Welcome.

So first, deep breath in through your nose -

fill up allllll the way,

notice your heart space expand and lift, hold here for a moment

and deep breath out, sigh it out,

let your shoulders lighten, and fall away from your ears.

If you felt something shift, do that  a few more times.

See, don’t you already feel a little better?

Instead of scrolling, you’re here and reading through this. Your 10-minute breath of fresh air this morning.

“One key to knowing joy is being easily pleased.”

What a simple and wonderful reminder, it lands right where it needs to. So much of what I'm determined to continue to explore for myself - and with you - is how we can do better with what we've already got. We spend a lot of time and energy instead trying to change our external circumstances, gripping and holding on tight as if by doing so we'll be able to ignore or resist what's happening around us. This distracts us from the power of the present moment and puts us in conflict with so much that is out of our control.

Ultimately it all comes down to how conscious you are of where you place your attention. And to do that we need to listen first - we need to pay more attention. Our job is to attune to the signs around us, however small, however subtle.

One thing this attunement does require? Slowing down. When we're constantly rushing we focus only on getting to the next thing, checking the next box. We live perpetually "behind" – behind schedule, behind our peers, behind where we think we should be. This state of constant catching-up makes it so difficult to notice the subtle signals around us.

I've been working on this practice for some time, and am thankful to live in a city that lends itself to slowing down. I wasn't always this way, at all. The slower pace in Geneva has been a gift and still I notice on days when I feel most rushed, I'm least able to appreciate anything. But on days when I move more slowly, when I create spaciousness in my schedule (and therefore my mind) so much feels like a gift – even the simple taste of morning coffee.

On the mat my mentor Nancy Perry often calls our attention to how many of us choose to do 5 other things first (fixing hair, wiping sweat, adjusting clothing) before coming into the next physical shape in the sequence. As if by doing those things, we're willing away the fact that we have to come into Chair Pose. So we fidget, we distract ourselves…and low and behold, the Chair Pose is still there when we've run out of things to do. Really all we've done is delay doing the thing we know is going to be more valuable for us, the thing that will teach us something because it was the harder thing. And we want (we think we want) easy.

Life mirrors our practice - or, the practice mirrors our life. Staying conscious, awake, present to what's in front of us is a daily practice. It requires daily effort. Coming to the mat urges us to observe that phenomenon in real time - it amplifies it under a microscope.

When you put your attention on living things - there is more aliveness in your life. When you start to notice the sounds around you, the way the light hits a corner of the room, how strangers in the street subtly smile at one another, when you see a gentle hand placed on a shoulder as a sign of reassurance, the chatter of voices in a lively space, the sound of children playing in a playground. All of these things remind us of the goodness of life all around us.

Our minds have a remarkable capacity for negativity. It's not our fault – our brains evolved this way as a survival mechanism. It's our "negativity bias", a tendency to register negative stimuli more readily and dwell on them far more (and longer) than positive ones. A single criticism outweighs multiple compliments. One setback can overshadow a day's worth of otherwise small victories.

We can consciously work against this bias. We can train ourselves to be more easily pleased, to catch the moments of goodness that are constantly unfolding around us. This isn't about toxic positivity or ignoring legitimate difficulties. It's about creating balance, about not allowing our natural tendency toward negativity to rob us of the daily joy that exists alongside our challenges. I guarantee you all of us can find it, it's just a matter of looking more closely.

Our capacity for joy expands with practice. The more we train ourselves to notice goodness, the more goodness we perceive. Being easily pleased doesn't mean settling for less. Paradoxically, it actually allows us to experience more – more depth, more richness, more aliveness in ordinary moments.

And ultimately that's what most of life is. Ordinary moments compounded. So why not make them good?

The simplest of invitations this Sunday morn’ - slow it down, savor the spaces, people and movements around you and practice being easily pleased at least a few times today. Let it be that simple. Simple isn’t always easy.

P.S. In case you need this reminder: it’s going to be a great day, and a great week.

We often get in the way of ourselves. Notice when that happens, and how you can lean into the habits you know serve you, lift you up, and help you see with more perspective.  

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Images of the Matisse Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence ~ check it out if you’re so inclined.

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This is a legendary track to play at some point today, maybe on loop. It has a serene chilled-out soundscape to it.

And this week we grooved and flowed to a wonderful playlist during a very special 1 hr 30 Saturday morning practice. Enjoy.

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