Mindfulness Monday

Mindfulness of Sound

Hello everyone and welcome to another Mindfulness Monday at The Miscarriage Therapist.

Today, we are going to focus on the mindfulness of sound. Often when we are trying to get ourselves grounded, when we're trying to meditate or practice mindfulness, we tend to feel distracted or frustrated even by sounds.

But this exercise is to help us bring in those sounds and integrate them into our mindfulness practice. And by doing so, we can learn how to integrate sound even when we aren't practicing mindfulness.

After a pregnancy loss, there are a lot of sounds that we are confronted with. Sounds in medical rooms, sounds from doctors, maybe the sound of crying or tears. Maybe it's the sound of our loved ones reaching out to us.

Maybe those sounds can feel overwhelming and too loud. Or maybe they feel welcoming.

Whichever way you feel, sitting with the sound around us can really help us feel grounded.

So with that, let's begin. Stretch your body in any way it calls for or any way that feels comfortable for you. Find a comfortable seat, or feel free to lay down. Once you are settled into a place that feels good to complete the exercise, close your eyes if you would prefer and start to deepen your breath. Feel your chest rising and falling with each in and out breath. Let’s take about a minute to just be with the breath and notice how it feels.

Next, bring your awareness to any sounds that might be present in the room. Even if it is the faintest buzz from an appliance or radiator, or a blaring car horn outside your window. Maybe birds are chirping. The wind might be blowing in from an open window. Whatever sounds you are hearing, just take note of them. Maybe it is the sound of your breathing, in and out. Take a minute to simply notice the sounds around you, in this room, in this one present moment.

As you are noticing the sounds, some thoughts may come into your mind; you can simply notice them and return your focus to the sounds in the room. Try not to judge the sounds around you, even if they are not pleasant or not what you would choose to hear. Notice them and notice their quality.

Taking a quiet moment to hear the sounds around us can really help us to practice being present even in stressful moments. And you can feel free to come back to this practice throughout the rest of your day. When you are ready, you can open your eyes.

Recorded versions of Mindfulness Monday are available to all paid subscribers of The Miscarriage Therapist. Thank you for being here.