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Try 14 days freeSo welcome back to the headspace journey into day 11. Now over the next few days, we're gonna look at how to improve your experience of headspace. So that means looking at some of the obstacles that can sometimes arise and how to overcome those and also looking at your motivation. So you all have your own reason for why your sort of doing this exercise each day but it's really important to recognize how it impacts those around you as well, it's when you bring that attitude to the exercise, it tends to soften the mind making the practice feel that much easier. So I'm just gonna include a little bit of that into the exercise today. But for now just take a moment to get comfortable, just as we did before eyes open, a nice, soft focus, looking ahead not really staring at one thing, but just aware of the space around you. And when you're ready, just taking some nice deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just gently closing the eyes now, as you allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm, in and out through the nose. And you just take a moment or two, just to check in with those physical sensations to feel the weight of the body pressing down against a chair or the floor, and just acknowledging those other points of contact. And just take a moment to notice any sounds as well. Remember just allowing them to come and go within your awareness. And now just bringing the attention back to the body, just checking in with the body, noticing how you're feeling today, whether there's a sense of heaviness or lightness in the body, of restlessness or stillness. And when you're ready, starting at the top of the head, just taking the next 30 seconds to scan down through the body. Just noticing those areas of comfort or discomfort, and just building up a picture of how the body feels. Remember, as you scan down through the body just starting to notice that underlying mood, and the emotional quality of the mind. Sometimes it's immediately obvious. Sometimes it's a little more difficult. That is fine. By just getting a sense of what that is. And before you move your focus to the breath now, just take a moment just to be clear in your own mind about what your motivation is for doing this exercise today. It can be the motivation for yourself, but also try to include motivation for others, how this exercise can potentially impact in a positive way, those close to you, those around you. It doesn't require a lot of thinking. Just getting a sense of what that might be. And now just allowing the attention to drift down to the breath, just settling on that rising and falling sensation as you take just a minute or so become more aware of where you...
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About your teachers
- More about Andy
A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
- More about Eve
Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.
- More about Dora
As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.
- More about Kessonga
Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
- More about Rosie
Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
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