Week 30 | Smile on the Inside | Practice the Taoist "Inner Smile" Technique

Ok, Ok, so the apology letters from last week aren't in the mail box yet, but they will be by tomorrow morning. $5 (half) donation to the Preeclampsia Foundation for half completing my weekly intention.

This week, I'd like to introduce you to the "Inner Smile," a Taoist practice of mindfulness and inner healing. Read more about it and how to do it here:

http://taoism.about.com/od/meditation/ht/inner_smile.htm

After what my organs went through with HELLP Syndrome, I am very curious to discover the impact of this practice. I still feel like my liver, heart and uterus need so much healing energy, as well as the whole of me and all of my parts. ;)

This week's post is short and sweet.. we've had more visitors and our summer energy is very much outward, so sitting at the computer is happening less and less often!! Thanks for being out there!

Week 30 

Mantra | Smile on the Inside

Action | Practice the Taoist "Inner Smile" Technique

Week 29 | Mantra: Accept Fault | Action: Write an Apology Letter

Last week was definitely "breath week." When I went to my acupuncturist she even picked up on that before I told her about my weekly goal. I happen to have a lot of "heat" in me. (Part of it is seriously from being a redhead, mom!) She taught me to let my breath out in a "ha" sound in order to get the heat out of me. I've been doing a lot of that kind of exhale this week, which has been funny to anyone around me. (Btw, Jamie, she also recommended Rescue Remedy, and suggested that I empty the dropper before every use, and set an intention before taking it.) I've also found myself doing more breath work than normal with my clients. Maybe all this breath work will stick and I'll start breathing better on a daily basis. I'm going to keep my alarms on my phone set for 4x/day.

In unrelated news, Brian and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this weekend. He got us the coolest present! It's a Sonos, which is a genius music system. It's so perfect for us, two people who LOVE music, but who love totally opposite music. I've always let things default to his musical control because we do agree on lots of things like our shared love of bluegrass. But I miss my chick rock and old hippie stuff that drives him nuts. Now we can just click a button on our laptop or his Iphone and switch the music. We've had music playing non-stop ever since he got it hooked up. This thing is awesome! I feel so much happier and more connected in this temporary space.

On to this week's theme... Children have a way of teaching you how to be a better person. That happens all the time with Gavin. Like tonight. We had a big struggle after his bath when we expected him to brush his teeth. It's a non-negotiable for us, so we pushed hard to get the job done. Being that he is in the age of autonomy, he was really mad at our forcefulness about the situation. A few minutes later, he and I were sitting on the floor in his room drawing a "good night picture" on his easel, and out of nowhere, he stopped drawing, looked at me and said, "Mommy, I sorry I fighted you." It was his first true apology. He's two and a half. What a wonderful human being.

And what an inspiration.

As an aside, here's a really creative way to apologize for something that you can't do directly. Thanks to Bri for finding this neat site.

Week 29
Mantra | Accept Fault
Action | Write an Apology Letter (Really mean it.)

Week 28 | Connect to Your Breath | Stop & Breathe 4x/day

The house is quiet. It's never quiet like this. I had the luxury of going to the gym this afternoon and Brian and Gavin both took late naps and are still asleep! The "shoulds" are running through my mind like a scrolling sign, but I really don't want to clean or fold laundry or work on business stuff. You'd think I'd be well-rested after my action plan for last week, but I had a really hard time actually going to sleep that early. I tossed and turned every night this week. :( Which makes me think I need to take my own advice, the advice I give all of my clients, and do some daily breathing exercises to relax.

...
And then Gavin woke up. Where was I? Oh yah. Breathing exercises.

Here's a simple one that I like a lot. Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly. Close your eyes and just breathe for a minute. Notice which hand is moving more. If the hand on your chest is moving more, you are chest-breathing, which is not a full breath. It suggests anxiety and/or stress. If the hand on your belly is moving more, you are taking full belly breaths, meaning that you are more relaxed. This is a nice check-in, or you can do it for longer than a minute and meditate.

I attended a mindfulness training last fall where I learned that you can actually change your brain through meditation. A study at UCLA (I think) showed that the minimum threshold for changing your brain, also known as neuroplasticity, is a series of 4 minutes of meditation 4 times a day. I was very motivated after this workshop and I ended up setting the alarms on my cell phone to go off 4x/day so that I would actually practice four 4 minute meditation sessions. Then life threw us a huge curve ball in December and I had to turn off the alarms. I haven't gotten back to it... until now. There. Alarms set.

Week 28
Mantra | Connect to Your Breath
Action | Stop & Breathe 4x/day for 4 minutes

Week 27 | Mantra: Sleep Heals | Action: Set a bedtime this week and stick to it

OK. Here's one that I overlook all the time. It's something that I always mean to do, and something that is imperative to my well-being, yet something I hadn't yet considered for the blog. Well, now is certainly the right time, given that I've barely slept since Friday and I can't think of another topic anyway. It's SLEEP. I'm going to set a bedtime for myself this week. A work-put-away, laptop-off, phone-off, lights-off bedtime. 11:11, my magic time. (This one will be tough tomorrow night when my last client ends at 10:30?!! But I am making a commitment.)

Tonight, I will be in bed by 10:10. This will be a record for earliness. (Is that a word?)

Sleep, sweet sleep.

Week 27
Mantra: Sleep Heals
Action: Set a Bedtime this Week and Stick to It