Patience

We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. -Helen Keller
 

Does it feel like winter is dragging on forever?  You should start to see some of the bulbs you planted last fall begin to finally bloom. They give us hope that spring is imminent. It is so hard to be patient when we are longing for the warmth of spring. This presents a good test for us to slow down and appreciate the slow blossoming of this time of year.

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1. Sit up tall in your chair with lower belly muscles firm. Place your hands against your lower ribcage and notice the rise and fall of your breath. Stay here for 5 complete breaths.

2.  Let one hand rest in your lap as the other hand *very slowly* begins reaching for the ceiling, your eyes focused on your fingertips, carefully following the movement. When your hand is as high as you can comfortably reach, relax your shoulder and neck, continuing to look up at your hand for 3 breaths. Rotate your wrist and squeeze your fingers, making a fist, then release your fingers once again. Reverse the movement by slowly watching your hand return to your lap- challenge yourself to move as slowly as possible! Patience, remember? Repeat all instructions with your other hand this time.

3. Let's use that same focused movement with our legs now. Hands can rest on your lap again. Push away from your desk so that you can see your feet. Begin to straighten one knee as you *very slowly* lift one foot off the floor, eyes fixed on your toes. Pay attention to the feel of each muscle working to make the movement possible. When leg is straight, flex the toes toward your body as you push through your heel. Take 3 slow breaths as you keep watching your foot. Then point your toes away from you, taking 3 full breaths. Circle the ankle in each direction 3 times. Then you can very slowly lower the foot back to the floor, eyes watching. Once it's lowered, gently shake the whole leg a bit to relax the tight muscles. Repeat all directions with opposite leg this time.

4. Sit back comfortably in your chair, let your shoulders relax down, release your jaw so your teeth are not clenched. Close your eyes and just breathe. See if you can count to 100 before getting distracted.

5. Did you skip #4 completely? Did the slow pace of #2 and #3 drive you crazy? Impatient, maybe? Let that message be your theme of the day. :)