A mindfulness practice
inspired by The Hero’s Journey.
Whether as part of a religious observance, like Lent, or just because twelve weeks sounds like a lot, this shorter version of my Thirty Minute Life Change program is perfect when you want to up your mindfulness game for just a few weeks, or during a special season of reflection.
Beginning on your chosen start date, you’ll “unlock” three ten minute activities each week: a guided meditation, a vinyasa yoga practice and a ten minute journal prompt — often taken from a religious text that relates to the week’s theme.
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey or “monomyth” is the real tale as old as time. In it, the hero (that’s you!) hears a call (that’s this!) and chooses to answer it, crossing from the safety of her known world into the unknown. As we loosely follow this structure, set out most famously in Joseph Campbell’s book of the same name, we will step out together, eventually returning home to live a richer, fuller, more purposeful life.
Three Mindfulness Modalities.
One Integrated Program.
Every week, beginning on your chosen start date, you’ll unlock three 10 minutes exercises:
Yoga
An all-levels ten-minute Vinyasa flow.
Improve your flexibility, strength and balance, while also reducing stress and anxiety
Meditation
A ten-minute guided meditation to help focus your mind, increase your awareness and to find inner peace.
Journaling
A journal prompt, from which you write for 10 minutes to help reflect and process on each week’s themes.
Spiritual. Not Religious.
My inspiration for this version of the course was the Christian season of Lent, which — as a lifelong Episcopalian — I have observed in varying degrees all my life. In fact, it was a Lenten observance in 2000 that led me to begin a regular weekly yoga practice.
That said, I have created this course to be spiritual, but not geared toward any single religion. There will be quotes from the Bible here and there, but I have also sought out quotes from other religious and secular texts to support each week’s theme.
Why Forty Days?
Forty is a kind of magic number in many religious and spiritual traditions. It is the length of the observance of Lent, yes, but the Old Testament is riddled with “40 days and nights” (Moses on Mt. Sinai and Noah on the Ark) … plus the number also shows up in Sumerian, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh traditions. (Source: Wikipedia)
As a result, I’ve very deliberate to offer a mindfulness program that is ideally appropriate for any your personal tradition, even if that’s more Agnostic than aligned with any one faith. I also find that my own religious practice is only deepened when I broaden my view.
