During my teaching years, Mondays were a mix of both anticipation and trepidation. I was usually more rested from a weekend off work and enthusiastic about the plans for the week ahead. However, once at work, the onslaught of a school day hit me hard. Why, after so many years, did this come as a surprise? Why did I think, “this week will be different.” It rarely was. So much makes up a day for a teacher and the smallest amount of time is actually about teaching. It is always being at the ready to handle any situation that may present itself. The nervous system of a teacher is in constant activation mode. By the end of the week I was in a state of complete exhaustion and weekends became short intervals for recovery. 

Since my teaching years, I have learned that so many of us, probably all of us, experience Monday mornings in a similar way. Our lives are a constant stream of activating forces that pull us in many directions all day long. Often we go through our days and weeks unaware of the toll life is taking on our bodies, minds and hearts. I started to think, ‘What this pattern needs is an antidote.” As I began the development of RiseWell, I thought back to those Monday mornings. If I could start the week off in a new way and help others do the same, maybe this could be the beginning of this antidote.

Since January of this year, I have been offering free Mindful Monday half-hour drop-in sessions. We use this time to engage in mindful breathing, somatic and heart-centered practices as well as go inward to set intentions for the week ahead. Maybe you already do this on your own. But, if you don’t, and even if you do, gathering in community to start your week off ‘differently’ may be just what you need to shift your patterns of over-thinking, over-planning and over-doing. Please join me each Monday at 10:00 EST for Mindful Monday. Here is your direct link for this free antidote to a less stressful beginning to your week:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89204871308?pwd=sFT5PhcKfdaqtoyDI9L97yX7YQaQ14.1 

I hope to see you there

With gratitude

Lea