It’s time, once again, dear friends to practice mindfulness together.

One of my major goals with The Aligned Actor is to demystify mindfulness and make engaging in a regular practice as easy as possible for you.

Remember, mindfulness is incredibly simple.

Mindfulness is a special way of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment.

You focus on your breath and you notice whatever you notice both within you and around you — thoughts, emotions, sensations, sounds, etc.

If you notice that your mind wanders completely away from the present moment — back into the past or forward into the future — no big deal. It happens to all of us.

When your mind wanders, just kindly and gently guide your focus back to your breath, which always lives in the present moment. No need to curse yourself out or berate your wandering mind.

Just gently readjust.

Simple.

Gentle.

Rinse and repeat…over and over and over…throughout the session.

One of my favorite things about my mindfulness practice is that it has increased my self-awareness and my awareness in general. I mentioned this in a previous practice session, but it’s important enough warrant another post!

I’ve long believed that awareness is a superpower. When I am aware of my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors I can choose to continue along with the status quo or I can decided to make a change. It gives me more control in my life.

For example, not too long ago I became aware of my tendency to overly control my auditions. I obsessed about memorization. I not only had to say the correct words, but I also had to perform the words correctly based on how I thought the scene “should” go.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I was so anxious and in my head that I could not enjoy my work.

Once I noticed this uncomfortable audition state I was able to ask the question, “Is this working for me?” Sure, I’d been able to book good roles despite this tendency, but auditions, and even working on set, felt super stressful and not fun at all.

Like many, I got into acting because I love it. I love connecting with my scene partner and playing in a world of imaginary circumstances. Trying to control and perfect my auditions felt like the exact opposite of connection and play.

Thanks to my mindful awareness I was able to change my approach to auditions. I still make sure to get the words right out of respect for the writers, but the words are no longer the sole focus of my audition. They are now a small part of a whole world that exists in that scene. The work (and fun!) of the audition is to create the whole world for myself.

Let’s practice mindfulness together now, and as you engage with the session today, know that every time you notice a thought, or a sound, or that your mind has wandered, you are helping to strengthen your overall awareness in general.

See how that knowledge impacts the rest of your day after the session. Maybe you’ll notice something new about yourself or a situation in your life and be able to make adjustments if needed.

Here’s the practice for today…

As you’re enjoying the afterglow of that little mindfulness session, remember, there are so many great benefits of mindfulness beyond increasing your awareness.

Mindfulness can also help you…

* Relieve tension and stress from your body and mind.

* Calm your nerves and go to a neutral place with your instrument before filming a big scene.

* Stay more present in your craft, really listening and reacting moment to moment.

* Get out of your head in auditions and stay focused on what your character wants.

* Notice when your Inner Critic is being really mean to you, so you can practice being kinder to yourself.

* Become less judgmental of yourself and others.

* Start to gently question if some of your dominant thoughts are actually limiting beliefs holding you back in your acting career or life in general.

The benefits of mindfulness are immediate and cumulative, meaning regular practice, even just 10 minutes a day, will make all of these benefits more and more accessible to you over time.

It just takes practice, which is why we do this.

If you found this post helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, buy me a coffee, or consider becoming a paid subscriber.

NEW! Community Zooms for Paid-Subscribers! 💻

I’m now offering exclusive Zoom sessions for paid subscribers. Support my on-going work and enjoy “office hours” with yours truly! Drop into a Zoom session to experience guided mindfulness and supportive, community-based mindset coaching.

If you’re curious about mindset coaching, but saving for your next headshot session, this is a great way to get affordable access in a supportive, community environment.

Get my FREE Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧

I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition.

It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time.

Super Stressed? I got you! 💖

Accessing Calm is my ebook of super simple, fun mindfulness life hacks I use every day to calm down quickly when stress is high.

These are the tools that help me release tension from my body and keep my mind from spinning out of control with worry and frustration. 😭 ➡️ ☺️

They help me get through the morning rush, calm down before a big audition, and deal with all the stress of the world in general.

It’s a quick read that includes video demonstrations of all tools and some bonus mindfulness meditations — all for just $7!

Upcoming Workshops

I’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!

Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your Presence

Come learn about mindfulness and the many advantages it offers performers. Experience a guided mindfulness meditation, explore the benefits of developing a daily mindfulness practice, and learn some quick centering tools to use in auditions and on set.

If you are a member of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory, head to the calendar on the website to sign up. If you’re not a member, I encourage you to join, it’s $45 for a full year of workshops and classes.

Let’s chat! ☕️

If you’re ready to really embrace all this mindfulness and mindset stuff, so that you can ride the roller coaster of being an actor without throwing up, let’s connect in a complimentary session.

This is a chance for us to connect and for you to walk away with some specific, actionable ideas that you can start applying right away to shift and strengthen your actor mindset.

Think of it like an audition where you are the production team. I’ll show you what I do in the role of “coach” by actually coaching you, and then you get to decide, “Does my production need a mindset coach right now, and is Amy right for this role?”

Sounds fun, right? I mean, who doesn’t love an audition?!

Bye!

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