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Work It Out Wellness

Leaves on a Stream: A Mindfulness Activity

Leaves on a Stream is one of my personal favorite coping strategies! It is great any time you feel anxious or overwhelmed, but I encourage my clients to do it before bed, especially if their mind is racing and they are having a hard time falling asleep. This is a visualization activity, and for those that can’t visualize things, I encourage you draw or paint your Leaves on a Stream scene, so you have something to look at while you practice the activity!

 

1.     Find a comfortable place to sit or lay down.

2.     Close your eyes or look at your drawing/painting.

3.     Imagine a river or stream. Notice what you see. Notice what you might hear. Notice what you feel, whether that’s emotionally or physically. Notice what you might smell and taste.

4.     Notice what is around the water, whether its grass or rocks or something else, and imagine finding a seat or standing by the water.

5.     Brind your attention to the river or stream. Notice what color it is and how fast or slow its moving.

6.     Then, imagine leaves or lily pads floating down the river, and as a thought comes to your mind, place the thought on the leaf or lily pad and let it float down the river and out of your mind. You may place the whole thought, a phrase from the thought, a symbol, the word “thought,” or any other representation of the thought that feels appropriate for you. The goal is to practice letting thoughts go, so they don’t feel as sticky.

7.     When you are done, let the leaves or lily pads go, and bring your attention back to the scene as a whole. What do you see, feel, hear, smell, and taste.

8.     When you are ready, imagine yourself getting up and walking away knowing that you can always come back to this place.

9.     Bring your attention to how your body feels wherever you are. Notice what it feels like to be sitting or laying down. Focus on your breath and take your time opening your eyes.

 

Finally, just take a moment to reflect on what that was like for you. Sometimes, activities like these feel helpful, and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes we feel more calm, and sometimes we feel more agitated. I would encourage you to try it a few times before deciding that it isn’t for you!

 

Interested in learning some other ways to cope with feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or angry? Reach out to us and schedule a free 15 min consultations to see if one of our therapists would be a good fit! wiowellness@gmail.com



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