to the body, settling in with the body, when there is a lot going on.
-Pair up with a partner. One person will be the timer, that is, say when two minutes is up and it is time to move to the next gesture. Both people do a protocol. It may be a different protocol and it may have a different number of steps. That is fine, just so the timer keeps timing until both people are finished. Timing the gestures can be part of the rhythm of the work. If you are doing protocols at home, you will be timing the gestures for yourself.
-Choose an issue, feeling or body experience that you would like to focus on.
-Take a number 1 to 10 with 10 being a fine well being and 1 being miserable. At the end of the protocol, use the same scale and see if the number has changed. This is the Well Being Scale. It can also be 1 to 100. It is an important part of the process because the brain likes to register in words if there is a change.
-Begin the individual protocols.
-When both people have finished take a couple of minutes for each person in the pair to talk about their experience.