Mindfulness Mondays; Episode 1: Box Breathing - I Will Hold Space For Your Darkness Podcast bonus series.

Welcome to I Will Hold Space For Your Darkness; a First Responder Mental Health Podcast hosted by Erin Jane. A former Australian Police Officer and Detective, wife of an American Firefighter, previous crisis counsellor for a suicide prevention organization and current CISM trained, certified Life and Wellness Coach for First Responders, Emergency Services Members, Spouses and Loved Ones. We're trying something new this week! I've been thinking for a little while about adding some more resources to the podcast. While I believe there is great power in sharing our stories with others, so they know they aren't alone in their struggles, I want to do more. So I'm starting a bonus series as a part of these podcast episodes, called "Mindfulness Mondays". With my continued studies in psychology towards obtaining my Bachelor's, as well as my own personal deep dives into mindfulness, coping skills and strategies, exercise, trauma informed certifications, ASMR, breath work and any other somatic skill or practice you can imagine, I want to be in a position to share some with you all as I go along. I believe strongly that knowledge is power; second to that, knowledge gained should be knowledge shared. I don't have all the answers and am not a Clinician; I am a Wellness Coach, so I know it's important to stay in my lane. But if one skill, strategy or practice I share helps even just one person, (usually accompanied by anecdotal evidence from my own experience) then I believe it's worth putting it out there for you to listen to, consume and try for yourselves. And these resources I want to share with you are adaptive mental health coping skills and strategies that can be practiced on your own, in your own time, in an effort to increase a First Responder or Emergency Services Member's already stellar levels of resilience. This week, I share about the concept of Box Breathing. Also known as Tactical Breathing, Square Breathing and a few other names. It's something I've spoken about on previous long form episodes of this podcast and it's my personal favourite. It's simple, easy to do, requires very little from you, can be done anywhere and is a resource and a practice I desperately wish I'd known about during my First Responder/Law Enforcement career. In this episode, I explain the practice of Box Breathing, how it affects our nervous system, and lead the listener through a practice in real time. I'm excited to begin this bonus series of episodes, to compliment (not replace!) the wonderful conversations I am privileged to have and to share some brilliant resources with you, moving forward. If there's some kind of practice you'd like me to share on here, or a particular mindfulness narrative you would find beneficial, please reach out. Otherwise, please feel free to reach out if you'd like a topic discussed, would like to be a guest or are interested in receiving coaching services from Erin Jane. Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠ Website: ⁠⁠https://www.erinjanecoaching.com/⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erinjanecoaching⁠⁠ Call or Text: +1 617 396 4695 You can watch the episodes as video on YouTube here: ⁠https://youtube.com/@Erin-Jane-Coaching?si=XI8q0z3mhmzO_a7_⁠ Feel free to watch, listen, share and subscribe!