Enjoy this simple meditation break to drop the stress and tension and get connected back to you. Try this any time, especially whenever you feel you need to create some space and feel better.
Wu Wei is an east Asian concept that means to do what you are doing with the least amount of effort possible. The result is you are able to have more access to your energy and restore some in the process. We are trained to do the opposite, to tense ourselves as much as possible and to wear our stress as a sign of success. It’s useful to undo this destructive habit so we can accomplish more and de-stress in the process.
Crawl down to the ground the easiest way you can. Come onto all fours. Move your center a bit side to side and let yourself roll around how it feels good to you. Linger in the places that are asking for your attention. Soften your body and your mind so your breath can move you. Breathe big and full and deep as you move gently.
Breathe big and full and deep as you move gently.
Bring yourself to sit on the ground however is easiest for you. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Watch your inhales fill you up like a big world expanding. Watch your exhales soften and release you further. Notice the more aligned you are with yourself and the more tension you drop, the more you feel.
Let something come to mind that you want more of — love, creativity, strength, wellbeing and calm are all possibilities. Give yourself time to listen to what comes up for you. Open a conversation with yourself. Invite that feeling into your center, your belly. Let it make a home in you and become part of you. Hara is a name and location for your center, your power source, your gut, your intuition, your wellbeing. With this practice, we can release the stress and invite in wellbeing. Take a big inhale and watch yourself expand like a big world. Long exhale and release and relax. Hang here for a bit and notice how you feel.
When you’re ready to finish, don’t jump up right away. Stay with this physicality, this conversation with yourself, and this breath body connection as you go about your day. You can always come back to this practice, whether you crawl down to the ground, or are standing or sitting. The more often you come back to this meditation break, the more you are training yourself from choosing stress to choosing calm, ease, creativity, wellbeing and all the wonderful qualities that live inside you, waiting to be rediscovered.
is a wellness expert, bestselling author and the founder of Strala Yoga. The Strala approach combines yoga, tai chi and traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine to help people release stress, heal, let go of negative habits and move more easily through everyday challenges. Tara’s bestselling books, which have been translated and published in multiple languages, include Strala Yoga, Make Your Own Rules Diet, Yoga Cures and Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, and she has been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, Esquire and Shape. Tara works with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an initiative with the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation that combats childhood obesity, in order to bring Strala classes to more than 30,000 schools around the United States. She also supports the BOKS program, which delivers Strala classes and wellbeing resources to educators across North America. Her newest book, Clean Mind, Clean Body: A 28-Day Plan for Physical, Mental and Spiritual Self-Care (Dey Street Books), will be released this December.
