B E G I N N I N G S O F T L Y

Receive the Benefits of Your Presence + Care

Set aside a few minutes of quiet this week to put pen to paper and write out your thoughts on the following inquiries.

Explore all in one sitting or spread these throughout your week.

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There are times in life when it may be necessary to expend greater effort, to shift our attention in one clear direction and place the fullness of our energy there. Yet, it is important to remember that when we push without allowing space and ease to enter our experience, we create some degree of resistance and tension in one way or another. This unintended residue can end up creating blocks around that which we wish to create and bring to life.

The teachings of yoga offer the helpful approach: sthira sukha, which translates as effort, steadiness, strength (sthira) and ease, openness (sukha). The wisdom in this teaching is to seek a balance of effort and ease in all things. As you hold space for your vision and priorities of the year ahead, consider where and when your effort and strength will be helpful and support you and where and when your willingness to soften, trust, and open to the flow of life will be most useful. Spend some time free writing on this prompt.

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Where can you practice softening and letting go of effort in your body? 

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Where do you seen an opportunity to practice softening and letting go of effort (more sukha) in your life?

Where do you seen an opportunity to bring more steadiness and effort (more sthira) into your life?

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As you reflect on your time within the nest of this program, what is true for you now? What is possible now?

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Anything more that is coming up for you now? Anything you feel inspired to move onto the page?

Daily Practice:

Identify a small nook in your home where you can create a sacred space. The corner of a bookshelf, a window sill, a space near your tea kettle or coffee pot, a space near your yoga mat or meditation cushion, your work space, your bedside table, etc. - choose a space you will see every day. The intention is to approach this space as a tiny altar to honor your time here in Beginning Softly. Take time to select an item or a collection of things that represent what you’ve discovered and clarified during this journey -  your wishes, dreams, and visions for the coming year. A photograph, a hand-written note, a found object from nature - anything that will serve as a reminder of the steadiness, wisdom, and alignment you’ve touched into during your time here. Place this item or these items on your altar and create a simple ritual of pausing and acknowledging the space you’ve created and what it represents for you. If it resonates for you, this moment can be a reminder that your work now is to receive the benefits of your care and attention, to trust that the seeds of your vision have been established, and allow the flow of life to happen. 

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