575. Mental Health Week: Practice the Pause. A Guided Meditation with Sonya Perez-Lauterbach

Tune in for a special Mental Health Week episode: Practice the Pause with Sonya Perez-Lauterbach. 🧘‍♀️

In this guided meditation, Sonya invites you to take a moment to breathe, slow down, and return to your body. Whether you’re a seasoned meditator or just starting out, remember—you can’t get it wrong! Your nervous system deserves the time to pause, and your body and mind will thank you for it. Join us as we explore simple mindfulness practices that help reduce stress and bring calm in a fast-paced world. Take the pause today—you’re worth it. 🫶

For more information + episode details visit: weareforgood.com/episode/575.

This episode is part of our Mental Health Week series. Explore all the episodes, find resources + more at weareforgood.com/mentalhealth.

Chapters

• 0:04 Importance of Meditation and Mindfulness
• 11:44 Empowered Leadership Through Wellness

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hello and welcome. I want to invite you into this moment to pause and, before I share a few thoughts on meditation and mindfulness, let's just take three nourishing breaths together. And for those of you who listen to podcasts on double speed, I want to invite you to maybe downshift to 1x and give yourself this luxurious amount of time to simply be. You are worthy of rest, both physical and mental, and in this day and age we are constantly processing information. The inflow to our mind is like a tsunami right now. Images, ideas, news from everywhere, demands and expectations and all of the associated emotions are impacting us in a huge way. You know, just a few decades ago we had one inbox and limited options for media input. So, whether you were conscious of it or not, before Wi-Fi we had time to think and process, to move through emotions that would arise and to really clarify our thinking in moments of not doing anything. And now, with the addiction of our phone, anytime we find ourselves waiting in line, maybe watching kids' sports games or in between an activity we can actively engage in consuming more information or responding to text message or addressing problems, and I'm right there with you. This creates a really heavy load on our mental faculty and the chronic stress of all those open tabs in our mind is damaging to our physical, emotional and mental well-being. We're like that old computer whirling. We're like that old computer whirling just trying to keep up, and I found for myself that meditation and mindfulness has become essential for our brains to keep up. I think of my morning routine of meditation as kind of a floaty that sustains me through the flow of constant information and all the doing that is our lives these days. So if you're not sure how to start or you wish you were more established in your habit, you're in the right place.

Speaker 1: 2:57

First of all, I want to say, when it comes to meditation and mindfulness, you can't do it wrong. I think the fear of doing things wrong or being bad at it keeps us from doing so many things that actually nourish our lives. So have fun with it and, as we'll practice in a minute, just enjoy the moment. You can't get it wrong. Whether you're sitting for five minutes focusing on your breath or just 60 seconds of gratitude at the beginning of meetings, your brain will thank you and it will especially thank you if you cover the time with self-compassion. It's really hard to feel rested when we spend the time telling ourselves that we're not good at it or that we're not doing it right if we don't feel immediately in a state of zen, no matter how it goes. Thank yourself for doing this.

Speaker 1: 4:00

Having a moment Any amount of time you spend being kind to yourself is worthwhile when our internal dialogue is critical and urgent, our nervous system operates at an elevated threat state and our cortisol levels go up and our sympathetic nervous system is activated. Taking a moment to be compassionate, remind yourself that you're okay. Slowing your breath, breathing, allowing your heart rate to slow, helps move your mind from that fear center to a more creative, curious, open, strategic and focused part of our brain brain. And if you're not used to this and you've spent years in that chronic rush go negative internal state, it might feel really uncomfortable. Your brain is used to that elevated cortisol level and yet it is so important to even sit with the discomfort of slowing down Because, unaddressed, that chronic stress will damage your body, and I've heard so many people saying that they didn't slow down until their body started to break. And so this is an invitation to take that pause before you're getting the physical symptoms, or if you're in those, it's okay, just take a moment.

Speaker 1: 5:49

I urge you to continue to pursue these moments of pause and slow down, having fun, incorporating it, these moments of of reboot, so that you can be well and from that wholeness and calm you can bring a more powerful, creative, sustainable energy to the work that you're doing. The world, your organization, your family needs you to be well, so this might be the most valuable thing you do today is just breathe. I invite you to a few moments. We'll breathe together, together, and I often say bring your mind wherever it is, on all your to-do lists or problems. You're solving conversations. You've had all the whirling. Allow it to return to your body and notice your breath. Your breath is always with you, always sustaining you, even when you don't notice it. It's there to hold you.

Speaker 1: 7:11

When you come back to your breath and if you notice your thoughts jumping back in, distracting, just gently notice them without judgment, say ah, I see you and release them. This moment is just to focus on your breath. And if you need some more guide rails as you focus on your breath, notice where you're feeling. It. Is it as it enters your nose, as it whirls in the bottom of your lungs? You could also use the box breath, which is where you inhale for four seconds and hold for four, and then you exhale for four and hold for four and then you can repeat and hold for four and then you can repeat. This will help focus your mind simply on the counting and the pausing and allow the other thoughts to fall away.

Speaker 1: 9:18

And if this still feels uncomfortable and your mind is searching for language or thoughts, you can simply inhale gratitude, inhale the things that you are thankful for in this moment, and exhale the things you need to release. And exhale the things you need to release, the things that your brain wants to fixate on but that you don't have control over. You can simply release those through your exhale. I'll give you a few more moments and as we exhale and we exit this moment of pause, just think of three to five things that you are grateful for in this moment. We can prime our brains kind of bias, our brain to look for and be aware of the many resources that we have that sustain us. We are already programmed to think about the threats, the things that we need to take care of, and yet remembering that you are supporteding the good things in your life will help you utilize. It, will build resilience within you to know that you are supported.

Speaker 1: 11:44

Impact leaders work with their brain, their emotions and their embodied wellness so that they can create a life they love and powerfully impact the world around them. I think we all know there are so many things that are outside of our control as a community. We're facing incredible challenges and opportunities for creating good in this world. We have the privilege of caring for ourselves so that we can meet those challenges with love and commitment and wholeness as leaders. I invite you to connect with me.

Speaker 1: 12:22

I offer a live, free rejuvenation call on the second Saturday and third Thursday of every month. It's similar to this, but in community, where we breathe, we share the things that we're doing to find rejuvenation, to find fun and support ourselves in this work that we're doing. And if you're craving more of this and you want to lead from a place of calm and joy, I invite you to book a discovery call with me. It's my honor to guide individuals in becoming those more confident, empowered, effective leaders who know how to access that internal sustainable energy and they have the fun of operating from a place of joy in the work that we do. You've got this. Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for giving yourself this moment to pause Be well. Thank you for giving yourself this moment to pause be well.