A guided short breathing practice to lengthen the out breath and calm the mind. We often breathe faster when our mind is racing, so learning to invite a slow long smooth out breath has a soothing effect on the mind. I hope you can practice some breathing today as the breath is the bridge between the body & the mind. Best wishes Lisa

Straw Breathing to Calm the Mind

Shhh breathing for ease is a pranayama practice to learn to make a gentle, smooth, steady sound with the out breath. This can invite ease in the physical body and the mind. The breath becomes a bridge between the body and the mind. Notice how extending the out breath can support the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system to rest, repair & digest. Enjoy your ongoing practice and this can be a great practice when tension and stress is building in the body heart & mind. Thank you for meditating with me today. Love and blessings Lisa

Shhh Breathing for Ease

A short guided breathing practice with sound and vibration to calm the autonomic nervous system. This practice can allow a long out-breath which encourages a deeper in-breath to calm the body and reduce agitation. Thank you for your ongoing practice. Best wishes Lisa

Humming Breath for Ease

This short guided mindfulness practice invites the union of breath and body. Inhalation hands open and exhalation the palms gently touch each other. Connecting the breath and the movement is a way of bringing the mind into the palms of both hands. This practice can be a support for you if you have difficulty being present and your mind is often racing. A moment to pause and be with the breath and touch, breath by breath, moment by moment. The touch of the hands is an anchor for the mind and this can also regulate breathing. Thank you for your practice and I hope this short practice can have a soothing effect on the body, mind & heart.

Breathing Hands

Alternate nostril breathing is also known as Nadi Shodana. This breathing practice or pranayama stretches the breath, nadi meaning channel, and shodana meaning purification. This practice is aimed at cleaning or purifying the mind-body. It is suitable for anyone, as it is gentle and has a pacifying or calming effect on the nervous system. Alternate nostril breathing infuses the body with oxygen, releases toxins, stress & anxiety, and also supports balance and concentration. This practice can be helpful if you are feeling agitated or would like to invite mental clarity. Your breath must remain gentle and slow, inviting ease throughout your body. I hope you can enjoy this practice and feel the benefits daily.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Shoulder breathing is a short guided pranayama practice to invite us to breathe more deeply using movements with the arms and shoulders. tension is often held in the shoulder girdle, when we go into the fight part of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system the shoulders arms and hands can become tense. this practice can bring awareness to this part of the body and we can use the breath to release ongoing stress in this part of the body. I hope you can feel more alive from this pranayama practice to feel prana or energy building in the physical body. Thank you for meditating with me and exploring this breathing practice today. Love & blessings Lisa

Shoulder Breathing

Healthy joints and freedom of movement are important, especially when we are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, as our body can carry more tension. It's important to allow the blood to flow freely through the joints and to invite movement regularly to release stress or tension in the body. Notice how it feels to move various joints carefully, and observe the different sensations in the right and left sides of your body. I hope you can move your body mindfully each day to explore how gentle, mindful movements can bring ease. Enjoy your daily practice.

Healthy Joints - Freedom of Movement

Releasing tension in the body with the out-breath can be a support to your general well-being. This short guided meditation allows you to rest your attention in the hands, face, and belly. Places where you may carry tension or tightness. Notice if inviting ease with the out-breath helps to let go of any holding or contraction. This short movement practice can help you to let go of tension in various parts of the body. Enjoy this exploration as you learn to open to the body, heart & mind. Thank you for listening and moving with the body and breath today.

Releasing Tension

This guided meditation is to support you to look after your neck and encourage gentle movement here. We can often carry lots of tension in the upper body from stress and overthinking. I hope you enjoy this practice and it can support you in balance and well-being. Best wishes, Lisa Pollard www.lisapollard.com

Neck Care Sequence

Yoga, Breathing & Sound is a guided yoga sequence to develop an awareness of extending the out-breath with sound and movement to invite ease into the body and to reduce stress. It's important to keep the body moving during times of stress and to learn how to lengthen the out-breath. Sound can be a wonderful way to support release and ease in the body. Thank you for your yoga practice today. Best wishes, Lisa

Yoga, Breathing & Sound

Caring for your spine is important for integrating balance into your nervous system. As we age our bodies can become less fluid. It's important to look after the spine each day and allow gentle movements to pump fluid into the disks. This can encourage freedom of movement and less pain or stagnation of energy. Too much sitting causes the spine and the muscles supporting the back to become tense. I invite you to move your spine every day to allow the energy to flow which supports the nervous system, health, and vibrancy. Thank you for your ongoing practice.

Caring for Your Spine

Stability & Balance is a short guided yoga practice, an invitation to move with the breath and feel into the feet & legs. As we age our balance decreases particularly after the age of 45, so it's important to look after our feet & ankles to support stability. When there is agitation or anxiety in the body the attention can sometimes reside in the upper part of the body, particularly around the shoulders and head. So this practice invites the attention down into the lower parts of the body. I hope this short movement practice supports you to connect to the stability of the earth beneath you. Thank you for your ongoing practice and moving towards health & balance every day.

Stability & Balance

An invitation to open to the language of sensation, practicing within your own range of movement. This yoga sequence has been recorded for MBSR participants to practice within an 8-week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Course. This gentle yoga sequence can be practiced by anyone wishing to reduce stress & anxiety. Enjoy this moving meditation and learn how to connect your breath and body to balance and calm the nervous system.

Lying Down Yoga Sequence

This short guided practice is to encourage a pause breathing space with touch, a moment to feel into the body with support and gentleness. This practice can be repeated during the day if you are feeling stressed or disconnected from your body. Thank you for for your ongoing practice. Best wishes Lisa

Healing Hug

Breath & body is a short guided meditation, the breath is the object of meditation and then expanding out to the whole body. The natural breath and the sensations in the body invite the attention to rest in the present moment. The first foundation of mindfulness includes the breath and body, the physical sensations are easier for us to pay attention to when learning to practice. I hope you enjoy this meditation and can rest your attention in your body breathing. Thank you for your practice and I hope it supports you back into wellness.

Breath & Body

This healing chant is traditionally chanted 108 times, Shiv Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, this mantra is to help liberate us from fear and move towards a sense that we are connected to nature. I hope this chant can support your practice today, feel free to listen and join in when the the chant becomes familiar to you. Chanting supports, concentration, reduces stress & anxiety, gives strength to the body, heart & mind. Best wishes Lisa Pollard

Healing Chant

Tuning in and feeling our changing emotions can offer us an opportunity to befriend and attend to our internal experience. This practice invites you to touch into what is here and name it, leaning into what is here to be known. Sometimes we can tune in and be with our internal world for a few moments and slowly sense how to come back into balance. Touching in for a few moments, being with, using touch, and then creating a bigger container, expanding out to seeing & hearing. I hope you can return to balance with this short guided meditation learning to pause regularly, knowing this changing flow of experience. Thank you for your ongoing practice. Best wishes Lisa

Tuning in & Being With

Allow the sound of the mindfulness bell to bring your attention gently back to the present moment and to be curious about what arises. You may be aware of sounds, breath & body, or the changing nature of thoughts & emotions. The practice is about being awake and noticing various aspects of this unfolding experience. I hope you enjoy listening to the sound of the bells as you wake up to each new fresh moment. Thank you for your ongoing practice and I hope it can support you to be present a little more each day.

Mindfulness Bells

Heart Space is a short guided meditation to cultivate gratitude as an antidote to fear or worry. Touch and breath is cultivated in this practice to support ease. Thank you for your practice today. Best wishes Lisa

Heart Space

This short guided practice to inquire into sensation in the the physical body and how this can support the autonomic nervous system. When releasing the tongue and the jaw through this guided practice, you may notice a slight change in the mouth. Be curious and attentive to the body, soft tongue, soft jaw, soft belly and soft hands to invite ease. Thank you for your ongoing practice. Best wishes Lisa

Releasing Stress

An invitation to pause into presence, by stopping and breathing and welcoming yourself into this new fresh moment. We often rush through our daily lives, this practice will support you to mindfully pause and be with the body breathing. I hope your practice continues to grow as you learn to pause and come home to your body and breath as an anchor at various times throughout your day. Breathing consciously with awareness, as you trust that your body knows how to breathe. thank-you for your practice.

Pausing into Presence

Refreshing your body through touch, massage, gentle movement, and attention is a wonderful way to refresh your body and to release tension. When we are stressed the body holds tension, particularly in the face, tongue & jaw. This short guided practice is an invitation to gently let go of ongoing tension through simple movements with your body to invite ease. I hope you can continue to move towards balance with your practice today. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to being aware and awake in your body heart & mind.

Release & Refresh

Being comfortable with silence is an important ingredient when developing a daily mindfulness practice. We learn to hang out in awareness and develop this natural rhythm of being with ourselves as we are and get to know what arises in our field of awareness. This practice will invite you to rest in the silence and notice what is present in the body, mind & heart. As your practice grows your ability to sit in silence will grow each time you can find the space to practice. Nature loves rhythms and even a short time being with yourself can be a real gift to your health & well-being. Enjoy your practice and I hope it continues to nourish you.

Comfortable with Silence

This short guided mindfulness meditation invites the breath to the center of your awareness. Feeling the sensations as you breathe in and out. You might feel the sensations at the nose, throat, chest, or abdomen. Learning to rest your attention wherever the sensations are most obvious to you. I hope you can learn to train your mind as you stay with the natural breath, coming back when the mind wanders. Mental noting may help you experience the breath and this can sometimes support your practice. May your ongoing meditation continue to nourish you each day, as your intention grows to practice regularly with kindness & patience. Best wishes, Lisa Pollard www.lisapollard.com

Awareness of Breathing

Feeling Tone is a short guided meditation to learn to pay attention to the feeling tone in the body. Feeling tone is the second foundation of mindfulness and this is where we register if something feels pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. This practice helps us to know what is unfolding in the body, heart & mind and informs us of what is here to be known, moment by moment. We learn to relate to our experience or understand the hedonic tone, being with different feeling tomes without judgment. We can become more resilient as we learn to stay even if our habitual habit is to want to push away or pull towards these various states in the body. Thank you for your practice today and I hope it can support you to be with what is.

Feeling Tone

This guided meditation supports you to open to sounds & thoughts, noticing how the sounds and thoughts can arise and dissolve in your field of awareness. Noticing how sounds can have a beginning, middle & end, and a quiet pause in between. Sometimes we can notice spaces in between thoughts and sounds. Enjoy your practice and I hope it supports you to drop into presence. Best wishes Lisa Pollard www.lisapollard.com

Sounds & Thoughts

Invite your breath to be even, steady & smooth as you explore the relationship between your inhalation and exhalation. Is it easier for you to breathe in, or easier for you to breathe out? This short guided mindfulness practice supports you to discover how your breath can support your nervous system back into balance. When we hold our breath there can be a build-up of toxins in the systems of the body which can sometimes cause anxiety. Notice what happens when your breath is steady & smooth. Enjoy your practice and I hope it can nourish you each day.

Steady & Smooth

Pay attention to your breath and sounds in and around you; an invitation to notice your body breathing. Learn to train your mind in this concentration practice as you ride the waves of breath from moment to moment. Body & breath are your home base as you feel this natural rising & falling. Thank you for your ongoing practice, and may it support you into wellness each day.Best wishes,Lisa Pollard www.lisapollard.com

Breath & Sounds

Smiling inside is an invitation to observe what happens when we make a small gesture with the mouth and discover if anything responds within the body heart & mind. Can you experience the connection within your mindfulness practice? This short practice also invites kindness through touch and warmth to the body, to support wellness and generosity. A generative practice where words can invite ease with the breath and a quiet internal dialogue. Enjoy your practice and I hope it supports you each day.

Smiling Inside

Extended version of mindfulness of bells, allowing attention to rest with the sound of the mindfulness bells. Cultivating your practice to introduce silent practice and coming back to where your attention is within the silent practice. Enjoy your practice and I hope it continues to grow each day.

Mindfulness Bells - Extended Practice

This guided meditation will support you to lean in and be with thoughts and feelings inside your body. Invite the body and breath to be your home base as you expand out to thoughts and feelings. Notice how it feels to open up your awareness to include your experiences as they arise and pass away. We meditate to get to know our hearts and minds. I hope this practice supports you today. Best wishes, Lisa Polard www.lisapollard.com

Thoughts & Feelings

4 Part Breathing is a short guided mindfulness meditation to focus on the natural movement and stillness of each breath. Feeling the 4 parts of each breath and resting in the spaces in between, to invite ease and steadiness during this time of uncertainty. Mental noting is invited to train attention control and stability. Thank you for your practice. Best wishes Lisa

4 Part Breathing

We often get caught up in the fast pace of life and forget to take some time to Stop, Sense & See. This short guided practice is an invitation to remember that we can choose to stop and sense into our physical sensations within the body and notice what is here. Are the sensations pleasant, neutral or unpleasant? Learning to be with these different physical sensations is a wonderful way to be awake and alive in each new passing moment. We can open to our awareness and include what we can see in our visual field as a way of tuning into the freshness & beauty around us. I hope you enjoy your ongoing practice and it can anchor you back to the present moment again and again.

Stop, Sense & See

The centering breath is a practice to learn to center your awareness inside your body breathing. This short guided practice invites you to take a slow gentle breath and a slow gentle out breath and then coming back to natural breathing. Notice how it feels to breathe gently in this way and learning to regulate your breath as a way of inviting ease into the physical body. Thank you for taking the time to experience your breath today and feeling the effects of this practice.

Centering Breath

This short guided mindfulness meditation invites the attention to rest at the end of the out-breath, when there is a quiet pause or gap, often called the seed of meditation. This is when the physical body becomes still, just for a moment before the next in-breath enters the body. Try resting in this quiet place and discover the joys of meditation as your practice invites you into stillness and quiet. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to meditation and the exploration of these mind-body practices. May you find ease and peace within the experience of your practice today. Best wishes Lisa

The Seed of Meditation

The body sweep is an invitation to take care of your body, part by part as you explore the language of sensation. Learning to stay present with the physical body and be with any part of the body in this caring careful way. I hope your practice supports you to back into balance today. Thank you for your ongoing practice. Best wishes, Lisa Pollard www.lisapollard.com

Body Sweep Part by Part

A short guided practice using touch and warmth to soothe the eyes which can become tired from too much screen time, reading and just being tired or stressed. Learn to pause take a breath and use your hands to support well being. I hope your practice grows each day. Best wishes Lisa

Supporting the Eyes

Fear is here is a story to support and understand how we can be fear and learning how to be with anxiety and strong physical sensations in the body. Learning how to name strong emotions in the body and notice how they can change. Love and Blessings Lisa

Fear Is Here

Surf to Sand is a new sleep story to enjoy the elements of the ocean and to rest deeply at bedtime. Follow the gentle words to allow your mind to unwind and invite a restful sleep to follow. Thank you for taking the time for self care today. Best wishes Lisa

Surf to Sand

Welcome to my new Travel Sleep Story, Chicago Lights. Join me on this journey from Sydney to Chicago to practice Yoga & mindfulness with wonderful friends, embracing laughter, joy and connection. Listen to the storylines from around the globe and drift into a restful deep sleep.

Chicago Lights

This guided Travel Sleep story will take you on a journey through India, time to listen, reflect and allow your body to rest deeply. Listen to the storylines from around the globe with Lisa Pollard.

5 Weeks in India

Welcome to this new Travel Sleep Story for Deep Rest & Renewal. Join Lisa Pollard traveling To the Top in the Arab Emirates, adventure, culture and family time. Listen to the storylines from around the globes and drift into a deep sleep.

To the Top

Join Lisa Pollard hearing stories from around the globe to support deep sleep and rest. New York to Toronto is a journey from the heartbeat of city life in New York to the nature and ease in Toronto Canada.

New York to Toronto

Fabulous in Fiji follows the adventures with fabulous around the globe visiting various places starting with Fiji. Listen to the storylines and fall into a restful deep peaceful sleep to support and clam the nervous system

Fabulous in Fiji

Welcome to my new travel story, LA to Mexico, listen to the storylines from around the globe and rest deeply preparing for sleep. A journey of travel and adventure to calm and soothe the nervous system. Listen, breathe, rest & renew with Lisa Pollard from Return to Center, Yoga & Mindfulness guided practices to reduce stress.

Los Angeles To Mexico

Join Lisa Pollard on this new Travel Sleep Story, Bali to Lombok, an exploration of Yoga, friendship and joy. Listen to the storylines from around the globe to support deep sleep and renewal.

Bali to Lombok

Join Lisa Pollard on a new Travel Story, Cycling around the base of Uluru, exploring central heart of Australia. Listen to the storylines to support deep rest , sleep and ease.

Cycling Around Uluru

Welcome to this new Travel Sleep Story, Yoga in Santorini. Join Lisa Pollard as she travels to Santorini via Athens & Paros to do an 8 day residential yoga & mindfulness retreat. Storylines from around the globe to invite deep sleep and ease.

Yoga in Santorini

The Mermaid Pool is a new Travel Story with Lisa Pollard. Join Lisa as she walks down through the Australian bush to find the hidden mermaid pool, enjoying being nourished and held by nature to sooth and calm the nervous system for deep rest.

The Mermaid Pool

Join Lisa Pollard travelling on the Mekong with Annie, a travel sleep story to share the adventures of life and learn to listen with curiosity and attention. A sleep story which can calm and soothe the autonomic nervous system.

On the Meekong with Annie

Welcome to this new Travel Sleep Story for Deep Rest & Renewal. Join Lisa and Libby travelling to Siem Reap, Cambodia. A time for exploring, listening and learning from this beautiful community full of beauty and history. Listen to the storylines from around the globe to calm the body, heart & mind.