Happy Monday. Monday's are my favorite day of the week for a lot of different reasons but the biggest reason is having a fresh start. A new week and day to begin again. I was asked the question what I wanted my purpose or mission to be and the first thing that comes to my mind is to elevate awareness around the world. I believe 90% of problems could be easily solved if we all had a deep level of self-awareness. Since I talk about it non-stop I thought I would give you a simple, 20 minute session to IMMEDIATELY shift yourself into a state of awareness. I want to preface this by saying everything I share are things I have done in my own life and continue to do. I hope to inspire you to try something, but as always take what resonates and leave what doesn't. Now go grab a pen and paper, and find yourself alone in a quiet space.
1) Find a quiet space with no phone, electronics, just you and your breath.
2) Find a piece of paper and pen/pencil and sit down with a long straight spine.
3) Close your eyes and take 3 deep breathes in through your nose and out through your mouth. Make it dramatic if you feel you are holding in a lot of stagnant energy.
4) Before you open your eyes bring your palms together in prayer and say a quick prayer for guidance. Mine typically goes something like “please guide me throughout this exercise without judgement and bring in clarity for what I need to hear.
5) Open your eyes, grab your pen and paper
6) At the top write down, Grateful: and put 3 things you are grateful for right now(ex: your health, family, bf, yoga, this moment, guidance, etc)
7) Below that I want you to write down the question: what is no longer working for me/What is making me unhappy?
- For 3-5 minutes, I want you to WITHOUT judgement right down every single thing that comes to mind, allow your hand to just flow. You will notice yourself just writing things maybe you didn’t even realize were making you unhappy. It can be career, relationships, health personal, there is no limit to what you can write down.
- Once you are done close your eyes and take 3 more breathes. With each inhale acknowledge what you wrote down, each exhale let it go. What do I mean by letting it go? I mean no longer attach to the thoughts. Pretend each thought is a wave coming in and going.
- Again without judgement write everything that comes to mind(3-5 minutes to do this or however long you feel your hand just keeps moving. The energy is flowing through you at this point).
- Once you are done close your eyes and take 3 more breathes. With each inhale acknowledge what you wrote down, each exhale let it go. What do I mean by letting it go? I mean no longer attach to the thoughts. Pretend each thought is a wave coming in and going.
9) Now, write down what you REALLY want in life? BE SPECIFIC. What is your dream life? Is it the same job but a better boss? A better relationship? Living in Hawaii? Get very specific. No judgement on what comes to mind and allow your heart/mind to wander. Get CREATIVE and pretend there is no limit to what you can achieve.
- Take 5-10 minutes here and just let loose. No judgement, if your mind starts to say “well that’s not possible, or so and so is doing that acknowledge the thoughts and let it go”.(I also sometimes will say to the thought “nice try” because I am NOT letting that into my energy field).
- Once you feel you are finished I want you to put the pen down. Close your eyes, bring your palms face open towards the sky(you are opening yourself up to receive). I want you to take 10 deep breathes in through your noise and out through your mouth. After your last one sit with your eyes close for as long as possible, feel free to even envision yourself living the life that you desire.
10) The last thing I want you to do is to be VERY honest with yourself and write down any actionable steps you can take to get to where you want to go. Maybe it’s adding in 2 long walks a week, starting a 5 minute meditation, or carving out an hour a week to just be alone with no phone. Use your imagination. If nothing comes, that is okay no judgement.
Now, you have already taken the first and biggest step. You are AWARE of what is no longer working in your life. You have acknowledged what needs to change. Now it’s time to take accountability of YOUR life, because only YOU can. This is the fun part, because your way is going to be different, unique and fun for you!