Sankalpa: Good Mornings, Good Nights
For one week try incorporating Gratitude Practice and Tension Release Practice into your days in these two ways:
Beginning and Ending Your Day:
First thing, before your feet hit the floor, sit upright at the edge of your bed and do a few minutes of Contentment or Gratitude Practice. Remember, gratitude isn’t just a mental exercise, it’s a feeling in your heart. It won’t be easy, but it’s a very powerful way to start your day. Your mind might feel fuzzy, but try to direct it towards a feeling of gratitude first thing. If gratitude is too much, try planting the seed of “contentment”, or simply take a moment to feel that ‘everything is ok right now’— setting a powerful trajectory for your day.
And then at the end of your day, before you roll back into bed, sit upright at the edge of your bed and do tension release practice. Pay attention to each aspect of the breath, the inhale, the pause, and the exhale: each of them has a purpose in the practice. Take your time and feel the inhale bringing you something very pure, hold the breath in the heart and feel that subtle expansion as the tension is drawn out of the crevisces and temporarily draws towards the heart, and then exhale completely flushing it out down the arms and out through the hands. Try to do it until you actually feel a little lighter.
Beginning and Ending Your Meditation:
You can also try beginning each meditation practice for the week with a minute or two of gratitude, and ending each meditation with a minute or two of tension release. Notice the effects it has on your practice, and your overall state of being after your practice.
As these experiences grow more familiar in you, you might find even more opportunities in your day to do these practices. Please share if you do!