Good Things Come in Small Packages

Mindfulness and meditation don’t have to come in big, chunky, serious packages.  We can flex our mindfulness muscles in small, regular doses, too. For example, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, uses a quick four-step mindfulness exercise each morning immediately after waking up.  

Specifically, Nadella:

1.  Takes a deep breath, lasting 12 seconds. (This is referred to as “resonant breathing”, 6 counts in/6 counts out, and sends a signal to the nervous system that all is OK.)

2.  Brings to mind something for which he is grateful.

3.  Sets one intention for the day.

4.  Puts his feet on the ground and takes a moment to really feel them on the ground.  

We came across this in an article  in Quartz at Work. In turn, that article referenced another article in Inc. that pointed to a study that had looked at the effects of gratitude practice, and showed that the simple practice of writing thank you letters to people had led people to report feeling more grateful two weeks later and showed more gratitude-related brain activity months later in brain scans.  

Turning inward for longer stretches of time, both to stabilize attention and to create healthy habits that help us relate to our lived experience better, is important, too, but sometimes we don’t need to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If we can start our day off with a brief moment of deliberate breathing, gratitude, intentionality and groundedness we’re off to a great start!

Inviting you to join us this week as we sit in gratitude together, laying the seeds for a greater sense of abundance in future moments as well as the present one.

May all beings everywhere, without exception, feel grounded, resourced, fortunate and optimistic,

Your friends at CMP

Guided Meditation Recordings:
Click here for a discussion on Gratitude Meditation, or see our Resources page.
Click here for a 5-Minute Gratitude Break, or see our Resources page.