We could all use a mindfulness practice that can be incorporated into our daily routine! The S.T.O.P. method (stop, take a few breaths, observe, proceed) is an informal, easy way to ground yourself in the present moment.
The presenter thanks viewers for watching and explains this video will teach a short, informal mindfulness technique suitable for everyday moments. It sets expectations that you can practice without sitting or closing your eyes.
The method is presented as the S.T.O.P. acronym, likened to a stop sign, with each letter representing a quick mindfulness step to pause and reorient. This section tells you what each letter stands for at a high level.
This chapter breaks down the steps: stop, take a few breaths, observe internal sensations and emotions, and use your senses to notice the external environment. The presenter gives examples of what to pay attention to—breath, body, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch—so you can be more mindful before proceeding.
You're prompted to try the exercise immediately—put your phone down, take breaths, observe, then proceed—followed by a brief friendly farewell. This final part motivates practice and closes the video.
Thank you for taking a few moments to watch this video. Get a little me time, learn something and get to practice some mindfulness. There's a technique because I know there's so many out there on apps, YouTube videos, wherever you want to find them online. So I appreciate you taking the time to learn one here. This technique is especially helpful for mindfulness, just being in the present moment with non-judgmental present moment awareness because it's not as formal. You don't have to sit down, close your eyes or lie down, which is great for more formal practice.
This is more informal and experiential. You can do it day-to-day with whatever task you're doing, even on your drive to and from work or to daycare to pick up your kids, whatever it might be, you can use it then. And so the method is STOP. It's an acronym, four letters, S-T-O-P, just like the stop sign that you should adhere to. and the S stands for stop pretty pretty clever I know I didn't come up with this but the S stands for stop T is for take a few breaths O is for observe what is happening and then P is for proceed so S stop that can be a Q just a stop and be in the moment rather than in the future or in the past right here right now T take a few breaths just Pay attention to your breath, the sensation of the inhale, the sensation of the exhale as it calms you down, and then observe what is happening.
That can be internally. What's happening in your body? What emotions are you feeling right now? Are you stressed out about anything? What's your physiology like? Just overall, what's going on internally and also externally? So maybe look around, see what's in your environment. What can you hear? What can you smell? Maybe taste? What can you touch? Utilize those senses to observe what's going on externally as well. And then once you do that, you're more mindful, and then you can do the last part, proceed to the next part of your day.
So it's really quick, really easy, and I encourage you, right after you're done watching this video, practice it. Stop, put your phone down and take a few breaths, observe what is happening, and then you can proceed have a great rest of your day.
