How does it feel when you press pause?

Try pausing for a moment right now.

Whether you're on your bed, a chair, a couch, or in a quiet corner, bring both feet on the floor and notice how it feels. You might sense the weight of the feet, or the ground beneath them.

Now offer yourself a big breath in through your nose — pausing — and let it out slowly.

Bring some attention to the shoulders. If they’re drawn up to the ears, you might let them soften - inviting a sense of spaciousness.

Now try a few more big breaths, in and out, at your own pace.

What did you notice during the pause? How do you feel?

Doorways can serve as a great reminder to pause.

Before moving through a doorway, note that something might be different on the other side. We may encounter different people, circumstances, or events when we walk through to the next space.

Use the doorway to pause, even placing one hand on the doorway. In that moment of pause, take a big breath in and out. Notice how you’re feeling. It's a great way to slow down and walk into the next room with mindful awareness and intention.

That's it.

This onramp to a more regulated nervous system isn’t complicated, yet mindfulness programs that share these techniques aren’t readily available in all of our local communities.

At CMP, we believe that all people could benefit from learning these skills and deserve to have access to them.

We bring these mindfulness tools to communities with historically high levels of stress.

Our programs reach the 21 yr old mother navigating the immigration system,

the frontline worker on their fourth consecutive overnight shift,

the student who's been told in a hundred quiet ways that peace is for other people.

We sit shoulder to shoulder every week offering these free programs in Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford, and online, so that all people can feel supported, connected, and at ease.

You can help us run and expand these programs by joining The Circle.

So far we have 18 people in this amazing program (👋 Thank you, friends!) We're looking for 22 more by the end of month.