Good morning.
It's Friday, November twentieth.
Let's start with your shoulders.
Roll them up toward your ears.
Then back.
And down.
Do that again.
Slowly.
Feel your chest widen as they drop.
Most of us sit hunched all week.
Over a laptop.
Over a phone.
The body closes up.
And the mind tends to follow.
So for the next six minutes...
we'll open things back up.
A little at a time.
Put your hands on your ribs.
One on each side.
Breathe in...
and feel your ribs push into your hands.
Sideways, like an accordion.
And let it out slowly.
Now breathe into your back.
Right behind your heart.
Feel it stretch against your shirt.
And out.
Now all of it together.
Front...
sides...
and back.
The whole middle of you.
And a long breath out.
You probably don't breathe this wide very often.
Most of us don't.
Let your hands drop.
Keep a bit of that width.
Picture a window.
An old wooden one.
The kind with a latch that sticks.
It's been shut The a while.
room feels a little stale.
A little stuffy.
Like it's been holding its That's breath.
what a closed mind feels Same like.
thoughts.
Same going air, around and around.
Now reach Work up.
the latch It loose.
sticks.
Then it gives.
Push the window up.
Just an inch.
Feel that first thin line of fresh air.
Cool on your wrist.
Push it up a little more.
Now you can hear outside.
A dog two houses down.
Someone's car The starting.
curtain lifts in the breeze.
Let the fresh air move through the room.
Through your head.
Maybe an old opinion goes out with it.
The one that says...
I'm just not a morning person.
Or the one that says...
I don't really try new food.
You've been saying those for Maybe years.
nobody checked You lately.
don't have to throw those out.
Just let some air around them.
Maybe they're true.
Maybe they're just old.
Push the window all the way up.
As far as it goes.
That's what open feels like.
A little cooler.
A little more awake.
Openness isn't agreeing to everything.
It's being curious first.
Before you decide.
Like a kid at a new park.
Looking around before picking a slide.
Try these with the window open.
I'm open to something new today.
I can be curious before I decide.
Sit by the open window now.
Let the breeze do what it does.
Chest wide.
Mind a little roomier.
Nothing to figure out.
Just air moving through.
In one side.
Out the other.
Leave the window open.
Bring some of that air with you.
Stretch your arms out to the sides.
Wide, like you're about to hug someone.
One big, open breath in...
And out.
Here's your one thing for today.
Say yes to something new.
Just one thing.
Nothing scary.
Maybe it's the dish you've never ordered.
The one you always skip past.
Or that invite you'd usually turn down.
Drinks after work.
A friend's weird pottery class.
Pick it quickly.
Before the old opinion catches up.
See what's out there.
Then come back and tell someone about it.
Open your eyes when you're ready.
Happy Friday.