Gratitude

No, it's not about the turkey.

What are you grateful for today? This moment? Even if you feel like nothing is going right and the world is caving in on you, there is always the time to be thankful for this breath. And the next one.

Start with noticing your breath, then shift your focus your amazing body. Not how it looks or how it may not always function the way you would prefer. Be grateful for this body, every single bit of it, that allows you to move through the world. This imperfect body that allows you to experience the world through all five senses.

That's it.

What more do we need?





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. :) 

Courage

Some of us face this month of mandatory joy with fear and dread instead.
Facing the in-laws, blowing the gift budget, getting the flu: all real hazards of the holiday season.

For others, the sense of loneliness casts a dark shadow over what all the commercials tell us is "the most wonderful time of the year." If you know someone who is recently divorced or widowed, or lives far away from friends and family, reach out to them this month. Even meeting for a quick cup of coffee can make a big difference in someone's life.

If you are the person facing a lonely celebration, find the courage to connect with your community in some small way. Your local food pantry or homeless shelter will embrace your willingness to make the season bright.


 Please review FAQs. Also, if you are reading this via email, you may not be able to see the audio player. Just click through to view this on the blog page so you can use the audio.






  1. Let's begin with the 3-part breath. Breathing through your nose, inhale and notice that your belly lifts, your ribs expand, and your chest rises. As you exhale, your chest drops, your ribs contract, and your belly softens and lowers. As you continue to breathe, keep your awareness on this three-part movement. Close your eyes and continue for 5 full breath cycles.

2. Sit up tall in your chair and extend your arms straight out to the sides so that they are parallel to the floor. Flex at your wrists so fingers are pointing up and palms face away from your body. Keep your arms straight as you push through your wrist, as you rotate your shoulders making small 5 circles in each direction with your hands and arms. Maintain the 3-part breath throughout. Still with arms extended, now flex your wrist down so that fingers point to floor. Repeat mini-circles, 5 in each  direction. Then let hands rest in your lap.

3. Lift your right foot about 4-6" off the floor. Rotate the ankle a few times in each direction, then place the heel on the floor with your toes flexed up. Take a breath here and allow the calf and Achilles to open. Next breath, point the toe onto the floor as you lift the heel. Now slowly alternate with each breath: inhale and point, exhale and flex. Complete 5 rounds then let the right foot rest and repeat on the left side.

4. Check to see if you are still sitting up tall in your chair. If your seat back is higher than your shoulders, you'll need to move to the edge of the seat. Extend your arms straight out to the side once again as in #2. This time palms face up toward ceiling. Take an inhale then bend your elbows, slowly exhaling and bringing fingers to touch your shoulders. As you inhale, twist the entire torso toward the right, still with hands on shoulders and elbows pointing out. Your lower body stays still in the chair. The exhale brings you back to center, then inhale as you twist to the left. Complete 3 full cycles of this torso twist to the right and left.

5. Supported high lunge: If you are not already sitting on the front edge of your seat, slide there now. Turn your body and both knees to the left side with the chair seat supporting the left butt cheek and thigh. The right thigh hangs off the front edge, perpendicular to the floor while the right knee points toward the floor. Slide the right foot back so that the right leg begins to straighten while the right toes are balancing the foot, heel is lifted. Keep your upper body sitting tall, resting your left hand on the chair arm support and your right hand on your left thigh. Guide the right leg to straighten even more by breathing into the back of the right knee as you push through the right heel. Stay here for at least 5 full breaths then slide the knees over to the right and repeat with the left leg extended behind you this time.

6. Sit back in your chair and relax. Return to the 3-part breath that we started in #1. Close your eyes and complete 10 full rounds of the 3-part breath.

Service

Whether you embrace the excitement of the season or have to be dragged kicking and screaming through the door of the store that is blaring Christmas carols already, there is no avoiding the fact that the holiday game is on. The rules of the game start with materialism and end with consumerism.

But your family is the exception, right? You will focus only on the spiritual aspects of the next eight weeks. I suppose that might be possible if you don't leave your house. Or use your phone or internet.

For the rest of us, the reality is that we are trapped under the spell of the buy/wrap/give/receive cycle.

Here is a way to ignore the first half of that cycle: give of yourself and your time to help a worthy cause, and receive in turn the rewarding feeling of helping others.

Try this link to get started: http://www.volunteermatch.org/




1. Sit up tall away from the back of your chair, use the lower belly muscles to keep your spine supported.

2 Inhale as your roll your shoulders up then exhale as they roll back, completing 5 rolls total.

3. Bring both hands to the back of your head, elbows pointing out to the sides. Gently press your head back into your fingertips . As you breathe deeply, draw the shoulder blades together behind you, opening through your chest. Stay here for at least 6 breaths.

4. Move hands under right thigh, lifting it off the chair seat. Rotate the ankle and wiggle your toes. Repeat with left leg.

5. Bring both hands to left armrest, twisting your upper body to the left as your bottom stays in the seat. Breathe 3 full breaths. Repeat on right side.

6. Bring hands under right thigh again, this time lifting the knee high. You can even move your hands to grasp a few inches below the front of your knee, hugging the thigh into your body for a deep hip stretch.  Take three breaths once your knee is at its highest. Repeat with left leg.

7. Open your legs as wide as you can while still staying seated. Inhale your arms reaching for the ceiling, then as you exhale, sweep the arms forward and down, fold at the hips to rest your torso onto or close to your thighs. Hands can rest on legs or hang down to the floor. Gently nod your head "yes" a few times and then shake it "no" to loosen your neck muscles. Let your head hang without tension. Stay here for 5 full breaths. Use your hands on your thighs to slowly rise to sitting.

8. Rest against the back of the seat, elbows relaxed down, fingertips on lower belly. Inhale for a slow count of 4, then exhale for that same slow count of 4. Continue this counting to four on the inhale and exhale for 5 full breath cycles. Return to your day with a renewed sense of power!

Eleven

 

How will you honor the veterans among your friends and family to commemorate "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"? None of us are untouched by the service of our military, both past and present.

If you are an avid social media user, you might want to show your support this Veteran's Day in a decidedly modern way.



Or if you are looking for a more traditional observance, click here to find a public ceremony near you.

Even a simple, face-to-face "thanks" will do.




1. Begin with palms of your hands pressed together in front of your chest, thumbs touching at your "heart center." Bring into your mind the image of a loved one. Close your eyes and take 5 deep calming breaths.

2. Inhale as you open your arms wide at shoulder height, palms facing front.  Notice the opening in your chest as you reach for left and right walls. Exhale as you close your palms together once again at heart center. Repeat 2 more times.

3. Bring left fingertips to grasp your chair under the left edge of your seat. Inhale as you lift the right arm straight up to ceiling, lifting up and out of rib cage even as your bottom stays planted in chair. Exhale with a side stretch to the left, inside of elbow stays over the ear. Keep your right sitting bone in the chair. Inhale the right up back up toward the ceiling, then exhale it down to grasp the right edge of your chair's seat. Repeat using left arm this time.

4. Repeat #3 two more times on each side.

5. Let your hands rest on your thighs as we work on leg lifts next. Sit up tall and tighten your lower belly. On an inhale, lift both lower legs off the floor, straightening the knees, toes pointed toward the wall behind your desk. An exhale lowers the legs back to the floor. Next inhale, do the same leg lift, but this time with toes flexed, pointing up at the underside of your desk. Always exhale as you release the legs back to the floor. Is your lower belly still firm? Are you holding your breath?

6. Repeat both parts of #5 three times: one lift with toes pointed, then the next with feet flexed- counts as one round. Check your posture: sit up tall!

7. Bring fingers to grasp under each side edge of your seat. As you inhale, lift up through your chest, drawing shoulders back, arching your spine toward your computer monitor. On the exhale, relax back into your chair. Repeat 2 more times.

8. Still holding edges of seat, take inhale, then exhale and fold forward bringing chest toward your thighs. Inhale back up to sitting.

9. Inhale both arms up toward the ceiling, then exhale ending with palms together at heart center. Once again bring to mind someone special in your life. Close your eyes and breathe, slowly counting to 20 before resuming your work of the day. 

Fall-back

What will you do with that extra hour we "gained" this past weekend? Did you actually sleep an hour longer? If so, good for you! 

For most of us, re-setting the clocks after Daylight Savings Time ends presents an uncomfortable transition for our bodies to adjust to the time change. If you do find yourself awake earlier the next few days, why not take those minutes to close your eyes and silently notice your breath?

Sit up so you don't fall back to sleep. Place your hands on your belly and/or chest just to find where your body moves as you breathe in. Silently think the word "breathe" in a slow, drawn out way each time you inhale or exhale. Spend just a few minutes practicing this mindful breathing.

Then you will be ready to begin your day with calm focus. Or maybe you will just "fall-back" into bed, relaxed and sleepy! Make sure you re-set your alarm clock so you're not late for work.



Instructions for all sessions: FAQs Also, if you are reading this via email, you may not be able to see the audio player. Just click through to view this on the blog page so you can use the audio.






1. Begin by warming up your shoulders: roll them up to your ears as you inhale and roll them back and down as you exhale. Repeat 3-4 times.

2. Stretch your arms wide on an inhale then as you exhale, swing the arms around so the hands land on the opposite shoulders, giving yourself a big hug. Repeat the wide stretch and as you hug the second time, the other arm can be on top.

3. Lift one knee off the chair seat, you can hold the back of the thigh for support. Flexing the foot on the raised leg, slowly spin the lower leg in both directions 3 times each. Place the thigh back on the seat and repeat on the other side.

4. Inhale both arms straight up for the ceiling, then on your exhale, fold at the hips so your belly comes to rest on your thighs. Let your head hang, releasing all the neck muscles. You may even rest your head on your knees if you can reach. Let your arms flop to the floor on either side of your legs. Rest here for 5 complete breath cycles.

5. Bring your hands to your knees and on an inhale, slowly push yourself back to sitting.

6. Cross your legs by bringing your right ankle to rest just above your left knee, keeping the right foot flexed at the ankle. ("man sit") If this stretch feels toe intense, rest your right ankle across your left shin, or even in front of your left ankle. Whatever leg cross works for you, think of pointing the right knee toward the ground, feeling the opening in your inner thigh and hip.

7. Still with your ankle resting across your knee/shin/opposite ankle,  rest your hands on your thighs for support, then begin a forward fold by slowly leaning your chest toward your knees, folding at the hip with your back staying flat. Lean forward enough to feel a gentle stretch, but not so far that you feel pain.

8. Return to sitting upright. Repeat #6 and #7 with the left ankle crossed above the right knee (or shin, or ankle).

9. Inhale your arms up to the ceiling, then exhale bringing your hands together in front of your heart, palms pressed together, thumbs on sternum. Close your eyes and take 5 slow, deep breaths before returning to your day.