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Mindful 5 Finger Breathing Exercise

Can’t concentrate? Mind racing? Thoughts unsettled?

I bet you can’t do this 5 Finger Mindful Breathing exercise AND worry at the same time!

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Start by placing your index finger of one hand at the base of the little finger of the other hand.

• Inhale: trace up the outer edge of your little finger to it’s tip

• Exhale: trace down the outer side of little finger

• Inhale: up the outside of your ring finger

• Exhale: down outer side of ring finger

• Inhale: up middle finger

• Exhale: down middle finger

• Continue all the way to the base of your thumb

• Reverse from base of thumb to little finger.

Notice. Did your mind slow down?

Our minds love to be distracted. Sometimes worrying and fretting become habitual. Our minds flit from one anxious thought to the next.

Luckily, you can train your mind to be more present in the here and now. This is where Mindfulness training can really help. It teaches you how to strengthen your mind - your muscle of Mindfulness.

During your mindfulness training you will learn techniques to help you settle your mind: how to be present, stay present and how to recognize and avoid distraction.

You will discover that It is NOT possible to make your mind go blank, to banish thoughts altogether. That it is engaging with our thoughts which causes mental turbulence.

We can train our minds to starve thoughts of energy. Initially, by focusing on something else. Don’t get involved with the thoughts that naturally pop up. Don’t feed them. But don’t suppress them either! Greet them, but allow them to float on by - like clouds. Don’t whack them like Whac-A-Mole!

This explains why you can’t do the 5 Finger breathing exercise and worry at the same time. Your mind is anchored to your body using other senses (sight and touch) and other parts of your body (fingers, hands, lungs).

Interested in Mindfulness training? I shall be running Mindfulness for Living Courses later in 2021. Contact me to register your interest: ruth@carlisletherapies.co.uk