When you first get sober life is full of fresh, raw, emotions, and they tend to be all over the place. You can go from happy to rage in a nanosecond, so the question becomes how to regulate these emotions in your recovery, every day so you don’t pick up a drink or any other harmful behavior.
Hi, I’m Lane Kennedy creator of the Connected Calm Life and the Ocean Of Yum Meditation Practice, I’m a meditation and mindfulness teacher, I’ve been teaching the San Francisco Police Departments, doctors, teachers, black ops, and a whole bunch of others before it was a cool thing to teach! Thanks for checking out The Sober Curator. In this post, I will share three simple meditation practices and the importance of being more mindful in your sobriety.
A lot of people choose to find meditation through meditation apps on their devices, which is great and leaves no excuses as to not meditate– because you have an app to meditate with every day. I enjoy headspace and my Connected Calm Life App that also houses practices and meditation experiences.
Drink H2O
Let me share the first practice, which is easy and not overwhelming. Step one, grab a glass of water put the water in front of you, and observe it for one minute without drinking it, which means you can touch it, smell it, look at it and then simply observe it. After a minute pick up the glass and allow the water to touch your lips and drink the water tasting it, noticing how the water fills your mouth, and feeling the sensations as the water moves down into your body. This is an easy practice, and it’s a win-win because you’re getting in an extra glass of water for the day! You are also quieting the mind as you focus on the water, this is the beginning of creating a mindfulness practice. Mindfulness practice is essential for creating long-term sobriety.
Here is your second practice, grab a pen and paper. Now go ahead and write down the Serenity Prayer.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
– Serenity Prayer
As you write down this little prayer you’re creating a practice. Write it down 3 to 5 times and repeat it silently in your mind as you write it, this shuts down the critical mind and allows you to drop into a different state. Take a breath in between each time you write the prayer. Do this every day for two weeks and see what happens, report back to me.
And Breathe…
Here is the third practice you can try this week, starting wherever you’re at — meaning: it doesn’t have to be quiet, you can do this practice in a bathroom, or even outside as you walk. Start by bringing your awareness to your breath and take a large inhale, hold it at the top, and then exhale quickly as possible. On your next breath, inhale all the way filling your lungs, and then hold your breath at the top for 5 seconds exhale for 7 seconds slow and steady bringing all your awareness only to your breath. You can do this for 3 to 5 minutes inhaling slowly, holding at the top, and exhaling slowly this allows you again to let go of the critical factor – the critical mind and allows the mind to chew on something tasty which is the attention and the awareness of the breath.
Meditation is a practice that you can come back to again and again, it’s better to do it with friends and with a teacher, but you don’t have to. Meditation will remove your anger, resentment, fear, even overwhelm, it changes your brain! {Huzzah!} Make time to practice again tomorrow and the next day. I’ll be back again with another tip and practice, thanks for hanging out with The Sober Curator.
Learn more about me over at LaneKennedy.com and sign up for my next series LaneKennedy.com/oceanofyum. You can also follow along with Lane on IG @lane_kennedy_
My 4-minute message to you
TIME TAKES TIME: Monthly interviews hosted by Sober Curator and Calm Coach Lane Kennedy with a rotating panel of guests in long-term recovery. (10+ or more years)
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
Resources are available
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
