Latest / The Aligned Actor / Bring Your Calming Friend to Every Audition, Callback, and Booking

Transcript

Bring Your Calming Friend to Every Audition, Callback, and Booking · The Aligned Actor

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Aligned Actor Podcast.
• 0:03
  I'm Amy Schloerb,
• 0:04
  your friendly fellow actor and mindfulness and mindset coach.
• 0:08
  And this is the podcast where I share practical mindfulness
• 0:11
  tools and mindset
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: shifts designed to help us all thrive in our full actor lives.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because actor life is a roller coaster.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: It is crazy pants.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's full of ups and downs, full of twists and turns.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: The entertainment industry regularly wreaks havoc on our nervous systems.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we just kind of have to figure out ways to handle that.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that is not easy.
• 0:35
  And the only way that we will survive long term in this
• 0:38
  profession is if we are
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: taking care of ourselves,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: soothing and fortifying our nervous systems,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: finding effective ways to handle all of that stress.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what we do here on the Aligned Actor Podcast.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: So in this episode, we are going to practice mindfulness of breathing.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And as the name would suggest,
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: we're going to pay very,
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: very close attention to our experience of breathing.
• 1:04
  And I'm going to guide you in noticing different things about
• 1:08
  that sensation.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And this is one of the most basic formal mindfulness practices,
• 1:14
  and it often serves as a starting point or a foundation for
• 1:18
  other mindfulness
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: practices,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: which we will explore later in this series.
• 1:23
  My favorite thing about mindfulness of breathing is the
• 1:27
  relationship that it has
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: helped me cultivate with my breath and with my body as it breathes.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The more I've practiced tuning into the sensation of my breath,
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: really becoming aware of what that experience really feels like,
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: the more I feel like I've become friends with my breath.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And as I like to say,
• 1:51
  the breath is like a good friend that is ready to welcome us to
• 1:55
  the present moment
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: anytime,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: anywhere.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And the breath helps calm the body, calm the mind,
• 2:05
  And the beautiful thing is our breath never judges or shames
• 2:09
  our wandering mind.
• 2:11
  And our mind is always wanting to wander when we're practicing
• 2:16
  meditation.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just love that the breath doesn't care.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's always happy to welcome us back to the present moment.
• 2:25
  And like true friends,
• 2:27
  we can just pick right back up where we left off like no time
• 2:30
  has passed.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And the breath,
• 2:33
  I see it pretty much like our calming mindfulness bestie that
• 2:38
  we can take with us
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: everywhere we go.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: We can take it into auditions.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: We can take it onto set.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: We can take it onto the red carpet.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: It goes everywhere with us.
• 2:48
  So,
• 2:48
  without further ado,
• 2:50
  let's practice together mindfulness of breathing.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: as always,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: disclaimer,
• 2:56
  if you are driving a car or doing something else that requires
• 3:00
  your full attention,
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: please come back to this practice later.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Take care of yourself.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Practice responsibly, as I say.
• 3:11
  Okay,
• 3:12
  but if you're ready to practice with us now,
• 3:14
  we're going to go ahead and get started.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: So go ahead and find a comfortable position for your body.
• 3:24
  You can keep your eyes open or you can gently close them if
• 3:27
  that feels good.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And to bring your awareness to your breath,
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to invite you to take three slow,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: intentional breaths.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Inhaling and exhaling gently.
• 4:01
  And then you can let the pace of your breathing just become
• 4:05
  natural and comfortable for you.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And notice as you breathe in and think to yourself, I am breathing in.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Notice as you breathe out and think to yourself, I am breathing out.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: If your mind wanders, that's okay.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just gently bring your attention back to your breath.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: and continue narrating your inhales and your exhales.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Great job.
• 5:27
  So now that you are an expert at noticing when you're breathing
• 5:31
  in and when you're
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: breathing out,
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to start to notice the qualities of each inhale and exhale.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And again, you can narrate what you notice.
• 5:46
  So this might sound like,
• 5:48
  I am breathing in or out a long breath or a short breath.
• 5:59
  A slow breath A deep breath So just add a simple word to more
• 6:13
  fully describe what
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: you notice about the breath.
• 6:35
  And again if your mind wanders just gently bring your attention
• 6:41
  back to your breath
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: and continue giving your inhales and exhales simple descriptions.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Great job.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And finally,
• 7:11
  I invite you to expand your awareness a bit and notice your
• 7:16
  breathing as a whole
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: body experience.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: So notice how your body moves as you breathe.
• 7:28
  And again,
• 7:28
  in your mind,
• 7:29
  you can narrate this experience to help you focus and notice
• 7:34
  even more.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So this might sound like I feel my chest expanding.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Belly rising or falling.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is my body breathing.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps as you've been practicing,
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: focusing on and noticing your breath,
• 8:12
  you've noticed that your body as a whole is a bit calmer and
• 8:17
  more relaxed.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Our breath tends to have that effect on our body.
• 8:27
  So just notice any increased sense of calmness or relaxation
• 8:33
  you're experiencing.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: And once again, if your mind wanders, that is okay.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And just gently,
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: gently,
• 8:49
  gently bring your attention back to your breath and continue
• 8:55
  noticing how your body
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: moves as you breathe and how your body feels as you focus on your breath.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to end our Mindfulness of Breathing practice now.
• 9:24
  So as you feel ready,
• 9:27
  you can gently flutter your eyes open if they were closed.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations!
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: You just practiced Mindfulness of Breathing and you did a great job.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: So good job, you!
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed that experience and you want to practice again,
• 9:45
  and I highly recommend that you do practice again and practice
• 9:48
  mindfulness as much
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: as possible.
• 9:50
  That is what is going to continue to reap benefits for you
• 9:54
  moving forward.
• 9:56
  You can find an audio track of just that guided mindfulness
• 10:00
  meditation session.
• 10:02
  and it is on the Substack article on Substack and you can find it
• 10:06
  there it'll be
• 10:07
  linked up for you to be able to experience just that session
• 10:11
  again if you so choose
• 10:12
  to thank you so much for joining me today I really appreciate
• 10:17
  you wherever you have
• 10:18
  found this content and I hope that you found it helpful and
• 10:22
  inspiring and if you
• 10:23
  did I would be so honored if you would leave a comment share it
• 10:27
  with your actor
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: pals and check out my offerings down below
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much and I will see you next time.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Bye!