The SOCA Mindfulness Primer, Step-by-Step
We use this process to start every session of our mindfulness and meditation class called Healthy Living. I verbally guide my students through the steps of the process.
0:00-1:00 Preparation (The Freestyle Portion)
The first step to starting the Mindfulness Primer is to prepare to begin the Mindfulness Primer. This segment has two main elements:
Set your intention: Tell yourself what you want to happen and be confident it will happen. We talk to ourselves all the time. Some say that every thought is really just us talking to ourselves. In this case, we do it deliberately. Think thoughts such as “I am being mindful now,” “My thoughts are slowing down,” “I am calm,” “I am relaxed,” and “this is going to feel good.”
Customize your process: Do whatever makes you comfortable. I encourage you to stretch, adjust your seat, shake your shoulders, or, even yawn. Soon, these steps will become part of your ritual, along with the formal exercises.
This is the same process one would be wise to use when they are about to walk into a job interview, meet a room full of new people or attempt something challenging. Become comfortable with the process of calming your mind and focusing on a task.
1:00-4:00 Breathing Exercise
At this point, you would close your eyes.
This portion could include one of the three main breathing exercises we are studying in my class. You can choose any of the three methods listed below. You could use the same one every time or you can rotate through them as well.
As with all parts of the Mindfulness Primer (and all parts of my classes), this portion is both lesson and practice, both instruction and workout. In my class, I am teaching my students how to perform this routine outside of my class while, simultaneously, guiding them to receive the benefit of the routine on the spot. This way, even if they are resistant to building the habit on their own time, I know that they will still profit from the exercise every time they attend my class.
The Three Breathing Exercises:
Calm Circuit: I learned this one from best-selling author and entrepreneur Jon Assaraf. The process is to think the thought “I breathe in calm” when inhaling and think the thought “I breathe out stress” on the exhale. I say the statements out loud as my class repeats the words in their mind. Work on the experience of “feeling” the words as well. With practice, you will be able to feel the calm coming over you on the inhale and to feel the stress leaving you on the exhale.
Box Breathing: This breathing practice is based on time. It is done by counting as you breathe. The inhale has a two count, “one, two.” Then you hold your breath for a two count, “one, two.” Finally, you would exhale for a (purposely) longer four count on your exhale, “one, two, three, four.” The slow pace of the breaths and the longer exhale generate calm and relaxation.
Gold Dust Breathing: This breathing exercise requires visualization, a skill I am teaching my students in a few different ways. The first step is to imagine that the room you are in (remember your eyes are closed) is filled with hundreds of pieces of beautiful gold dust, floating around the room like Pixie Dust. You are then to think about how every good thing in the world is contained in that gold dust: love, success, great health, laughter, friendship, romance, fun, travel, and excitement. You can also personalize your gold dust to include things of your own taste: NFL Football, puppies, ice cream, Spider-Man, or Mark Hamill. Once the image is established in your mind, take a deep inhale, pulling the gold dust into your lungs and body - along with love, laughter, and NFL Football. On the exhale, imagine a grey smoke leaving your mouth. The grey smoke contains everything you do not want: fear, sadness, worry, arguments, negativity, and tears. The process is repeated. Each time you inhale, more of your body is filled with the gold dust of good, starting with your lungs and spreading to your whole body until you are entirely composed of everything you love. On each exhale, the grey smoke becomes a lighter shade of grey, and as your worry and stress leave you, your out-breath becomes clear. Once again, work on feeling both the gain of good as well as the relief from bad.
4:00-4:15 Just enjoy the feeling
After the breathing exercise, simply stop and sit with your eyes closed. The idea is to appreciate how much calmer you have become in just a few minutes. I do this to reinforce the pleasure of the activity so that my students are encouraged to repeat the process. You are also practicing not rushing to the next activity.
4:15-5:15 Think about something good in the world
The next minute is spent thinking about something you love, anything you want. This adds to the good feeling generated by the breathing exercises. The purpose is to build the ability to choose the focus on the positive. It also works on the skill of being able to focus on a single thought for an extended period of time.
5:15-6:15 Gratitude and Self-love
Think about “one reason you are lucky to be you.” Feel grateful for an aspect of your life, any aspect you choose. I prompt my class with statements such as, “I know you’re awesome. I want you to think about why you are awesome.” I then add, “why would someone want to trade places with you?” I add suggestions to help them along, “maybe it’s because you are very kind, or maybe you have a really nice family, or you’re very smart.” I discuss the benefits of gratitude in many of my blogs.
6:15-7:15 Send love to someone else
The next step requires you to envision someone you “like, love, or just somebody who could use a boost.” Imagine every detail of the person’s face, hair, and clothing (building visualization skills again). Once the image is clear, inhale deeply while visualizing that breath bringing love down into your heart, filling your heart with more love with every inhale. When your heart is full and charged up, you are to visualize that love shooting out from your heart and into your selected person’s heart. Then you will visualize your good wishes working, “picture this person smiling, looking healthy, looking happy, looking wealthy, laughing, surrounded by people they love.” This section also works on developing focus, visualization, and general positive feelings.
7:15-8:15 Grateful for your body
The second gratitude portion involved choosing a part of your body and feeling appreciation for the fact that it is healthy. I remind my students that some people don’t have that part of their body (war veterans, birth defects) and that some people have illnesses in that part of their body (cancer). Feel gratitude for the fact that this part of your body is working for you twenty-four hours a day. Since you are free to choose the part of your body, you are able to avoid thinking about any medical condition or injuries. All thoughts are positive for the entirety of the Mindfulness Primer.
8:15-8:25 Open your eyes
The final portion of the Mindfulness Primer is done with your eyes open. It includes five parts.
One Thing for Each Sense: An adaptation of the 5-4-3-2-1 Method
8:25-8:55 Sense of sight
Focus on something they can see in the room you are in (or, for my students it can also be something they can see in my room through the screen. My classes are online).
8:55-9:25 Sense of hearing
Focus on something you can hear (For my students, this excludes my voice).
9:25-9:55 Sense of touch
Feel something, either with your hands or with your body (the chair you are sitting on, your socks, your eyeglasses). Be sure to try to feel “mindfully,” thinking about nothing else as you feel the sensation. In my class, we talk about how different something feels when being touched mindfully. We talk about how we hadn’t felt the collar on our shirt all day but, now that we are feeling it mindfully, the weight of the collar is pronounced.
9:55-10:25 Sense of smell
Try to smell something. This one can be difficult at times.
Good news: This process is more effective when one of the steps is difficult.
This is because: If you are focusing all of your attention on trying to identify a smell, you cannot focus on your worries at the same time. This is why my Mindfulness Primer and methods such as the 5-4-3-2-1 Method can be so effective in relieving stress in a short amount of time.
10:25-10:55 Sense of taste
If nothing was eaten recently, this can be the hardest step of all. My morning class usually has the advantage of tasting toothpaste or coffee. My students can be seen smacking their lips like wine connoisseurs to try to identify something on their taste buds.
10:55-11:00 Smile
The final step is to smile and force a smile if necessary. With this step, I am trying to lead my students’ minds with their bodies by displaying positive body language. Oftentimes, the mind will follow suit with thoughts that match the good vibes of the body.
This is the SOCA LLC Mindfulness Primer.
The components were learned through hours of professional training and my studies of eastern philosophies. However, the Mindfulness Primer (as a complete method) is entirely proprietary and was created by me.
I hope that it is able to add a benefit to your life.
Burak Uzun is an award-winning writer and instructor. He has received thousands of hours of training and hands-on experience in guiding individuals with social and emotional challenges. He also co-wrote a feature film called Team Marco, which was featured in over fifty film festivals around the globe and was distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Please feel free to reach out to Burak here.
Learn more about SOCA LLC and Burak’s classes here.