Hello my friend,
I hope you are settling into the new season and looking forward to what's ahead. I wanted to use this monthly newsletter as a quick check-in.
How are you? I'm not looking for the candid response of: "fine" or "busy". I'm looking for a pause. For you to actually honor the question and take a moment to check in with yourself.
To complete a body scan - are you furrowing your brow? Clenching your jaw? Holding your breath? Are your shoulders up by your ears? Are you feeling contracted in your throat? Are you experiencing pain anywhere? What about your stomach - does it hurt? Is it upset? Are you sucking it in? What about your feet? Can you feel your feet?
Take a moment to sit back. Seriously... sit back. Relax your face and jaw. Drop your shoulders. Breathe in through your nose and let out an audible exhale through your mouth - release the contraction in your throat. Breathe into any tension you're experiencing. Let go of your stomach, just let it hang - it's okay to release the contraction. Bring awareness to the soles of your feet - feel your energy there. Now bring your awareness to the palms of your hands - feel the beating of your heart there. Now take three deep breaths - in through the nose and out through the mouth. 1. 2. 3. Shake it out, shimmy the shoulders, shift the hips and release any muscles you are actively contracting. Now take three more breaths, a bit deeper this time. Breathe deeply into the belly - in through the nose and out through the mouth. 1. 2. 3.
Now, how are you? Are you holding feelings of happiness? What about sadness? How about anger? Do you feel tired? What about nauseated?
How can you honor how you truly feel in this moment? Do you need to scream? Cry? Go take a hot shower or bath? What about a nap?
We are conditioned to believe that business is the way life should be. We are conditioned to live our lives completely detached from our body. Our body is so wise. All we have to do is tune in and listen, with this awareness we can discover SO much about what we need.
It's a new month. We're transitioning into days where the light will be less and the cold will be more frequent, how can you implement a daily practice of checking in with yourself to ensure that you are getting what you need to optimize your health and wellness? |
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