Thinking becomes a problem when it takes over—when we are no longer just thinking, but lost in thought.

By tuning in to physical sensations, we can ‘anchor’ ourselves in the present moment

Session 2 - Keeping Our Bodies in Mind

This week we....

Practiced the Body scan
Reflected on last week's home practice
Engaged in the Thoughts and Feelings exercise
Practiced 'Sitting with the Breath'
Considered Week 2's Home Practice

Home Practice Invitation

Before starting this week's home practice, please read through the session notes given to you at the end of the session, or by clicking on the notepad icon below. These notes will provide you with some background information, and some hints and tips to support your home practice.

Scroll down to access the Guided Practice Recordings

A Formal Practice: The Body Scan

An Informal Practice: Notice and Enjoy Simple Pleasant Experiences.

Pause and bring awareness to at least one pleasant experience each day. What makes an expereince pleasant? Use this as an opportunity to become aware of what is really happening. How does the body feel, what emotions are present, what thoughts pop into your head, and what urges do you have if any? You might choose to keep a record of your observations on the sheet provided or in a diary or notebook.

A New Habit In Everyday Life:

Take some time out away from your smartphone everyday.

To find out more about why we begin with these practices, follow this link.

Practice Intentions

Why are we often 'not fully present' for the simple pleasant experiences available to us in our everyday lives? Why don't we notice them, or enjoy them as much as we could? Here are just a few suggestions that previous course participants have made...

We are too busy.
We make comparisons – with our past experiences – or thinking about how the experience could be even better – or comparing our experience with what others are doing and achieving.

We don’t think we are deserving of good experiences – look at all the suffering in the world - or perhaps we feel that we haven’t worked hard enough, or got through todays 'to do list'.
We are simply lost in thought.
Our perception of happiness is a barrier – we think happiness will only happen when certain ‘criteria’ are met e.g. when we have the perfect job, perfect partner, a better income, the right house, good holidays, no stress ….
We are feeling low, anxious or stressed – poor mental wellbeing can impact our ability to notice what is pleasant and to appreciate the pleasant aspects of any given moment.

Home Practice 2

Session Notes