Do you ever start your day with a positive 'go-get-em' attitude, only to lose steam and forget what your purpose is?
During the next 7 weeks I'll be posting a note of encouragement with a printable PDF with that week's affirmations, links to that week's guided meditations, and a link to gentle breathwork videos.
Why should we struggle through the day when we don't have to? Let's lift one another up to face each day's inevitable challenges with a little extra push. How do we do that? By beginning the day with a short moment of time 'just for ourselves'. What does that look like? It can be anything, really:
Taking a walk, doing a 5-7 minute mini-workout, taking 5 minutes to focus on the sensations of breath, reading a devotional (or something else short and positive), meditation in silence or with guidance ...
Anything that puts focus on YOU, to charge your internal battery for the day/week.
When we take time for ourselves to begin the day, even if only for a few minutes, we are setting our day in a positive light. It's inevitable - we will have challenges and difficult moments that crop up during our daily activities. With a fresh, positive start to the day, these challenging moments will have less of a hold over us.
Here is today's encouragement:
Using Breath As Your Anchor
Today is about using breath as our anchor in all times ... pleasant and unpleasant ... Our breath can keep us grounded in each moment if we learn how to pay attention to it. Taking a breath and focusing on its sensations during moments of struggle give us a brief time to slow down our thoughts and take a step back. This is important so that we can respond to situations instead of react in the 'heat of the moment'.
You may notice that practicing quiet inner stillness sometimes brings up physical as well as mental or emotional discomforts. When we finally slow down, and sit quietly with ourselves, sensations, thoughts, and emotions that have been running in the background may get louder and more noticeable. Try to become a distant observer of these things, and not get too attached to them.
When you find yourself creating a story in your mind, or you are getting attached to a thought, emotion, or sensation ... that's actually good! You are becoming more aware of your attachments. The more you become aware of these things, you'll notice that they have less and less of a hold over you over time. When this happens - Take a deep breath, and maybe breathe a little louder for a few moments to anchor your awareness back onto your breath (or focus on that spot of your nostrils that the air passes by on its way in and out while breathing). This is your home base - our breath reminds us that we are here ... right now ... in this moment only, not in the past and not in the future ... right here ... right now.
Here is this week's Printable PDF ... print as many as you need and place one in your car, on your desk, on your fridge - wherever you may need a reminder.
This week's guided meditation links:
A short video to get you started on taking a complete, full breath