Concentrating

Feedback & Email

Written June 2015.

(The Page has further development in progress)

This resource helps young and old concentrate.

ü Concentrating at school and university

ü Staying focused in demanding working contexts

ü Being in and staying in the zone in sports

ü Attending and listening during important meetings

ü Stopping the chatter in the mind

ü Concentrating on memory and recall

ü Concentrating on mind- based activities

ü Having complete refreshing breaks away from Concentrating

This Resource contains five easy experiences that may each last a few minutes.

You may like to repeat each experience a few times during a day and beyond. Some people do all five together – under 30 minutes.

ü Some people are keeping a daily journal of their experiences

ü Be very mindful of doing these experiences in safe contexts

ü Take Steps To Become Fully Present before resuming daily Activities

The following experiences are best done VERY slowly with Awareness – defined as ‘Noticing Very Small Differences’.

You’ll start noticing differences that make the difference.

Experience One

Themes

Stand with natural elongation….....feet comfortably apart….with hands down near your hips….and with weight evenly distributed on both feet…...and now shifting your pelvis horizontally to the right…....with the left heal rising to be standing on the ball of your left foot for balance……with your weight now mainly on your right foot…..and notice how you can lift the left leg above the ground a few millimetres…....and place it down again…… and now staying in this position…....take your awareness very deliberately outside of yourself and look intently at six specific things around you…....and noticing the direction…....and the distance…...and what manner of person or thing that you are looking at each time…....and then pay particular interest in and awareness of any sounds that are happening now……noticing their direction…...and distance…and what manner of person or thing is making that sound…….and now intentional take your awareness inside…..and taking your awareness now to your feet…..and move your pelvis horizontally to the midline and come to standing on both feet evenly……..and now becoming aware of how you’re feeling by roaming your awareness round your body for a time…and now rest.

Experience Two

Themes

Stand with natural elongation….feet comfortably apart….with hands down near your hips….and with weight evenly distributed on both feet……and shift your pelvis horizontally through the midline and across to the left..…with the right heal rising to be standing on the ball of your right foot for balance……with your weight now mainly on your left foot…..and notice how you can lift the right leg above the ground a few millimetres…and place it down again……and now staying in this position…....take your awareness very deliberately inside your mind and recall now something pleasant that happened in the past....something that made you feel very good….and take all the time you need for that to come into mind now....and when that has come into mind….take some time to be back there again now……and begin recalling all those things……what you are seeing in your mind now......and being back where you are now…....and what you are doing…....and sensing how you feel being present in that other place now…and having that becoming all very real now.....and enjoying that....and after a time.......saying your farewells to that now…and being back present now.....taking your awareness to your feet and move your pelvis horizontally to the midline and come to standing on both feet evenly……and look all around to strengthen being present in the here and now....and now becoming aware of how you’re feeling by roaming your awareness round your body for a time…and now rest.

Experience Three

Themes

Stand with natural elongation….feet comfortably apart….with hands down near your hips….and with weight evenly distributed on both feet…....and recall yesterday’s experience.....and shift to having your weight on your right foot…and become very aware of things happening around you….....now shift to standing on your left foot…and pulling your head in just a little.....go down a little….and cast your eyes down and to the right and access a memory……and very fast come outside and elongate a little….and shift your weight to the right foot and your awareness outside and see and hear what is happening….as you check how you feel right now around your body…..now shift to the other side…with eyes down right and go down a little as you access a memory and be back there in that memory…....and when you have that.......feel how you’re feeling back there now….and take some time for that to...become very real.....seeing if you can...tell....how you’re feeling....and after a time return to having your weight being on the other foot…….the right foot and focus outside…and now switch quickly between being standing with your weight on your left foot and access inside…..and standing with your weight on your right foot and access outside….so that you become very clear about the two ways of being……being inside and then outside……and after a number of fast switches….now come to standing on both feet evenly……and now becoming aware of how you’re feeling by roaming your awareness round your body for a time…and now rest.

Experience Four

Themes

Stand and recall the last two days experience.....firstly of sitting and gentle raising and lowering your head....recalling this experience now......image doing this experience for a time......and then shifting memory to yesterday where you were standing ......and becoming aware of your head sitting on the top of your spine now....and respecting and caring for yourself.....now actually notice where your nose is in space....and without tilting your head up or down.....discover how to involve your spine very gently to extend your head up and then to come back down again a little below where you started ......and doing this easy movement now very slowly with awareness.....and notice how your ribs may become involved .......and without involving shoulder muscles....your shoulders may be coming higher.......and now involving awareness of breathing.......breathing in as you are rising......and staying higher as you’re breathing out......and doing this for a little time....and now rotating your nose to the left a little way......and then around to the right a little a few times... and come to centre........and now pause...... and take your awareness to the base of your spine....and now to the top of your spine....and very gently...without hurting yourself just compress your vertebrae a tiny bit....like you are pulling your head in........and notice....are you breathing?......and how energised do you feel?.....and how heavy do you feel?....just to notice.....and now with awareness give that up and on the in-breath....gently lengthen as you have been doing...to notice the difference to notice what a little gentle elongating does to your sense of wellbeing and lightness.......and repeat this compressing and extending very slowly....to notice the difference between the two ways of being...and when you are ready...and maintaining gently elongating...go for a little walk with awareness of maintaining gentle elongating as you walk.....

Experience Five

Themes

While sitting or standing flow your awareness around your body.........now extend your left foot forward and experience aligning your left knee a little to the right and do a slow lean forward over your left foot. .....notice how the energy only drives through the left big toe and the left foot seems weak.......doing this a few times......and now extend your left foot forward again.....and this time experience aligning your left knee a little to the left.....and do a slow lean forward over your left foot. ......and now notice how the energy drives only through the smaller toes of the left foot and that foot feels even weaker.......and now move back again and align your left knee in the centre and experience the strong left foot with the drive going through all of your toes of your left foot.....now swaps sides....and extend your right foot forward and experience aligning your right knee a little to the left and do a slow lean forward over your right foot. .....notice how the energy only drives through the right big toe and the right foot seems weak.......doing this a few times......and now extend your right foot forward again.....and this time experience aligning your right knee a little to the right....and do a slow lean forward over your right foot. ......and now notice how the energy drives only through the smaller toes of the right foot and that foot feels even weaker.......and now move back again and align your right knee in the centre and experience the strong right foot with the drive going through all of your toes of your right foot....and now again with awareness of awareness.......begin walking experiencing driving off strong feet