You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.”
– Diane Von Furstenberg

🎯 Today’s Mission:

Today we are going to focus on some mental self-care.

To successfully complete today’s mission:

✅ Give your body five-ten minutes of mindful attention. Use the body scan technique to check in with each part of your body.

✅ How has this journey felt? Share with us in the Self-Care Challenge Support Group on Facebook.

💡 More Info:

Meditation is a small doable daily practice that can help you find contentment, greater clarity, and improved feelings of well-being and happiness.

According to Wikipedia, “Meditation can be defined as a practice where an individual uses a technique, such as focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity, to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.”

Although meditation has been practised since antiquity in a more religious or spiritual context, it has since become much more mainstream and modernised in order to combat the stress of modern life.

We love it so much that we even created a whole Meditation Challenge!

But for today we are going to do a quick 5-minute body scan.

The Headspace Strategy:

This strategy comes straight from Headspace.

You can find the original article “How to meditate in ten minutes” by Andy Puddicombe here.

STEP 1: GET SETTLED

Find a quiet space where you can relax.

Sit comfortably in a chair with your hands resting in your lap or on your knees. Keep your back straight – sitting at the front of the seat might help. Your neck should be relaxed, with your chin slightly tucked in.

STEP 2: BREATHE DEEPLY

Defocus your eyes, gazing softly into the middle distance.

Take five deep, audible breaths: in through the nose and out through the mouth. On the last exhalation, let your eyes gently close.

STEP 3: CHECK-IN

Take a few moments to settle into your body. Gently observe your posture, and notice the sensations where your body touches the chair and your feet meet the ground. Feel the weight of your arms and hands resting on your legs.

Acknowledge your senses: notice anything you can smell, hear or taste, sensations of heat or cold.

STEP 4: SCAN YOUR BODY

Slowly turn your mind inwards. Scan your body from head to toe, observing any tension or discomfort. Don’t try to change what you find, simply take note of it. Scan again, although this time notice which parts of the body feel relaxed. Take about 20 seconds for each scan.

Now turn your awareness to your thoughts. Notice any thoughts that arise without attempting to alter them. Gently note your underlying mood, just becoming aware of what’s there without judgment. If there’s nothing obvious, that’s fine, too.

Become aware once more of the physical feelings: of the chair beneath you, where your feet make contact with the floor, your arms and your hands resting in your lap. Notice anything you can hear, smell, taste or feel.

When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes.