Amidst all the fun, whether out in the city or home with the cats and Netflix, are you taking time to just breathe? To just be?

It sounds so simple. Breathing and being still but in reality, how often are you taking time to slow down and feel your breath for a few moments? A few minutes? We are breathing all the time but how often are you stopping to notice your breath?

Meditation is one way to just be and breath. But maybe meditating isn’t your jam. How about these:

• A morning sit next to the window, feeling your breath.
• Sitting on a bench in nature to listen to the birds and feel your breath.
• A minute sit when you get into car, feeling the heat or the coolness of the day.
• A designated time in your day…let’s say 3pm…to be still wherever you are, and feel your breath for 5 minutes.
• A family moment: Who can sit the longest, quietly counting their breath?

How will you make time to simply just be and just breathe this summer? Or how about right now?

About a month ago, we both made the conscious decision to do less, to make less plans and not have the calendar filled with activities. It wasn’t easy. We were breaking habits of ‘doing’, which is so easy to do. By slowing down, we began to feel more space in our lives and our souls. It allowed new ideas and creativity to emerge. Perhaps most importantly, it allowed space to just breathe, to just be.

It doesn’t take much to get started but it does require you to make the intention and have a plan to make it a reality. It could be an alarm on your phone, a scheduled time on your calendar, a commitment to share the “just be” moment with a friend or partner.

We hope you find a fun way to just be and breathe this summer.

When we are experiencing a difficult emotion or perhaps many emotions that are not very fun to deal with, it is easy to feel lost in the emotion. To feel the weight of the emotion and unsure how we will surpass this feeling. 

Remember you are not alone. We all experience difficult emotions at one time or another. After this past week, many of us are feeling the weight of decisions out of our control. While we cannot undue what has occurred, we can begin to take steps to help us move forward.

Take a Nature Pause

Nature is calming, soothing and grounding. Take a moment or many moments to simply pause and notice what is outside. Look at a tree, a blade of grass, the dirt on the ground. Focus your mind on the nature you see. Do this by noticing specific elements of it: the color, shape, texture, how the light hits it.

Release + Share

Release what you are feeling by sharing aloud with a friend, or writing it down. The process of letting some of the emotion flow out of us is not only beneficial to the mind but also the body. In a way, we are no longer holding on to all of that emotion within ourselves.

Practice Gratitude

Even during the darkest times we can find something to be grateful for. Is it the air we are breathing or a small act of kindness by another? Something within ourselves? Something in nature today you are grateful for. It might feel more difficult to be positive and grateful but it is can also be more helpful to you. Write down three gratitudes.

Take Action

This week a court decision was made that impacted women across the U.S. Take time to be with those emotions. After some time, give thought to what steps you can take to make change. A million small steps by a million people adds up to 1 million. As my Spanish teacher reminds me, "poco a poco", little by little.

Difficult emotions - those emotions we would rather not be having. We may be wishing that whatever it is that occurred that affected us in this way simply did not happen.

Know you are not alone. We all experience difficult emotions at times. And after this week, there is much solidarity in knowing we are not alone in how we feel.

Steps for Dealing with Difficult Emotions

These steps and tips are not meant to be a remedy but hopefully a helpful step forward for creating space around our emotions. To shift from the feeling of an emotion overtaking our entire body to being a part of the body.

#1 Be With

Often when we experience discomfort we want to immediately escape the discomfort. When we experience emotions that are simply not fun, or challenging or difficult - whatever it is for you - it is important to remind ourselves that it is okay to be with that emotion for a bit. 

#2 Recognize + Name

Especially if we are experiencing many emotions at once, it might not be easy to recognize or name which emotions we are experiencing. Begin by noticing what you are feeling. Can you name the emotions? This can be a helpful step in understanding and working through our emotions. If more emotions come up, pause and come back to this at a later time.

#3 Remember - It's Temporary

Our emotions are like waves that come and go. We may experience happiness and sadness in one day. Remember that what you are experiencing is temporary.

#4 Change What You Can

We cannot control every aspect of life, the situations that occur around us nor the emotions within us. Wisdom lies in recognizing the things we can change and the things we cannot change.

Generosity is one of those things we may naturally do without thinking about it. Holding the door open for someone, helping a neighbor, baking a neighbor a fun treat. Other times we are more intentional in giving, like for a birthday or wedding.

But what if you were to make the intention to practice generosity this week? Would you discover more ways to be generous in your life and what would that feel like?

What affects our generosity? Our mindset. Whether one has a mindset of abundance or that of scarcity affects their practice of generosity. Do you feel you have enough and therefore can share with others? Or do are you worried you don't have enough, that you need to set aside for future threats?

There is a lot going on in the world. Is it more than before? Or are we seeing more of it because of all the technology at our fingertips? It is both. It is a lot to take in. How are we feeling? How are we handling it all?

There are times when our minds, bodies and hearts have taken in as much as they can. Like a sponge - it is full and needs a reset. What is your reset?

Different times may call for us to consider different ways to help support our minds, bodies and hearts. Here are the seven healthy and helpful ways to bring balance to you. No need to do them all at once. Pick one, try out this week. Make time to check in with yourself to see how you feel afterwards. 

The practice of mindfulness is becoming aware of ourselves, and part of that is noticing how we feel during and after we do something.

7 Helpful Ways to Cope + Balance

#1) Balance information in. 

There are many ways to take in information today - the news, social media, video, tv, articles - and through our conversations with family, friends and colleagues about what is happening.

While it is important to stay informed and discuss what is happening. It is also important to recognize when you need to step away. Once you are informed about a situation, consider if you have enough to step away. Consider limiting how you take information in - one news source or outlet. This will help limit the number of times you see the same story.

#2) Tech Break.

We could all take a lesson from the Orthodox and other traditionally observant Jews who observe Shabbat by refraining from electrical devices. Is there a day this week you could make "tech free"? A day you completely step away from the computer, television, and even the phone. If not a whole day, a half day?

#3) Self-care.

If you are feeling heavy, more tired, overwhelmed, sad, angry, or whatever emotion you are feeling from witnessing what is going on in the world, give thought to what extra self-care you can make happen in your life. A massage, warm bath, music. Here is a full list to give you ideas.

#4) Do some kindness.

When we are kind to others, it helps fill our energy cup up. Write a note to a friend, help a neighbor, find something new you can do for a family member or close friend. Drop off flowers or chocolate. These little acts of kindness go a long way for the receiver and the giver.

#5) Breathe.

In Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village, a bell is rung every hour as an invitation to pause and pay attention to the breath, to come back to the present moment. You can create your own tuning in practice by setting an alarm on your phone for 1x each day. When the alarm rings, sit for one minute with your breath. The health benefits are many, and it also brings our minds back to the present moment of wherever we are.

#6) Take action.

We are unique individuals, and what one person needs to improve their energy, spirits or emotional well-being is going to be different than another. For some, action is the needed. If this is you, brainstorm on your own or with a friend of what you can do. A phone call to your representative, volunteering, or donating are a few ways.

#7) Loving-Kindness Meditation.

Meditation is a powerful tool. It can be beneficial in helping both the mind and body relax and feel calm. A loving-kindness meditation is the beautiful practice of sending kind thoughts to another person and ourselves. Join Jen on Monday at 8pm ET/5pm PT for a special Loving=Kindness practice. Sign up here.

Photo Credit: Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris

Acceptance can be a powerful and transformative tool but it doesn't happen automatically. Different situations may present more challenge to accepting. 

What is acceptance?

Acceptance is the ability to see things as they actually are in the present moment. Acceptance does not mean you have to like or agree with how things are. It does not mean you cannot work to change the circumstances of a situation in the future. Acceptance is the willingness to see things as they are right now, to let go of the expectation that you want things to be different or that you wish for things to be different. 

Learn more about what acceptance is, read Understanding the Power of Acceptance.

How to Practice Acceptance

1. Develop awareness around non-acceptance. Notice when you are not accepting. Develop the awareness of your thoughts, actions and patterns. How often are you wishing things to be different? 
2. Be curious. Once you notice when you are not accepting, you can begin to ask yourself “are there certain situations that I more often than not am not accepting?” “Why am I not accepting right now.” Are you more accepting of others than yourself, or vice versa or the same. Begin to notice.
3. Practice. Meditation practice helps us practice focusing our mind and noticing when thoughts arise. We can apply this practice of awareness to noticing when we are not accepting. 

Join us in the practice of meditation. Mondays, 8pm ET/5pm PT on Zoom. Or in-person in NYC beginning May 23rd. Classes are freely offered with the option to donate. Each weekly class is 30 minutes long with 20 minutes of a guided meditation and 10 minutes of a mindfulness learning. Check out the class schedule here.

Photo Credit: Photo by Pawel Czerwinski

Spring brings new life. Flowers begin to rise up from the ground. There is a renewal of life seen in the fresh buds emerging from tree limbs. As we observe nature beginning to emerge new after a winter’s sleep, how will you emerge renewed this spring? What aspects of your life need a refresh?

Before you jump down to see the exciting five things shared for bringing renew into your life, why not pause and see what naturally may arise for you. 

The meaning of self-care is straight forward, taking care of yourself. But before we dive into the many options to take care and practice self-compassion, it is helpful to consider if you are ready to give yourself permission and time for self-care.

Permission for Self-Care

#1) Make the Decision. Explore what self-care has or hasn't looked like in your own life. If you haven't made time for self-care, it could be beneficial to explore the reasons why. It is time? Do you need extra support in making it happen? Why is not important? Why is it important? How would self-care be helpful? Journaling about these questions can be beneficial in understanding your own thoughts and care.

You must decide if you are interested in making self-care a part of your life. There are many beneficial reasons to have self-care - supporting both your physical and mental health. When we take time to care for ourselves, we are fueling our minds and bodies and it helps us care for others.

If you've had self-care as a part of your life, consider deciding if you are interested and open to other ways to care for yourself.

#2) Set the Intention. Once you decide "yes", I need and want self-care - set the intention. Write down what your intention is around self-care. It could be "giving myself time to relax" or "making one appointment per week to take care of myself. When we write down our intentions, we are more likely to act on them. Take it a step further and make the writing down of the intention a fun art project.

#3) Choose the Self-Care You Need. Listen to your body and give time to reflect on what it is that will give you the care you need right now. Self-care means something different to each person. Going to see a film is relaxing for me but for another may prefer a warm bath at home. 

Here are some ideas to reflect on in thinking about what self-care activity will serve you best right now.

The world is facing a difficult time as we witness Russia invade Ukraine. The pandemic still exists, although improving. All the while our daily life happenings of relationships, work, family continue. Depending on the day and time, any one or all of these things may feel a bit heavy.

Traditionally New Years is a time of setting resolutions, often focusing on what wasn’t done last year and needs to be accomplished this year. Resolution by definition means to be firm in doing something or the act of solving. 

Rather than solving a problem within yourself, what if you were to set an intention instead? Think of it as dreaming up a possibility rather than solving a problem. This is why I like the use of words “intention setting” rather than “resolution”.

To set an intention for the new year, begin by reflecting on what you want for yourself, what would you like to see in yourself or for yourself one month or one year from now. Your intention can be anything: a more joyful you or starting a new business. It can be a slight change or a big change.