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Let's Give Your Breath A Call! · The Aligned Actor

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  Hello and welcome to the Aligned Actor Podcast I'm Amy Schloerb
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  your friendly
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  fellow actor and mindfulness and mindset coach and this is the
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  podcast where I
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  share practical mindfulness tools and mindset shifts designed
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  to help us all thrive
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  in our full actor lives because actor life is challenging it is
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  a roller coaster
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  friends it's full of ups and downs twists and turns sometimes
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  there's long
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  SPEAKER_00: stretches where the roller coaster is just like flat and we're like
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  SPEAKER_00: Is anything gonna happen?
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  And that can actually feel really scary because we're like,
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  well,
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  what's gonna happen next?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is something going to happen next?
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  SPEAKER_00: All of these things that happen to us as actors, they're stressful.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a stressful career.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is full of uncertainty.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is full of rejection.
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  And the only way that we will survive this profession long term
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  is if we are taking
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  SPEAKER_00: steps to care for ourselves,
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  SPEAKER_00: taking steps to soothe and fortify our nervous systems.
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  SPEAKER_00: And mindfulness is a way that we can do that,
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  which is why we have been doing this deep dive series on
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  mindfulness for a little
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  SPEAKER_00: bit here on the Aligned Actor Podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in this episode today,
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  SPEAKER_00: we are once again going to be practicing mindfulness,
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  SPEAKER_00: practicing mindfulness of breathing.
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  and applying the important phone call metaphor that we talked
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  about in a previous episode.
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  So the basics of this practice,
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  what we're going to do today,
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  they're very simple.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're going to start a conversation with our breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: and then as distractions try to interrupt that conversation,
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  SPEAKER_00: we're just going to acknowledge them,
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  SPEAKER_00: and we're going to stay with our breath.
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  So we might say to the distraction,
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  hey,
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  I'm having an important conversation with my breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk later.
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  And if you notice that you completely drop the call on your
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  breath or you hang up
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  SPEAKER_00: on your breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: just gently and kindly reconnect with your breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: As always,
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  SPEAKER_00: disclaimer,
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  if you are driving or if you're doing something that requires
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  your full attention,
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  SPEAKER_00: like surgery,
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  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
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  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
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  Maybe there's some actor surgeons out there that could be
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  listening to this podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: Please don't do surgery while listening to this part or any pod.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, maybe you can listen to podcasts while doing surgery.
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  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
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  SPEAKER_00: But anyway,
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  SPEAKER_00: the point is,
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  SPEAKER_00: please,
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  if you need your full attention right now and especially your
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  eyes to be open,
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  SPEAKER_00: Please come back to this practice later.
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  SPEAKER_00: It will be here for you.
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  SPEAKER_00: And as always, please practice mindfulness responsibly.
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  SPEAKER_00: So, go ahead and find a comfortable position for your body.
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  You can keep your eyes open or you can gently close them if
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  that feels good.
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  and just bring your awareness to your breath and start that
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  curious and kind conversation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Notice your inhales and exhales gently.
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  And if it helps you focus,
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  you can think to yourself,
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  I am breathing in as you inhale.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am breathing out as you exhale.
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  SPEAKER_00: Or simply in and out.
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  SPEAKER_00: You could also count your inhales and exhales.
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  Basically,
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  you can converse with your breath in whatever way works best
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  for you.
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  And remember,
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  if your mind wanders,
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  so you drop that call with your breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: Just gently bring your attention back to your breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: Reconnect the call and continue the conversation.
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  SPEAKER_00: And as you continue the conversation with your breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: start to notice the qualities of each inhale and exhale.
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  SPEAKER_00: And again, you can narrate what you notice.
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  SPEAKER_00: So this might sound like I am breathing in a long breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am breathing out a short breath.
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  a slow breath a deep breath or simply short inhale long exhale
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  slow breath deep breath
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  So just noticing what kind of conversation you're having with
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  your breath.
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  SPEAKER_00: And again,
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  if your mind wanders and you find that you've hung up on your
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  breath completely,
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  SPEAKER_00: that's okay.
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  SPEAKER_00: Just bring your attention back to your breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: call your breath back,
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  SPEAKER_00: and continue the conversation,
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  SPEAKER_00: giving your inhales and your exhales simple descriptions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finally,
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  I invite you to expand your awareness a bit and notice your
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  breathing as a whole
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  SPEAKER_00: body experience.
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  SPEAKER_00: Notice how your body moves as you breathe.
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  Again,
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  in your mind,
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  you can narrate this experience to help you focus and notice
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  even more.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this might sound like I feel my chest or my belly expanding.
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  SPEAKER_00: Belly falling.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is my body breathing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps as you've been focusing on and noticing your breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: you've noticed that your body is a bit calmer,
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  SPEAKER_00: a bit more relaxed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our breath tends to affect our body in that way.
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  SPEAKER_00: So just notice any increased sense of relaxation you're experiencing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And once again,
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  if your mind wanders and you notice you're completely
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  disconnected from this
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  SPEAKER_00: conversation with your breath,
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  SPEAKER_00: just gently bring your attention back to your breath.
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  Re-establish that call and that conversation and continue
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  noticing your whole body
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  SPEAKER_00: Breathing.
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  We're going to bring our mindfulness of breathing practice to a
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  close now.
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  SPEAKER_00: So as you feel ready,
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  SPEAKER_00: You can gently flutter your eyes open if they were closed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations!
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  SPEAKER_00: You once again practiced mindfulness of breathing.
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  You had a nice little conversation with your breath,
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  and you did a great job.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining me today on the Aligned Doctor podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you found this content helpful and inspiring,
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  SPEAKER_00: I would be so honored if you would leave a comment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Share this with your actor pals and check out my offerings below.
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  Many are free,
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  some are low cost,
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  and you are probably going to like them.
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  SPEAKER_00: So check them out.
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  SPEAKER_00: Alright, I'll see you next time.
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  SPEAKER_00: Bye!