I woke up this morning with what my friend Whitney calls a bad case of the “Franks.” What is this you may ask? It’s pretty similar to a case of the blues where you wake up in a funk. I couldn’t really pinpoint where it was stemming from. Instead of waking up, rushing through my morning routine and running out the door to start my day, I made myself a cup of coffee and sat on my balcony for a 20-minute meditation to get myself to feel grounded again.

I began by closing my eyes, uncrossing my feet and taking deep breaths. Feeling the expansion of my lungs with every inhale, and emptying my lungs with every exhale. My mantra this morning was gratitude so with every breath I repeated that word, and with every exhale I felt any negativity I was holding onto leave my body. I continued this slow rhythmic breath with my eyes closed and kept scanning my body. I felt my shoulders relax, my body sink into the chair and began to feel tension just melt away. I continued with thinking all the things I was grateful for. My family, friends, yoga, health etc. and kept all those images in my head as I stayed with the slow steady movement of my breath. My senses became heightened. I enjoyed the gentle chirp of birds, the slight breeze on my body and noticed the transgression of my mind come to ease. I cleared my mind, let go of self-judgment and after ten minutes I was able to find the root of my frustration this morning.

I wake up every morning and make a conscious effort to be the best version of myself on a daily basis. But it frustrates me when those surrounding me don’t step up to the plate and do the same. I realized THIS was bothering me. It wasn’t until I silenced my mind and body that I realized that this was what I was holding onto. I have such high expectations for friends and loved ones and have been let down by the actions and words of so many people the past few months. The gossip, the judgment, and the negativity that permeates is disheartening. I read a quote the other day stating, “expectation is a pre-meditated resentment.” Resentment, #nailedit. This was the root of my Franks. So what did I do next? Let it go. I took a deep inhale and with an exaggerated exhale let that word go! I cycled through that 3 more times.

Inhaling gratitude exhale resentment.

I opened my eyes and felt lighter from head to toe. Not only physically, but also mentally. Meditation is so great in that it enables you to quiet the mind and shed light on the root of an issue. A smile came across my face, ear to ear. I finished my coffee, looked around my beautiful surroundings in nature and went inside to start my day off in a more grounded and calming way. If meditation is new to you, I recommend trying it for even a few minutes a day. It has many benefits and is a great practice to incorporate into your daily life.