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Embodiment Exercise This week's exercise is inspired by Niels Diffrient's work as a pioneer in the field of ergonomics. His 50+ patents led to the development of industrial designs that made the workplace less painful. Does work wreak havoc on your body? From laptop induced hunching to expense report triggered teeth grinding, our bodies get whacked out at work.  Researchers like Linda Stone argue that even technology - not just your work environment - encourages you to ignore important information about what your body needs. By taking a brief moment to check in with your physicality each day, you can gather insights from your body about how you're feeling and where your biggest sources of tension might exist.  Introducing Your Embodiment Exercise What It Is A five-minute opportunity to tap into your body’s intelligence. Why We Love It  Our bodies can give us a lot of information about our biggest sources of stress before we are even consciously aware of them. This exercise uses physiological observation to help you gather insights about yourself.   How It Works 1. Take 5 minutes at one or two points in your day for an embodiment meditation. 2. During this meditation, close your eyes and take a scan of your body. Work your way up from your toes all the way to the top of your head. Pause in each section and let yourself notice each area. (e.g., What are the sensations in my feet? Are my shoulders relaxed? Where is my front? Where is my back? Am I clenching my jaw?) Then, without trying to control your body, take note of what it might be telling you. Ask: - Where might I be feeling tension? - Where am I intentionally holding myself up? - When is my breathing shallow or deep?  3. When you complete the meditation ask yourself: - What new information do I have about how I am feeling? - Are there certain parts of my day where my body is sensing a change in my emotions? Want to dig deeper into this topic? To explore more about body scanning meditation, check this out from NPR. To learn more about how to beat physical forms of stress at work, read this. To learn about where people commonly hold stress in their bodies, check this out. Shout. It. Out. To Angel Hu for her exercise crafting skills! Shout. It. Back. To treks@lifetrekkers.me if you have praise or gripes about this trek or random thoughts about Life Trekkers. Here's what your fellow trekkers have to say about past treks: "The Tutu exercise was one of my favorites. Bob Carey's story was really inspiring and the exercise motivated me to reflect on a number of things that I feel vulnerable about in life and the workplace." - Alex Farivar, VP of Product @ McGraw-Hill Education Tweet Tweet Email Us Learn More Copyright © 2018 LifeTrekkers, All rights reserved. Want more information? Drop us a line at info@trekkers.me. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.

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Wooing Your Worries This week's exercise is inspired by Amy Morin's research on mental strength. Have you ever found yourself in a constant state of fretfulness? Recent studies have shown that we spend a lot of time worrying - up to 63 full days a year. However, many neuroscientists and mindfulness experts would argue that your mind doesn't have to succumb to excessive worrying. As Eric Barker says, "You're not your brain; you're the CEO of your brain. You can't control everything that goes on in 'Mind, Inc.' But you can decide which projects get funded with your attention and action." Wooing Your Worries Exercise What It Is A 20-minute opportunity to worry about anything and everything. Why We Love It  Sometimes worrying about things can snowball to a point of rumination that you lose your ability to create mental space for other things. This activity helps you determine when fretting about something will be more productive versus destructive. How It Works 1. Set aside 20 minutes per week, or per day, to worry. 2. During this time, write out everything you are worrying about. Then, ask yourself: - Is worrying about this serving me or others in a way that is useful? - Is this concern within my control? If so, what what can I do to move forward? Want to dig deeper into this topic? To learn more about the differences between worrying and anxiety, check this out. To learn more about mental strength from several Buddhist mindfulness experts, check this out. To learn more about the psychology of overthinking things, check out Morin's article. Shout. It. Out. To Jeanie Bartges for her tips on this exercise! Shout. It. Back. To treks@lifetrekkers.me if you have praise or gripes about this trek or random thoughts about Life Trekkers. Here's what your fellow trekkers have to say about past treks: "Last week's What's Your Tutu? exercise couldn't have come at a better time. I've always had a hard time showing emotion in romantic relationships, so it's helpful for me to check in with these questions after a date."  – Beebe Xia, Copywriter and Single Lady Tweet Tweet Email Us Learn More Copyright © 2018 LifeTrekkers, All rights reserved. Want more information? Drop us a line at info@trekkers.me. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.

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Music Meditation This week's exercise is inspired by John Powell's research on the science of sound. Powell's work has revealed that music can "promote or suppress the release of chemicals" like adrenaline within your body.  Can't get enough of a particular song? Recent studies have shown that music doesn't just have the ability to create shared emotional experiences. It also stimulates brain regions associated with "movement, attention, planning, and memory." Introducing Your Music Meditation What It Is A 10-minute opportunity to submerge yourself in sound. Why We Love It  Music is intimately integrated into our everyday experience but we rarely get opportunities to fully immerse ourselves in all of the sensations associated with sound. How It Works 1. Grab your favorite pair of headphones and find a quiet spot. Even if you totally love your Jambox, trust us and go with headphones on this one. 2. Select a song. Songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, Time, Superstition, and Feeling Good are some of our favs for this exercise! 3. Dedicate a full 3-6 minutes to listen to your song. Take in everything you hear and try to be fully aware of the sounds, sensations and feelings that arise. When the automatic voice in your head says something about the music, acknowledge it and let it go. Try to allow yourself to experience the music without labeling with words. 4. When you’ve completed your sound meditation, ask yourself: How do I feel? What new things did I hear that I never noticed before? Here are a few more resources for further exploration:  To learn more about why people love music so much, check this out from UC Berkeley. To learn about the role music plays in strengthening social bonds, check out this UC Berkeley article. To nerd out on Powell's research on the physics of music, check out this NPR podcast. Shout. It. Out. To Angel Hu and Sanjay Krishnamurthy for their expertise in crafting this exercise.  Shout. It. Back. To treks@lifetrekkers.me if you loved, loathed, or want to chat further about this trek. Here's what your fellow trekkers have to say about past treks: "When I started envy advantage I didn't realize how much envy was sapping positive energy in my life. The easy exercise offered a moment for powerful reflection that would have otherwise been unattended to." - Ian Manheimer, VP Strategy @ TCN Tweet Tweet Email Us Learn More Copyright © 2018 LifeTrekkers, All rights reserved. Want more information? Drop us a line at info@trekkers.me. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.