In the Breathe to Perform and Breathe for Business workshops, a big part of our work is the concept of neuroception.
We do work around how we perceive our environment, subconscious assessment and triggers and how this impacts trust, attention and even the ability to share and contribute.
For most people (~75% of Australians), their phone never leaves their side. This means that this device carries a huge subconscious trigger: work, email, the never ending, unclose-able conversation on social media (in which you might get a mention.)
This makes the phone a terrible tool to use as a timer in meditations, or as an alarm clock in the bedroom.
Yes it can be put on “airplane mode” – of course this is a help. But in most cases today if you hand a 3 year old a phone that no longer works they’ll even know what it is, what it does, and try to push buttons on it or hold it to their ear.
The link between form and meaning is too great to ignore.
When we look at restorative practices such as meditation or sleep, we are trying to down-regulate mobilising hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. A big part of this is optimising our neuroception. If we sense disturbance or threat, it is far more difficult to sleep or rest.
A much better option is to pop those things into a bowl in the lounge room and grab an alarm clock.
