Mindful Awareness Exercise- RAIN

Mindful awareness can help you navigate challenging times.  We all experience stress when we interpret an experience as threatening.  We experience stress and emotions as sensations in the body associated with thoughts in the mind.  Stress is a perception based on our past stories and experiences or our fears of the unknown future and can trigger the fight- flight-freeze response.

We can pause and establish ourselves in the moment by focusing on our breath.  As we focus on our breath and become still, we begin to cultivate the ability to recognize, allow, investigate and nurture.  The RAIN acronym

R - Recognize what is going on

Let yourself feel at ease in the present moment.  Slowly take in your surroundings using your 5 senses.  Recognize the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are affecting you.  Name your feelings with a whisper to yourself or out loud.

A - Allow the feeling or emotion to be felt

Let the thoughts, emotions, feeling, physical sensations be there, without trying to change them or push them away.  

I - Investigate with Curiosity and Care

If you have a story about the stress, pause and ask, “is that even true” or “what’s the fear behind that”?   Use the felt-sense of the body as you investigate.  You can do this by putting one hand on your heart and the other on your solar plexus (just above your belly button)

N - Nurture yourself

Comfort or soothe yourself in a way the suits you best.  Sense what is hurting the most, do active self-care, for example, using a kind inner-voice, laying a hand on your heart center or your cheek.  

This can be done as a stand-alone meditation or when challenging emotions arise.