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Here’s a great note from Lynn Teo, who has a Sunday evening class from 7:30-8:45 pm eastern that my wife & I have been thoroughly enjoying the past month. The Zoom class is a mix of guided meditation, light yoga, Qigong and energy healing. You don’t know how to do any of these things in advance – it’s easy to follow:

On April 28th, my husband and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. We met in Japan while teaching English for a couple years. We got married on a Monday, the only day neither of us taught classes. After spending the day traveling to Fukuoka and back (a 4.5 hr return trip by bus) to get permission from the US and Canadian Embassies (I’m Canadian) – with a pit stop at Wendy’s (Nate was obsessed with Wendy’s and there wasn’t one in Nagasaki) – we made it just in the nick of time before the Nagasaki City Hall closed. April 28th always makes me think of Japan and how much our relationship has grown and changed since our Japan days.

Living in Japan, we loved the attention to subtle detail that infuses the culture. Recently, I discovered that there is an ancient Japanese calendar that divides the year up into 72 seasons (about 5 days each). Paying attention to this calendar helps to awaken one to the subtle changes in nature. And yes, there is an app. Here is an article about the 72 seasons. Currently we are in the “Peonies Bloom” season, on May 5 we start the “Frogs start singing” season.

While I haven’t actually been checking this app regularly (I’m actually trying to decrease time on my phone), I have been inspired to stop, pay attention to and appreciate the small ever-changing details in nature. The effect is miraculously calming and sends me a boost of gratitude. I’m blessed to spend some time at a lake house every couple weeks. Today, after a 2-hour work call, I felt some tension in my chest and a feeling of anxiety and overwhelm. I stepped outside and felt the wind and the coolness of the temperature on my skin.

I took 3 long slow breaths and sank my attention into the way the wind rippled the water in a particular direction on the lake. I noticed how quickly the water seemed to be moving and how this movement changed how the trees were being reflected in the water. Shifting my attention to my own felt-sense, I felt more space open up in my chest, so there was more room for not just anxiety and overwhelm, which had smoothed a bit as my breath smoothed, but now there was also a distinct feeling of warmth and gratitude for the blessings in my life.

Also, since I am home-schooler-in-chief these days, I have been trying to appreciate this extra time with my children by intentionally paying closer attention to them during this magical time of being 4 and 7 years-old. Lately, I have been paying attention to the specific delicious sound of their giggles and taking note of how that affects my felt-sense.

Here’s a 1-minute exercise on noticing the small details. Try this a few times over the next few weeks, noting any shifts you feel in your internal experience. Make a special note of those that help you feel good, calm, more resourced. Doing this exercise can be a technique to help you expand your “window-of-tolerance” and bring your nervous system into greater regulation, which is the ultimate goal of this class. Building our resilience won’t make the stress of the times go away, but will helps us to recognize, bring curiosity to and skillfully work with our reactions to stressful or triggering situations.

1. If you can do this outside that would be ideal (or just open a window)
2. Pause and take a quick MEPS inventory (mental, emotional, physical [including breath], spiritual)
3. Take 3 long smooth breaths, lengthening the exhalation slightly
4. Take a full minute to notice some small detail in nature.
5. Notice any shifts that have occurred.
6. If you want, put your hand on your heart and send yourself some self-compassion.

It is lovely to do this in nature, but you can use this technique on other aspects of your life! Try this several times in different situations. You can try focusing on one sensation first for a few breaths (for example, maybe the warmth on your hands while holding that morning coffee), before letting yourself open up to other sensations. Then remember to notice the internal shift in your felt-sense. This is a way to practice building a library of resource states. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you discover!