Welcome to Day 5 — 

Part of what we’re up to in these first 10 days of arriving in our practice is making note of what we find, as we begin to get into the habit of checking in with ourselves daily.

This week’s 5-minute mediation practices are designed to help you embody the skill of simply noticing. Of pausing long enough to notice and check in with yourself, from the broadest and most tangible levels to the subtlest and most specific, all as a daily matter of course.

Notice this sequence of inquiry in the meditation practice today :

• physical check in — where you are in the room, a general sense of your body, and then a more refined inquiry into physical sensations and noticing specific body parts;

• breath as part of the ritual of settling into yourself — a natural tool and anchor for awareness and one that’s always on hand; refining the attention around just the inhale part of the breath or just the exhale part of the breath;

• the mental ritual inquiry of checking in with the mind: the quality, quantity, cadence of your thoughts;

• understanding your emotional landscape and inner state that includes the feeling state and moods and even deeper, sometimes unnamable, yet still knowable parts of our inner life.

You can use this sense of settling in — this ritual of arrival — whenever you need a moment to ground yourself. Like during any natural transition moment in your day (beginning your work day, moving from one major task to another, completing a project, shifting from work to family time, beginning a meeting or simply a conversation).

A way to welcome in and include whatever it is that you find in any given moment of your daily life.

And also to use what we find as a way to begin to claim and make space for and give voice to what we need. (I’m remembering to practice this myself right now too).

So here’s a chance to do just that — check in, notice, and ask for what you need in this moment of 40 Early Mornings :)

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Need help getting started, from a gentle nudge to a firm line in the sand? Email me to request an accountability buddy if you haven’t already. I’ll match you with a group.

Want to make sure you get the most out of your 40 days here (and beyond!)? Sign up for your one-on-one session. And if you’ve already done that, take a few minutes to fill out the pre-session form.

I got you, you got this. And if you’ve got 5 more minutes, practice along with Day 5’s meditation below. Then spend an extra 5 minutes in your journal writing down another day of “Meditation Mind Dump.”

Grateful for this community — you are helping me remember how to make space and claim space for myself more than you might imagine ;)
Cath

Leave a comment Below: How does it feel to ask for what you Actually need?

Are you in the practice of doing that already? Or where could you use some extra support? Any advice you can offer about what works for you?