The world is changing fast and our daily lives are evolving alongside it. While change can bring new opportunities and fresh beginnings, it is not always easy to navigate. It often demands that we step outside of our comfort zones and confront the unknown, which can be unsettling and scary.
Change can also be accompanied by uncertainty and unpredictability, making it even harder for us to adapt. However, it is essential to recognize that change is a constant force that shapes our lives, and our ability to cope with it is critical for personal growth and resilience.
Whether you’re taking everything in your stride and looking forwards with hope, or feeling rather overwhelmed (or…both of those things at different times of day?!) it’s important to acknowledge any stress you might be experiencing at the moment.
So I’m sharing one of my favourite mindfulness practices to notice, and then uplift, your state of mind and body.
Six Questions to Ask Yourself at the Beginning of Each Day
Most of us get up and start each day without really checking in with how we’re doing. So this practice will become a firm friend. In fact, it might be useful to imagine that you ARE a good friend of yours, asking the questions with kindness, curiosity, and without judgement.
Even if you’re in a rush, you can take a few deep, calming breaths and go through these questions in your head. If you have time, I recommend writing your answers down in a journal. It helps to focus your mind, and sometimes thoughts, feeling and ideas seem to flow more easily with pen and ink.
Q1: What am I grateful for today?
Q2: Who am I checking in with today or connecting with today?
Q3: What expectations of ‘normal’ can I let go of today?
Q4: How am I getting outside today?
Q5: How am I going to move my body today?
Q6: What beauty am I creating, cultivating or letting in today?
Give each question the time it needs, and give yourself permission to answer them truthfully. Your answers might change from one day to the next, and that’s perfectly OK.
Guided Meditation starts at 6minutes for your ease.
If you’d like some extra guidance, use this video: I take you through a 20 minute mindfulness meditation practice I shared in the early days of Covid-19 and weave in these six questions.
Combining the questions with a relaxed, meditative state can help you to acknowledge and accept how you’re feeling and what your greatest needs are today.
Along with mindfulness and meditation, regular yoga practice can help you to stay connected with YOU when things feel a little (or a lot) out of control.
YFTSR online on-demand classes are the perfect way to do this — they’ll help you balance stress hormones, feel strong and flexible, and give you a sense of being supported by a community too.
Book your class pass today (no obligation, you can stop whenever you want to).
How Will These Questions Reduce Stress and Improve Your Day?
Starting every day with these six questions will:
Become a healthy, positive routine to add structure and purpose to each day (without demanding much time)
Help you prioritise YOU — something we all forget to do in times of stress; us ladies in particular!
Remind you of what’s going well, which helps to put challenges and fears in perspective
Keep you focused on simple daily activities (going outside, moving your body) that really do make all the difference — and that, paradoxically, we often forget to do when we’re struggling with stress
And over time, using this as a regular practice will train your mind to pause and relax when you wake up, instead of jumping straight into anxious thoughts and the endless to-do list.
Go gently.
Chetana
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