The Presence Mantra is a powerful practice I developed that can be used to help you feel more grounded and connected in almost any situation.
In this video, I walk you through a simple way of playing with the five key relationships that the mantra is built upon:
Breath. Ground. Space. Sound. Light.
Below are some notes to remind you of what’s outlined in the video for easy reference.
There is no such thing as “doing it wrong” so don’t worry about that!
Instead, think that the more curiosity you bring to the process, the better the results will be - which also means that repeating the practice should lead to novel new experiences.
Because it. is so easy to integrate into any situation, the transformative potential of the Presence Mantra grows exponentially when you make it into a regular habit.
To assist you in attaining the benefits that come with making this practice a habit in your daily life, I’ve created a short free audio/email course which you can get here.
Notes on the practice:
This practice involves bringing attention to, then playing with five ever-present relationships between your body and your world.
Each one of these relationships can be tracked on the “inside” and the “outside”:
- breath (inhale/exhale)
- ground (your skeleton/any supporting surface)
- space (below your skin/all around you)
- sound (body sounds/the sounds of the world)
- light (behind closed eyes - including mental images/the visual field in front of you)
Playing with breath:
- Observe your breath (as it is) with curiosity
- Breathe faster (then return to a regular breath)
- Breathe slower (then return to a regular breath)
- Hold your breath in various ways (then return to a regular breath).
Playing with ground:
- Notice points of contact between your body and the surface(s) that support it
- Shift your weight side to side
- Shift your weight forward and back
- Alternate between movement and (relative) stillness.
Playing with space:
- Put your attention below the surface of your skin
- Put your attention into your surrounding environment
- Alternate between these to ways of attending
- Explore putting your attention in each of the 6 cardinal directions
(forward, back, left, right, up and down)
- Notice overall the phenomenon of the movement of your attention!
Playing with sound:
- Notice the sounds in your local environment
- Notice that you can foreground some sounds and background others
- Cover your ears to amplify body sounds
(try to identify breath, heartbeat and the rushing of your blood)
- Play with covering and uncovering one or both ears.
Playing with light:
- Look around and get curious about the particularities of your visual field
(colors, lines, shapes, depth, etc)
- Notice how visual tracking leads to movements of your head and can invite movement in every joint in your body
- Look around with one eye covered
- Close the eyes and cover them with your hands to block out the light
- Play with covering and uncovering one or both eyes.
NOTE:
This video is a sketch of possibilities - you can pick and choose among them!
Once you understand the practice, you can use it in different ways to suit your needs, including when you only have a minute or two to practice. Just recognizing the five relationships will help you to be more present. Playing makes the experience richer.
The basic idea is that these five relationships constitute five portals to greater presence and the more you work with them, the more nuances you will notice and the more you will see that these relationships also relate to each other!
Although more precise practices can be developed with the Presence Mantra, beginning with basic curiosity and playfulness is enough to stimulate your body’s wordless wisdom to move spontaneously in the direction of well-being.
For a deeper dive into cultivating “Anytime/Anywhere Awareness” so that you can fall in love with your life again, click here to learn more about my 16-week group coaching program, Grounded Connection.
If you’re ready to explore working with me, click here to set up a free Zoom call.
Embodied musicality #2