The Aligned Actor

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 WorkshopsI’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 PresenceCome 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! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to more fun on The Aligned Actor PodTubeStack!I’m Amy Schloerb. I’m a professional actress and a mindfulness and mindset coach helping actors ride the roller coaster — all the ups and downs, twists and turns — of being an actor without throwing up.Once again we’re exploring a letter I wrote a few years ago to Young Actor Amy who had just arrive in LA. This is A Letter to Young Actor Amy: Part 3 about how All Acting Work is Real.Let’s see what I wrote back then and see how this advice holds up today.All acting work is real. Enjoy it.Don’t treat any acting job like a stepping stone or practice session for a “real job.” THEY ARE ALL REAL JOBS. Different budget levels maybe, but your job is always the same. Know your lines, know what you want in each scene, and do your work. Rinse and repeat. Any idea that “Oh, this is good practice for when I’m REALLY working” is nonsense. You’re REALLY WORKING now! Stop missing out on the fun you’re having right now by continually telling yourself that this job doesn’t count. It counts! Enjoy it! Celebrate them all!Yes! AND I want to expand this idea even more so that it includes ALL ACTING we do! Paid and unpaid. On set and in class. Auditions and silly stuff we throw up on the internet because it’s fun. Everything.When we say “This isn’t real” or “This doesn’t count” or “This is just a stepping stone to the real work” in a way we’re disparaging the work we’re currently doing by comparing it to OTHER work that we deem as “better” because it’s “real” and what we’re really saying is, “This isn’t good enough compared to THAT!”“This scene in class isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” audition.”“This audition isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” job on set.”“This co-star role isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” role as a guest star.”“This guest star role isn’t good enough compared to having a “real” role as a series regular.”Where does it end?That “compare and despair” mindset can cause a lot of stress, self-criticism, and even shame because it’s a really slippery slope from “This isn’t good enough” to “I’m not good enough because THIS is all I have and I don’t have THAT.”Whereas the mindset that says, “All acting work as the same, it’s all real, it all counts” can set us free to enjoy our acting career in a whole new way. I’m guessing you got into acting because you love it — it’s fun, it’s creative, you get to express yourself, you love playing characters, you love making people laugh, you love making people cry, you love that “performance high” you get when you act — so why not give yourself permission to really love your acting work — ALL your acting work — right now.BONUS! — I’ve seen so many videos of famous actors saying that when they stopped thinking of auditions as “something they had to do to get an acting job” and starting seeing them as “THE ACTING JOB” — “I get to act today. This acting work counts just the same as being on set” — that’s when things transformed for them. Here’s one. Here’s another. And here’s one more to complete the rule of threes.This mindset can make our work better because we’re more committed and not half-assing anything or holding back because “Eh, it doesn’t really count.” When all acting counts, I’m motivated to show up in my acting work in a different, deeper way and my work just keeps getting better and better.It also takes some of the pressure off booking because when we believe all acting counts the same, and therefore we can enjoy acting at anytime, we suddenly have full control over our access our craft. There are no gatekeepers between us and our passion. Just like a painter can pick up their brushes and access the joy of painting anytime, we can pick up a scene or a monologue and access the joy of acting anytime.Sure, some people will say actors need an audience to witness their acting, but do we? Maybe that’s just another example of “This acting doesn’t count because I’m just doing it for me.” What if even acting “just for ourselves” counts?I have a monologue which I’ve adapted from a Martha Graham quote and sometimes I do it just for myself because it speaks to my soul, and what I want to do in the world, and it affects me the same way I hope it would affect an audience.That counts for me.You can go as deep or not deep with this as you want, but the point is: In my book, all acting counts.It’s all your body of work — your acting practice — like a mindfulness practice.In fact, a mindfulness practice can help you with this mindset shift, because mindfulness is all about staying focused on the present moment — in this case, the acting work you are currently doing — and gently returning your focus to that work whenever your mind wanders off into thinking, “Eh, this doesn’t count…Oh, no wait…I’m getting to act right now, I’m getting to do what I love. Let me get present to that and enjoy it.”Mindfulness and mindset shifts like this are my jam. This is the kind of coaching work I love to do with 1:1 clients and in my workshops. Mindfulness can help you become more present in your work, more aware of where your mindset might be holding you back, better able to gently shift those thought patterns so that you can approach your craft and your career with more confidence, have more fun, and really enjoy being an actor despite how crazy-making this profession can be at times.The Aligned Actor is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Let’s chat! ☕️If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session. Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳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?Get my 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.And speaking of calming your nerves…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 WorkshopsI’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your PresenceCome 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. Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Hello friends!It’s time to practice mindfulness, again. I want to demystify mindfulness and make engaging in a regular practice as easy as possible for you.As a reminder, my definition of mindfulness is incredibly simple:Mindfulness is a special way of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment. You tune into your breath and just 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. Just kindly and gently guide your focus back to your breath. No need to curse yourself out or berate your wandering mind. Just gently guide your focus to the present moment. Simple. Gentle. Rinse and repeat as many times as needed in the session.One of my favorite things about mindfulness is that it lays a beautiful foundation for any personal development or mindset work we want to do.At its core, mindfulness is awareness, and awareness equals choices.The more we practice becoming aware of our thoughts and emotions during mindfulness meditation, the easier it becomes to notice them throughout our day and adjust our focus as needed.We can choose to keep replaying “that audition” and questioning the performance we were so proud of only hours before, or we can choose to kindly and gently guide our focus back to our initial positive thoughts and feelings about our work. We can even choose to affirm for ourselves, “I did my work. My work is done. I’m moving on with my day.” The mindful awareness of our unhelpful, self-critical thoughts about the audition is the first step to deciding to make new choices that serve us and our mindset much better. If we don’t notice, “Hey, I’m torturing myself over this audition. Do I want to keep doing this?” we stay stuck in the icky angst of self-tape self-doubt.Let’s go ahead and practice together now. If you are driving or doing something that requires your full attention in order to be safe, please come back to this at a later time.This is the mindfulness practice…As we’re all enjoying the afterglow of that little mindfulness session, remember:There are so many great benefits of mindfulness. I gave the example earlier about becoming more aware of thoughts and emotions throughout your day and how that can give you the choice to adjust as you see fit. Practicing mindfulness, observing the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment while you breathe, 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 that 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.Speaking of Mindfulness! Get my 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.Let’s chat! ☕️If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session. Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳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?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 WorkshopsI’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your PresenceCome 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. Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s your moment of mindfulness — right up top — so you can find it easily!Hello and welcome back to the Aligned Actor PodTubeStack.That's what I'm now calling this because I think it's fun, I like combining words, and nobody can stop me.Just as a reminder, I'm Amy Schloerb. I'm a mindfulness and mindset coach helping actors ride the rollercoaster of being an actor without throwing up — instead, gracefully moving with all those twists and turns and ups and downs and all of that stuff — so that we can have more satisfying, more fulfilling, calmer, more stable lives in general.This is part two of A Letter to Young Actor Amy: Find Your Actor Friends.Let’s dive in and see what I wrote to myself back in the day…Having some actor pals is really, really helpful when you’re starting out. These people are gonna “get you” - they’re gonna be cool if you make plans and then have to cancel because an audition comes up. They are gonna be people you can share information and resources with (headshot photographers, classes, agents, workshops). They also will understand stuff about your career that your family and non-actor friends just never will. So, for example, let’s say that you keep getting called into audition for the same casting director a dozen times, but you keep not booking. Your family might think, “what’s wrong with you? Why can’t you convert?” BUT your actor friends are gonna know that you’re really good, this casting director obviously is a HUGE fan of your work, and for whatever reason, the right role just hasn’t come up for you yet. So, your actor pals are gonna be able to help you stay smart and optimistic about your career and your craft, where as your family might have you spiraling down, and questioning yourself — “Maybe I really suck, maybe they’re just bringing me in to make the other actors look better, maybe I need to change my look or my skills or whatever…” — when the truth is, you just need to take a breath, acknowledge that, yeah, it’s frustrating to not book, but ultimately celebrate the fact that you’ve made a pretty big fan in the industry (in this casting director) and you’re certainly on a successful journey as a professional actor (just a little callback there).Where do you find actor friends? I found mine in an improv community and acting classes. If you’re coming out of a college or conservatory program, maybe see if there are alumni living in your market. When I was first starting out, Facebook wasn’t public yet, but now there are all kinds of groups there and you can follow casting directors and class studios and see what looks good to you. But seriously, get in a class, which is actually my next piece of advice…But you will have to wait for that advice because first we have to talk about this advice…This is absolutely all still true. Good actor friends are the best. There is nothing like a group of good actor friends who understand you, who know what it's like, who can commiserate with you when things are not going so well and who can celebrate with you when things are going really, really well.Actor friends are amazing and you need actor friends in your life.You can still find these folks in classes, workshops, search the hashtag #SelfTapeMay to follow them on social media, you can find them in film festivals, improv shows, and sketch shows. They're out there. They're waiting for you. You need them and they need you, so find your people.For humans in general, having social support is a huge help in terms of handling stress, which all humans deal with, and actors are humans too — newsflash!Actors also deal with a unique form of stress that only other actors really understand:Rejection…performance anxiety…last minute memorizing and audition prep when you're already exhausted from your day job and other stuff you have going on in life…battling traffic to get to that callback…pressure from your family like, "Well, when are you going to be on my TV next? When are you going to make it?"The list is just endless, right? #IYKYKThere's a lot of stress when it comes to being an actor.Your actor friends are gonna help you with that stress, and having really strong social support from peers and colleagues who get you and understand the realities of being an actor is really, really important.You want actor friends who understand the nuance of being pinned, or on hold, or on avail, but then being released, which BOTH absolutely sucks AND is such a great sign that you are doing absolutely the right thing, and you're a fantastic actor. But it still really sucks and it hurts like hell, and NOBODY really gets that particular, nuanced, “both/and” situation better than your actor friends.You want actor friends who are excited to read with you for self-tapes, maybe even last minute or really late at night because that's the only time you have to get that done. You want to like working with them, feel safe working with them, and feel like you can play when you work with them, so you can put your best performance out there.And most importantly, you want actor friends in your life who see you as a working actor and who can continually affirm that identity for you — not because you're always on TV or in films — but because you are engaged in any number of various actor actions that are the real work of being an actor.You're in classes…you're doing workshops…you're auditioning…you're submitting yourself for things…you're in the union or you're working on getting in the union…you have headshots and you keep them updated…you're on casting sites…you're creating your own content and putting it out there for the world to see your work…you're doing Self-Tape May…and so on and so forth…All the stuff that we do as actors that we as insiders of this occupation, profession, and career recognize as engaging in an acting career.Because it is so easy to let your mindset slip into outsider thinking:"Oh, well, real actors are those people that we see on TV and in movies and at award shows, and people who can pay all their bills from just their acting jobs, and everyone else is just sort of aspiring actors or wannabe actors trying to do the actor thing."That's a mindset that you can choose to have. That's a belief system that you can subscribe to, but I do not recommend it at all.So many of our loved ones, or even just random people that you meet, hold that outsider view and they will unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) say things that will chip away at your actor identity and make you feel really bad about yourself and bad about your career, if you let them.One of the best things that really good actor friends can do for each other is to continually support and affirm each other in our occupational identity, because the outsiders never will and they have no idea how to anyway.They have on their outsider glasses and those glasses are really contagious and they can really mess with an actor mindset.My dream, my absolute, ideal world dream (aside from we fix climate change, there's world peace, and everybody's happy) my dream for actors is that every single actor ditches those outsider glasses forever and puts on insider glasses, so that we all see that what makes us actors — working actors, professional actors, whatever term lights you up the most — is the job aspects, not the results aspects.It's auditions, not bookings.It's classes, not red carpets.It's passion and engagement, not "Well, what have I seen you in lately?"It's journey, not destination. (Just another little callback there to our previous letter to young actor Amy)If we can all adopt this mindset, this insider perspective, then all actors will become so secure in their actor identity that there's literally nothing that an outsider could say that would rattle us. It would be like water off a duck's back — "Oh, they don't get it. I don't care, moving on."That's my dream.In the meantime, I think we can do this one by one, and let it ripple out in the pond.Find your actor friends who will help you maintain this insider mindset. Share this content with your actor friends who you see very easily sort of falling into that outsider thinking.Those friends are going to help you with that, and you can all support each other in maintaining that insider — "I'm an actor!" — thinking.And if you want help strengthening your insider mindset — that self-concept that says, "I'm a full-time working actor, always." Full stop. End of sentence. — I want to help you.Let’s chat! ☕️If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session. Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳This is a chance for us to chat and 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?Get my 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 let go of any nerves or thoughts of “what do they want?” and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, and that’s going to help you 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 incl

Hello friends!I’m adding a new element to The Aligned Actor PodTubeStack. We’re going to practice mindfulness together because mindfulness is a hugely important foundation of my work — I am a mindfulness and mindset coach after all — and one of my missions is to demystify mindfulness and make engaging in a regular practice as accessible and easy as possible for people.Mindfulness is incredibly simple — it’s a special way of paying attention to the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment. Typically, you focus on your breath and then just notice whatever you notice both within you and around you — the physical sensations of breathing, the thoughts in your mind, the emotions you feel within you, the noise of that plane going overhead, etc. As you’re witnessing what’s present within you and around you, one of those things might take center stage within your mind — “Look at me! Look at me! Lalalalalalalala! Jazz hands!” — Suddenly you’re watching a solo show rehashing something from your past, forecasting into your future, or imagining what it would be like to win an Oscar. The point is, you’re no longer observing your present moment.But that’s no big deal. It happens to all of us. Just kindly and gently guide your focus back to your breath.“Oh, yes, I should definitely remember to thank all those folks in my acceptance speech, but right now I’m going to lovingly guide my focus back to my breath and my present moment experience.”No need to curse yourself out or berate your wandering mind. Just let the orchestra play you off as you return your focus to the present moment. Simple. Gentle. Rinse and repeat as many times as needed in the session.Let’s go ahead and practice together now. If you are driving or doing something that requires your full attention in order to be safe, please come back to this at a later time.This is the mindfulness practice…As we’re all enjoying the afterglow of that little mindfulness session, remember:There are so many great benefits of mindfulness for both humans in general and actors specifically. Practicing mindfulness, tuning into your breath and observing the present moment with curiosity instead of judgment, can help you…* Relax and relieve stress from your mind and body.* Calm your nerves before a big scene.* Stay more present in your work, 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.And so much more. A regular mindfulness practice, even just 10 minutes a day, will make all of these benefits more and more accessible to you. You will find it easier and easier to do all of these things.It just takes practice, which is why we do this.Speaking of Mindfulness! Get my 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.Let’s chat! ☕️If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session. Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳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?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 WorkshopsI’m hosting online mindfulness workshops in October and November exclusively for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your PresenceCome 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. Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Hello and welcome back to the Aligned Actor Substack, podcast, YouTube video, wherever you have found this content, I welcome you.I'm Amy Schloerb. I am a mindfulness and mindset coach and I help actors ride the roller coaster of being an actor without throwing up.September is my "actorversary" — the anniversary of when I became a professional actor by moving to Los Angeles and starting my acting career — and so I always like to reflect at this time and look back at how far I've come.A number of years ago, I wrote myself a letter, to my younger self, the version of me that had just moved out to Los Angeles, offering advice.This year I decided that I wanted to go look at that letter, see what advice I had offered myself back then, see if I still like that advice, if there's things that I would change about that advice, or if there's stuff that I would add now as extra advice to pile on top of newly-arrived-baby-actor-in-LA Amy.I had a lot of advice, apparently, for my younger self just starting out, and so this is just part one of a series of Substack-podcast-YouTube-videos that we're going to do because I didn't want any of these to get out of control long.This is part one, "Success is a journey, not a destination" which I still really like this advice. This is great advice.So let's read now what younger actor Amy had to say to even younger actor Amy and then older actor Amy — more mature, more wise, finely-aged actor Amy, "now" actor Amy — will chime in with extra additional thoughts as well.Dear Amy,“Success is a journey, not a destination”I know, I know, you’ve seen this on magnets and sometimes you even think you understand and believe it. But there’s still something nagging at the back of your mind saying, “yeah, but once I achieve THAT, then I’ll really be successful.” Sorry, no.If you believe success is a destination you’ll just end up hustling, striving, and holding yourself apart from happiness and a sense of accomplishment. You have success now. High School Amy Schloerb believed that success was graduating and getting into a good college. College Amy Schloerb believed success was, again, graduating and starting a good career. Now that you’ve arrived in LA, you’re thinking success means booking bigger and better acting jobs consistently and continuously until you’re the next Reese Witherspoon. Not gonna lie, I still sometimes think that, but then I remember the truth: Setting goals is great, but continuously moving the goal post on what it means to BE SUCCESSFUL is soul crushing. If you keep thinking, “yeah I did that, good for me, but now REAL success is up there” guess what? “Real success” will always be “up there.” Wherever the F either of those things are….Instead, put the goal post of success inside you. What?! What the heck does that mean?! It means enjoy the process and the journey because, spoiler alert, that’s all there is: Journey. And then more journey, some more journey, a quick detour journey to a foreign country (oops! I’ve said too much!), followed by, you guessed it, more journey! It’s quite a trip! Bahahahahaha! Oh, stop rolling your eyes, you know that was funny!There’s gonna be ups and downs, highs and lows, abundance and “slow times” - and the sooner you recognize that that’s just what this career IS, the happier you’re gonna be overall. You’re “in the arena” (look up the Roosevelt quote, it’s good) and that means you’re already successful.I still really love this advice because it basically means we get to define success. I've talked about this before on Substack pretty recently and on YouTube.It's a really important thing to think about, about how we define success.The way that Google, and some kind of dictionary online where I looked this up before for a different content offering, the way that they define success is...Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.I want us all to find a definition of success that allows us to feel good about ourselves. That's what I really think is important when it comes to our mindset about ourselves and how we're going to approach ourselves and the world.If you define success as engaging in the journey of being an actor, then ta-da! Success! Anything that you do that's you engaging in the life of an actor — auditions, taking headshots, submitting yourself for roles, meeting with your agent, getting a new agent if you need one, going on commercial auditions, networking — literally anything that you do that furthers your acting career all of a sudden becomes an act of success because you're just doing it, you're just being an actor and doing the things that actors do. On the flip side though, if you choose destination-based success, then things get a lot trickier. For the longest time I've had the goal of playing a recurring character on a fun tv show and that hasn't happened yet. I would really like to achieve that success.But if I choose to define success overall for myself as "recurring role" then everything else that I've achieved in my career starts to kind of look like a failure, and I start to feel like I'm failing.“I haven't achieved that, so therefore I'm not successful. I'm a failure.”Why would I do that to myself?Why would I view it like that?It's a lot smarter to define success based on what I can control."Yes, I did that self tape. I played that character the way that I wanted to play them. I hit all the beats that I wanted to hit. I connected with my reader really well. I felt really present and in the moment, I really went after what I wanted in that scene."Defining success that way, deciding that THAT'S the measure of success based on what I did, rather than success being based on what others do, the stuff that I can't control — how casting sees the video, what casting thinks of the video, which videos they choose to pass on to production, how production sees the video, what they actually need out of this role, the heights of the other actors and how I line up in terms of all of that.I can't control that stuff.I can't control what auditions come my way. I can't control what types of roles are casting. Maybe they're just not casting anything that works for me at the moment, and that's just how it is.I have no control over that.I can't control how casting responds to my work. I can't control how production responds to my work.What I can control is how I show up in my work and all the actions that I take as an actor.I can control how I show up in my self tapes.I can control how I engage in my career as an actor.This next little bit that I'm going to read to you, I found with the letter, and I think it was when I did a version of this on the podcast years and years and years ago, so I'm talking about the letter that I had written, but it's still really good stuff, so I wanted to share it with you now, but I wanted to clarify that this is also probably younger Amy as well.So, the take-away here is that YOU get to decide what success means and I would encourage you to define success as the entirety of the journey of your career, rather than some destination - co-star, guest star, series regular, three-picture deal, paying all your bills from acting work, Oscar, Emmy, EGOT, whatever. Holding THE JOURNEY as your marker of success is so liberating and rewarding. Please, don’t hold yourself apart from happiness, fulfillment, and achievement. You can have it now.The idea here is just engaging in your career, all of it — the highs, the lows, the twists, the turns, "staying at the table" as I once heard Henry Winkler say — that's the success."Success is a journey, not a destination" means success is what you do.The journey — you walking your path, you taking all of the actions that you take as an actor — not where you end up.And this is definitely a mindset shift because, oh boy, do we have a lot of messaging that we receive from society that says basically the exact opposite.But I think this is a really important mindset shift and it really can help with your overall happiness, and your overall drive, and your overall motivation, and your overall inspiration for wanting to continue on in your career and keeping that fire, that ember, that passion alive in you.And if you want help making this kind of mindset shift, redefining success for yourself so that you can feel great about yourself and great about your acting career, I can definitely help you with that.But first, here’s your moment of mindfulness…Let’s chat! ☕️If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session. Rest assured, this is not a “sales call.” I’m not Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. In my world ABC means “Always Be Celebrating!” 🥳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?Get my 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

My mind tends to wander when I meditate and I bet yours does too.And really that's not a problem because it's just part of your present moment experience.Welcome to my Substack! I'm Amy Schloerb. I am a mindfulness and mindset coach.And, like I said, my mind likes to wander when I meditate.Sometimes it goes off into the future.Sometimes it goes wandering and rummaging around in my past.Sometimes it tries to offer solutions to problems I'm currently facing in my life.Look, a mind is going to do what a mind is going to do.But the good news is that when I practice mindfulness meditation...I am not my wandering mind.I am the observer of my wandering mind.It's kind of like a parent watching a toddler on the playground.Pretend for a minute that you're a parent and you're sitting on the bench in a shady area and you're watching your toddler on the playground.They're wandering over to the slide and then they wander over to the swings and then they wander over to the sandbox.You don't care where your toddler goes on the playground.You don't judge their choice of activity.You just observe them.And maybe occasionally you have to step in and redirect the toddler for whatever reason.They've taken another kid's toy or they've left the playground altogether to chase after a ball or they wandered in front of the big kids on the swings and they're about to get knocked over.But you just redirect them gently. It's no big deal.And it's the same with mindfulness meditation.I observe...my mind contemplating what I want to make for dinner.I observe...my mind thinking about a personal problem that I'm currently dealing with and offering solutions.I observe...my mind drawing a parallel between how my mind wanders and how toddlers wander around on playgrounds and then starts to write this Substack.I'm just observing my mind.I'm just watching my mind.I'm just letting my mind do what a mind is going to do.And as long as I stay aware that I'm watching my mind and all that it's doing in the present moment, I'm practicing mindfulness.I stay focused on my breath, much like the parent stays present on the bench. They don't wander away from the playground. They're not like, "Later, kid! I'm going to go to Starbucks and I'll be back." They stay present on the bench and they watch their child.And likewise, I stay present and I watch my mind.I'm ready to gently redirect my mind back to the experience of my breath each time it wanders like completely away from the present moment.Oh, I observe that I'm thinking about making spaghetti for dinner...and right now I'm going to gently return my focus to my breath.Ah, I'm thinking that I could call so-and-so to get help with that problem...and right now, I'm going to gently return my focus to my breath.Oh boy, I just had a great idea for a Substack! It's going to be about a parent and a playground and a wandering toddler and all of this stuff and how that relates to meditating...oh, no, no, no. Wait, wait, wait. Right now, I'm going to gently return my focus to my breath.Our wandering mind is not the problem.It's part of the present moment.And the best thing that you can do for yourself and your mindfulness practice is to really lean into this idea of noticing and gently refocusing.Like a parent watching their kid on the playground — Gentle, gentle, gentle.Be gentle with your mind. All the time, be gentle with your mind.Be gentle with yourself while you're practicing meditation.That's going to make your mindfulness practice so much more pleasant and enjoyable.And then that gentleness, that caretaking of your mind is going to start to ripple out into how you caretake yourself in your life in general.And now for your moment of mindfulness…Let’s chat! ☕️If you’re ready to transform your actor mindset, let’s connect in a complimentary session. This is not a “sales call.” Seriously, I couldn’t sell bread to a bread slicer.My only intention is that you leave the session feeling deeply seen, heard, and inspired with some new insights and ideas to consider and implement.After we've both let the experience of the session settle, maybe we'll end up entering into a more formal coaching arrangement, or maybe our time together will feel complete.It's a win-win either way. 🎉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 October and November for members of the SAG-AFTRA LA Conservatory!Mindfulness 101: Empower Your Craft and Your Career With Your PresenceCome 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. Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

How well do you know your breath?Have you ever REALLY studied it with wonder and awe?That’s what we’re going to do today.So settle in and prepare to observe your experience of breathing with mindful curiosity.Join me for weekly mindfulness!In addition to Monday Mindful Moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.Audio TranscriptionWelcome to your mindful moment.As always, please find a comfortable position for your body.And go ahead and bring your attention to the contact between your body and whatever surface is supporting you today.Whether it's a couch or a chair or a bed or the floor, really notice the contact between your body and that surface, and see if you can let your body relax even more into that surface.Let that surface fully support you and hold you today.And as you let your body relax, bring your attention to your breath and just notice what your experience of breathing is like right here in this present moment.Noticing each inhale as it comes.Noticing each exhale as it goes.You don't have to change anything about your breathing.You don't have to force it or manipulate it in any way.See if you can just observe your breath.Watch it with mindful curiosity.Just allow it to happen.Just notice what it feels like to breathe.Notice what sensations you experience as you breathe.Notice how your body moves with each inhale and each exhale.See if you can almost study your breath like a scientist, or like a curious child.Watch your breath with wonder.Maybe you can notice, “Oh, this is a long breath.”And maybe you can notice when your breath is a little shorter.Just noticing that each breath is different and unique.Each breath is beautiful in its own way.So just notice each breath.And now I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but please feel free to remain in mindful meditation, witnessing the experience of breathing for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

What are you putting up with in your life? 😒 The burned out light bulb in the kitchen. 🤪 All the clutter on the dining room table. 😩 The sink that never drains.How much better would you feel if those things were no longer present in your life?You will be amazed at the amount of renewed energy and relief you will get by getting “that thing” taken care of.Give it a try!Video TranscriptI just started my walk. There's something in my shoe.So I'm going to stop my walk and I'm going to get that thing out of my shoe.[30 seconds later]So much better!Now, I probably could have just powered through that.It wasn't that annoying and I could kind of like feel that it would move to places in my shoe where it like wasn't as annoying and it wasn't bothering me as much.But there were a couple of times where I would step and I'd be like, “Oooo! Ugh!” and that kept happening.And then I kept anticipating it and thinking it was going to happen again.And that was kind of a buzzkill for my nice walk here.So as slightly annoying as it was to have to sit down for a second, take off my shoe, find the tiny little pebble that was in my shoe and get rid of it it was totally worth it.Because, yeah, as humans we're pretty adaptable. We can put up with a lot. We can adjust how we live our lives to tolerate a lot of things. We did it for like three or four years in a global pandemic, right?We're still kind of doing it, which is a really good skill to have.AND it can get us into trouble when we're continuing to tolerate things that we could just very easily take care of.So my question to you is, What's your pebble in your shoe?What's the thing that you're tolerating that it would be slightly annoying to have to sit down on the curb and get it out of your shoe, but it would so be worth it to get it out of your shoe what's the thing in your shoe? Go take care of it. It's worth it. You're worth it. 💖I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

When we practice mindfulness meditation we choose to place our attention and focus on our breath. Other things may be present in the moment around us and within us (thoughts, sensations, sounds, etc), but we choose to keep our focus on our breath.We don’t have to fight with those “distractions.” We can just allow them, notice them, witness them.And then choose to bring our focus back to our breath.How might selective focus help you in other areas of your life?Join me for weekly mindfulness!In addition to these Mindful Moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.Audio TranscriptWelcome to your mindful moment.Go ahead and find a comfortable position for your body, and start to focus on the sensations that you experience as you breathe in and as you breathe out.And as you start to focus on your breath and whatever that experience is like for you today, go ahead and allow your body to relax further and further, more and more with each breath.And as you witness each inhale and each exhale, see if you can notice what it feels like in your body when you breathe.So notice how your body moves as you take an inhale.And notice how your body moves as you release an exhale.Just noticing your unique breath cycle and the impact that it has on your unique body.And as you notice the sensations that you experience as you breathe, also start to notice the overall general effect of breathing on your body.Because maybe you're starting to feel more relaxed.Maybe you're starting to feel just a little bit more calm in body and mind.And it's nice to notice what your breath is capable of doing for your body.And of course, as you witness your breath and focus on that experience, there may be other things present in your present moment.There may be sounds.There may be thoughts or moods happening in your mind.And you don't need to fight with any of those.You can just notice them, and gently choose to bring your focus back to your breath.Anything that you notice within you and around you is just part of your present moment experience.And it's good to notice what's happening in the present moment.That's mindfulness.And the practice of mindfulness that we're doing here today is just about noticing any distracting thoughts or sounds around you, and then choosing to just let those be there while you bring your attention and your focus back to your breath.Right now, you're choosing where to place your focus.You're practicing selective focus.And that practice is going to serve you in the rest of your life.You're going to be able to notice and witness and become aware of thoughts in your mind, distracting things around you maybe, and then choose whether you want to stay engaged with those things or if you want to lovingly and gently shift your focus to something that serves you better.That's the practice of mindfulness.Just noticing and witnessing and practicing your awareness and your focus.And now I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but as always, please feel free to remain in mindful meditation for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Today I wanted to share something I’ve really been enjoying in my life recently. A quiet, mindful walk. But I don’t want to just tell you about it, but really share it with you by guiding you through the experience of a mindful walk for yourself.And if you enjoy this mindful walk experience, you should really check out my weekly mindfulness group, Mindful Creators. I guide two mindfulness practices for the group, and then email out the recordings of those practices if you can’t make it live. It’s all free! Truly a great deal if you want to experience more mindfulness in your life.Audio TranscriptHello there and welcome.I just wanted to let you know right up top that this is a different kind of podcast-y audio experience.It's going to be half podcast-y type stuff, me talking about a recent experience and how it's benefiting me. And then I'm actually going to guide you in experiencing the same thing for yourself.And the thing is a mindful walk.So if you would like to take the full experience of what I'm offering today, I suggest listening to this while you're out on a walk or or getting ready for a walk, and then making sure that you're on a walk or something, we'll get into that a little bit later, that you can adjust this to fit your needs, you know, when we get to that actual part, I'm going to guide you in that experience.So, you know, you should be out doing that. But obviously, you know, make this work for you. But that's just my suggestion. If you want the full experience, go ahead and start preparing yourself for that now.So as I just said, so lately I've been enjoying quiet, mindful walks around my neighborhood.And I actually did a video about this recently where I talked about taking a dog walk.Walk around your neighborhood with or without your dog and experience your neighborhood, experience your walk like a dog does.Because the dog doesn't listen to any doggy podcasts or doggy playlists.The doggy just sniffs the world, and looks at the world, and barks at the world, and all of that kind of stuff, and just experiences the world and totally loves it.It's a very sensory experience for the dog. He's enjoying everything, my dog is at least.Why not do that for ourselves as humans?When I'm on these quiet walks, I'm not listening to music. I'm not listening to a podcast. I'm just listening to and experiencing my neighborhood.I listen to the birds and the bees and the dogs and construction that's going on in my neighborhood and cars going to and fro.And it's really nice.And it actually becomes a full sensory experience, much like a dog experiences.I also smell my neighborhood, not in the same way I'd say as my dog where I'm like actively sniffing everything, but I certainly notice and observe the general smells as I walk. If I see a particularly interesting flower or plant, I smell that.I also obviously look at stuff in my neighborhood, observing things and taking in things through my eyes.And I can feel the air. I can feel my clothes on my body. I can feel the sunlight when it's present. Sometimes I can feel the texture of a plant or a rock or something like that.And I usually have my coffee beverage with me, so I'm usually tasting something delicious as well as I walk.So it really does become a full sensory experience.It's a way to do a mindful walk, but it's not necessarily mindfulness of walking per se, because I'm not intentionally holding my awareness and attention on my feet and the experience and movement of walking, but I'm staying present to what's around me on my walk and present to the thoughts that come up as I walk.And just staying present to my present experience.And that, in and of itself, is mindfulness.And sometimes I get really great creative ideas while I'm walking, which is also nice.But mostly, it's just a peaceful, quiet experience. And the world honestly feels slower, certainly slower than it ever does online or on TV.I just see people walking their dogs.I see people going to work.I see people working.It feels like an easy, calm pace.The world feels slower.And I find that very, very calming.Especially when so much of our world and our experience of the world right now feels so chaotic.So because I've been enjoying this way of walking and being mindfully in the world so much and finding it so calming, I decided to share a guided experience of that with you.That's what we're going to be doing for the rest of this podcast-y audio experience.I'm going to start guiding you on a quiet, mindful walk and then when the audio ends, you can keep practicing on your own.If you want to experience this mindful walk in all of its glory, this is the time to lace up your walking shoes and head out the door.And honestly when I say “walk” you can make that work for you.So you could also just go sit outside, you could sit inside and do this. You can use a wheelchair to do this. You could be on a bike or a scooter. You can take a run. Good for you.You could probably even be driving. Because I'm just going to be guiding you to be fully present to your experience, but use your best judgment on that one, so take care of you, but basically at the end of the day, make this work for you feel free to adjust it to suit your needs. Even if my words reference examples of things that are not part of your present moment experience, you're smart. You can make this fit your needs.If you need a moment to get ready just go ahead and pause this recording and start it back up again when you're ready.Okay, so I'm assuming now that you're ready.And to start off your mindful experience, I just want you to find your breath and just tune into that sensation.So just see what your breath is doing right now in this present moment.What does it feel like to breathe in?What does it feel like to breathe out?Just experience breathing right now.And as you continue to experience your breath, I now invite you to tune in to the experience of your body.And even though you may be moving, I want you to make your body as relaxed and as comfortable as possible.So just go ahead and set the intention of relaxation and let that settle into your body in whatever way it does for you.And now as you're walking comfortably and experiencing your breath in this present moment, start to notice the world around you.Go ahead and take in whatever you see, observing it with curiosity, and maybe even observing it with wonder.Go ahead and let your world delight you.And now as you're taking in the world around you, what do you hear?How many different sounds can you notice as you continue to walk and breathe in this present moment?And now go ahead and take a whiff of the air and see what smells you notice in your world.And if a plant or flower has caught your eye, you could go ahead and smell that.Just go ahead and experience whatever the world has to offer you in the way of smells in this present moment.And now can you feel the air around you?What does that feel like? Or even can you feel the clothes on your body as you move and breathe in this moment?Maybe there's even an interesting plant or other textured surface that you want to experience.Just walking and breathing in this present moment, mindfully experiencing the world around you with all your senses.Look and listen. Smell and feel and taste, as works best for you.Again, just mindfully experiencing yourself and the world around you as you move through it.I'm going to sign off for now, but I encourage you to continue your quiet, mindful walk on your own and just see what you experience as the present moment continues to unfold around you today.Enjoy!I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

The only way to get better at anything is to practice.Practice.Practice.Practice.That’s what we do in these mindful moments.We practice.We practice focusing.We practice noticing.And practicing here makes it easier and easier for us to focus and notice in the rest of our lives.And speaking of practicing…In addition to these Mindful Moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.Audio TranscriptionWelcome to this mindful moment.Go ahead and find a comfortable position for your body.Allow your body to relax into whatever surface is supporting you today.As you allow your body to relax, start to bring your attention and your focus to the experience of your breath.Just noticing your inhales and your exhales.Just seeing what it feels like to breathe, right here in this present moment.And as you focus on your breath, noticing that experience, being really curious about that experience, of course, other things may come up in your present moment.There may be thoughts that try to steal your attention.There may be sounds around you that want your focus.And you can just acknowledge those, witness them as part of your present moment, and then mindfully choose to bring your attention and your focus back to the experience of your breath.As we practice mindful meditation, we're in control and we get to choose where our attention goes.And the more we practice mindful meditation and choosing to keep our attention and our focus on our breath, and let everything else, all the other distractions be there, but choosing not to engage with them in the same way we might ordinarily, the easier and easier it becomes to be selective about our focus and be mindful about different distractions and things that come up in the rest of our life. Mindfulness is a wonderful calming practice of self-care and it also gives us a chance to practice our focus and practice noticing the things around us.The thoughts in our mind.Noticing whatever we want to witness.But noticing it with curiosity, and not just reacting to it in impulse.But noticing it mindfully, witnessing it, acknowledging it.And then, right now, in meditation, choosing to let it be there while we bring our attention back to our breath.This is just a practice.It's something that we do over and over and over again.And as we continue to practice, it becomes easier and easier to notice things but not engage with them in the same way we used to.To instead engage with them mindfully, and know when it is that we want to take our attention off of them and put our attention and focus elsewhere.So just staying with our breath, noticing whatever we notice in our mind, our body, or around us, and then choosing to gently bring our attention back to our breath.I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close today, but please feel free to remain in mindful meditation for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Mindful meditation is a beautiful cycle.Focus on your breath.Notice whatever you notice (without attaching to it).If you notice that your mind has wandered away from your breath and is focused on something else, gently guide your focus back to your breath.The full cycle is mindfulness, not just the part where you’re focused on your breath.You’re not “getting it right” when you’re focused on your breath and “getting it wrong” when your mind wanders.You’re getting it right the whole time.Yes. The WHOLE TIME.Join me for weekly mindfulness!If you want even more mindfulness, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.Audio TranscriptWelcome to your mindful moment.Go ahead and settle your body.Find a comfortable position for yourself today.And as you start to allow your body to relax into the surface that's supporting you, go ahead and find your breath.Just starting to notice what it feels like to breathe in and breathe out in this moment, focusing on the experience of breathing.Just noticing your inhales and your exhales.Whatever your breath is doing right here right now, focus on that.And then, of course, there are other things probably present in this moment with you.Maybe there are thoughts or sounds around you.And as those come up, you can just notice them, acknowledge them, and then gently choose to bring your attention and your focus back to your breath.Back to the experience of breathing.Just noticing what it feels like to breathe today, and witnessing your unique experience of this present moment, acknowledging and noticing whatever comes up in your mind, sensations in the body, things you become aware of around you.You can notice all of that.That's all part of your present moment.And then you can gently and lovingly guide yourself back to your breath.Noticing once again the inhales and the exhales, practicing this cycle over and over and over again.Focusing on your breath, noticing what comes up, gently guiding yourself back to your breath, focusing on that cycle with curiosity and non-judgment.That cycle is mindfulness. You are practicing mindfulness right now and you're doing a wonderful job just stay with your breath, focusing on that experience, and guiding yourself lovingly and gently back to that experience anytime your mind wanders off.That's mindfulness.And now I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but please feel free to remain in mindful meditation for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

It’s so easy to get caught up in our thoughts and miss the present moment. The process of thinking is of course part of our present moment experience, but today, we’re going to open ourselves up to our whole experience.And if you’re enjoying these weekly mindful moments, you should really check out my weekly mindfulness group, Mindful Creators. I guide two mindfulness practices for the group, and then email out the recordings of those practices if you can’t make it live. And it’s all free! Truly a great deal if you want to experience more mindfulness in your life.Audio TranscriptionWelcome to your mindful moment.Go ahead and settle your body somewhere comfortable.Start to tune into your breath and just notice what it's doing right now in this moment.Feeling the delicious inhales as they come.Feeling the relieving exhales as those happen.Just mindfully noticing the experience of the breath, however it exists in this present moment.And now bringing mindful awareness to your body and the experience of your body in this moment.And if you notice any areas of tension or dis-ease, go ahead and lovingly send your breath to those areas with the intention of allowing those areas to further release and relax.And as you continue to breathe and experience your breath and experience your continually relaxing body, see what's present in your mind today.Is your mind very active, full of thoughts? That's okay, and for now, you can choose to gently release those thoughts.Let go of your awareness and focus intently on those thoughts. Let go of that.And choose to bring your awareness and your focus fully to your breath and your experience of the present moment.And truthfully, any activity in your mind is just part of your present moment experience.But I think we tend to hold so much focus and awareness on our thoughts that we lose out on the rest of our present moment experience.And so for now, let's just practice letting that mind stuff be with us, be a part of our experience, but not our whole experience.Your breath is part of your present moment experience.Your body is part of your present moment experience.So just lovingly observe your present moment experience.I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but feel free to remain in mindful meditation, focusing on your breath, enjoying your experience, observing your experience for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Gratitude is a great practice to cultivate in life. The more we pause to appreciate the good things in life, the more good things we tend to find.Let’s practice gratitude today in our mindful moment.Join me for weekly mindfulness!In addition to these mindful moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.Audio TranscriptWelcome to your mindful moment.For today's meditation, we're going to practice gratitude.Practicing gratitude is a great way to focus your mind on the good things in life.And the more we practice looking for and finding and acknowledging all the good things that we have and that we love in our life, the more good things, the more things to love, we tend to find in general.So this is a chance for you to connect to your breath.Find presence right here in this moment and connect to your life with gratitude.So go ahead and get comfortable.Start to focus on your breath, noticing how it feels to have air moving in and out of your body, noticing what it feels like to breathe today.And to start our gratitude practice, can you feel grateful for your breath?Can you find appreciation and enjoyment right here in this moment as you experience your body breathing?And now as you continue to focus on your breath, go ahead and let your mind show you all the beautiful moments in your day-to-day life.What's enjoyable in your day?What do you love in your life?If it helps, you can even think the phrase, “I love…” and then fill in the blank with all the things, all the creatures, all the people that you love, all the moments from lattes to laughing with friends.What do you love?What do you feel grateful for today?Just let your mind play with that idea play and express gratitude in your mind in whatever way works for you best today. Big things, small things, love up on all of itAnd now I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but please feel free to remain in mindful meditation, practicing gratitude, expressing love and appreciation for anything and everything that you want for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

This one goes out to all my actor pals. 🎭But even if you’re not an actor, this video still applies to you. 🤗I read a Martha Graham quote that at its heart speaks to the unique self expression that we were each born into this world to fulfill.And if you’re curious what the heck “Self Tape May” is, it is a free challenge created by Audrey Moore, host of the podcast Audrey Helps Actors. Each May, actors attempt to complete 16 mock self tape auditions as a way to practice their audition skills.Video TranscriptOkay, so I'm not doing Self Tape May.But I admire every actor that is doing Self Tape May. You are all awesome, and you are crushing it, and I'm so proud of you. And also, I just admire and love actors in general because what we do is not easy.The acting part isn't easy. There's a lot of skill that goes into that. And then the dealing with the roller coaster of being an actor is really hard.And so if you've chosen this crazy-making profession, you are brave and you are awesome and you are amazing. And what I would like to offer you is a Martha Graham quote.This is my offering for Self Tape May and I love you. I love you actors.There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action.And because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions.It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly.To keep the channel open.You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you.Keep the channel open.No artist is pleased.There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction.A blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.Happy Self Tape May!I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

When you distill mindfulness down to its most basic elements, it’s just breathing and noticing. Noticing the breath, noticing the mind, noticing the body, noticing whatever is happening around you.Noticing your present moment experience.That’s what we’re doing in our mindful moment today. Enjoy!Join me for weekly mindfulness!In addition to these mindful moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.Audio TranscriptWelcome to your mindful moment.This is a chance for you to practice connecting to your breath, finding stillness in your body, bringing awareness to whatever is happening within you and around you.Just practicing general mindful meditation.So I invite you now to just find a comfortable position for your body.Start to tune into the sensation of your breath.Notice what it feels like to take air into your body and then to release air out of your body.Just notice what breathing feels like for you right now in this present moment.You may notice that your breath deepens as you focus on it.You may notice that each breath is unique.Some breaths are more shallow.Some breaths are longer and deeper.Each breath is like a snowflake.And so you can bring your mindful curiosity to this act of breathing as you observe what it feels like to be in your body breathing.And then as you focus on your breathing and notice each breath, there are other things present in this moment.You may hear sounds.You may notice activity in the mind.There may be thoughts that are trying to get your attention.And all of that is fine.All of that is just part of your present moment experience.And so to practice mindfulness, you can just notice those things.You can notice the thoughts without pushing them away, without attaching to them and following them where they want to go.You can just notice, “Ah, thinking. Lots of thinking is happening.Or, “Hmm, sounds. Sounds are happening around me. I acknowledge those things as part of my present moment experience, and I choose to bring my attention and my focus back to the experience of breathing.”So in mindful meditation, we're just observing our present moment experience and choosing as our anchor to keep our focus on our breath.So maybe we can think to ourselves, “As I breathe in, I notice activity in my mind.”“As I breathe, I notice the sounds of cars going by.”Just noticing and breathing.Breathing and noticing.So now I'm going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but as always, feel free to continue your mindful meditation, breathing and noticing for as long as you like.Have a great day.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

As you know, mindfulness is my jam. (I especially love it on toast! Ba dum bum. 🤣)Anyway, this video presents a fun twist on a mindful walk. I’ve been walking like this a lot lately and I’m finding it very calming and relaxing.If you’re looking for more calming ideas to help you manage the stressful world we live in, check out Accessing Calm. It’s my collection 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. 😭 ➡️ ☺️Click the button below to find out more and use the promo code “calm” to get the full collection for just $11. Video TranscriptOkay, I have an idea for you.Take a dog walk.And I don't mean put your dog on a leash and take it out for a walk while you listen to a podcast.I mean you be the dog.Now, maybe don't peer poop on anything, but interact with the world through your senses.So dogs primarily are scent-driven. And humans, less so.But still, smell things.Look at things.Listen to things.But without these, get rid of these. [pointing to headphones]Just interact with the world with wonder and curiosity.Like a dog.They don't need podcasts. There are no doggy podcasts, that I know of.And my dog is the happiest little clam when he knows we're going out on a walk. And it's not because he needs to pee or poop, really.It's because he likes to be in the world and observe it and enjoy it.Take yourself on a dog walk.Just try it!I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

As I say at the top of this recording, this meditation is intended for your evening practice. It’s a bit of a follow up to last week’s session where I guided you to set an intention for your day.In this practice we are letting go of the day and setting an intention for a restful night sleep.Enjoy!TranscriptWelcome to your Monday Mindful Moment.Today's meditation is intended as an offering for your evening.It's a chance for you to connect with your breath, find presence right here in this moment, release the day that has just passed, and set an intention for a restful night's sleep.So go ahead and find a comfortable position for your body. Perhaps you're already in bed settling in for sleep, or perhaps you're using this meditation just as a start to your evening wind down routine.But either way, go ahead and bring your attention to your breath, focusing on the sensations that you feel as your breath travels in and out of your body, the feeling of air coming in and out, the feeling of your body moving as it breathes.And now as you continue to focus on your breath, intend for your mind to gently release its attachment to everything that happened today.Let all of the experiences of the day just fade away, focusing all your attention on your breath, just as you're experiencing it in this present moment.And as you release and let go of your day, allow your breath to relax your body more and more and more.Allow your body and your mind to become more and more present to the quiet and stillness of your evening, becoming more and more prepared for a restful and easeful and restorative night's sleep.Your breath has an amazing power to calm both your body and your mind, and so let your breath work its magic as you prepare for your evening of sleep.I'm now going to bring this mindful moment to a close.But of course, feel free to remain in mindful meditation, connecting with your breath and the calm and stillness it can provide for as long as you like.Have a wonderful, restful, and restorative evening.Join me for weekly mindfulness!In addition to Monday Mindful Moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s MMM was a request from a participant in my weekly mindfulness group. I am always open to suggestions for meditation themes or topics you wish me to explore in another way on Substack. Just let me know!Enjoy!TranscriptWelcome to your Monday Mindful Moment.This is a chance for you to practice connecting to your breath, practice finding presence right here in this present moment, and it’s also a chance for you to set an intention for the day ahead.So go ahead and find a comfortable position for your body.Allow yourself to sink fully into the support of whatever surface is beneath you today, and begin to bring your focus to your breath.Noticing the inhales, noticing the exhales.Mindfully observing all the sensations associated with being in your body breathing.And now as you continue to focus on your breath, begin to allow an intention for your day to emerge in your mind. How do you want today to unfold for you?As you breathe in this present moment, what do you want to experience today?How do you want to experience your life today?Just connect with your breath, and allow an intention for the day to form and crystalize in your mind.Focus your mind on this intention, and continue to breathe, noticing the sensations of your breath.Go ahead and breathe your intention into existence, let it expand with in you, and let it flow forth with you as part of your day.And now I’m going to bring this mindful moment to a close, but feel free to remain mindful meditation, musing on your intention for the day for as long as you like.Have a great day.Join me for weekly mindfulness!In addition to Monday Mindful Moments, I also host a mindfulness group called Mindful Creators every Wednesday on Zoom. The practices are recorded and emailed out the same day, so even if you can’t make it live, you can still enjoy some guided mindfulness.I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together! Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe