mindfulness journal - elissa goodman day cleanse... · 2019-02-27 · the 21-day cleanse program...

The 21-Day Cleanse Program Mindfulness Journal 1

The 21-Day Cleanse Program

Mindfulness Journal

Cleanse your body, cleanse your life.


Fast Forward Letter

Day 1

We are going to begin with the end in mind. This one may feel a little silly but it’s SO important. In the space below, you are writing a quick note to a friend. It’s day 21 of this program and you cannot believe how much success you’ve had. You can’t wait to tell your best friend about it. I want you to take a minute and really put yourself there. What does it feel like to have achieved more that you could’ve imagine from the past three weeks? What have you discovered about yourself and your health?

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DAILY TRACKER: Recommended Meditation (5 minutes)

Mindfulness Challenge 1: Create a sacred spaceThe next 21 days are going to be all about creating space! We’ll begin by creating literal space. Find a quiet place in your home (or yard!) and make it your own little oasis of calm. Make sure you set it up so there’s a comfortable place to sit that will go undisturbed. It by no means has to be fancy but feel free to get creative! Add a candle, incense, fresh flowers, stones or even a serene picture. It should be a spot that’s free from all distractions (including spouses, children, and pets).


Define Your Why

Day 2

For many people it’s simply to lose weight or gain more energy, but I want you to try and dig a little deeper. But WHY do you want those things? Keep asking yourself WHY until you no longer have anything left underneath.

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Mindfulness Challenge 2: Incorporate a 5 minute daily meditationGo to your sacred space that you have set up and sit for at least 5 minutes. The important thing to keep in mind is that there is no “right” way to meditate. Do what feels comfortable to you! You can use an app like Calm or Headspace or simply pay attention to your breathing. It’s best to find the quietest time of day possible. This could be first thing in the AM before anyone else is up or maybe right before bed. Again, there is no right or wrong way!


Vices, Voids and Actions

Day 3

“If you want to fly you have to give up the shit that’s weighing you down” -Toni Morrison.

If you feel like your vices control you, it’s time for some introspection. Nine times out of ten it’s coming from an emotional void. Some part of our inner self is not getting what it needs so we try to fill it with chocolate, wine, shopping, what have you. We’ve ALL been there. Using the chart below, make a list of all the items you feel have an unfair grasp over you. These may be foods, substances, situations, people, emotions etc. Now make a list of all the places you feel need more attention. These are areas where you feel a bit of a void. Examples could be self love, connection to others, time in nature, vacation time, your relationship, your life purpose etc. Now in the final column list all possible actions you could take to mitigate your unhealthy connection to vices and revitalize your connection to the areas that need a little more love. Fair warning, this can be an intense exercise that can lead to some realization/action steps that seem scary, like leaving an unhappy marriage or quitting your job. These actions don’t necessarily need to be something you feel ready to do, right now or ever, write them down anyways. Pick the smallest one that seems the most manageable and begin there.


Mindfulness Challenge 3: Make It A Ritual So often we’re thrown into a sea of guilt when we “cheat” on our diets. Today, we flip the script. We are going to revel in it. With a small serving of your chosen “indulgence”, go to your sacred space or another quiet place. (note: it doesn’t have to be something “bad” it could also be a cup of herbal tea you enjoy). Sit as you would in your meditation but, instead, meditate on your treat. Take small bites/sips and savor each one. Pay attention to the flavors. Stay in the moment of each taste. See how slowly you can chew before swallowing. Feel grateful for the ability to experience its taste. You may choose to sit in quiet meditation after you’ve finished.

UNHEALTHY VICES VOIDS ACTION STEPS


Add Water, Sleep + Mood Tracking

Day 4

Today we’re going to implement a few other features to our daily tracking journal. One of the best ways to create lasting change is to actually measure what you’re doing and connect it to what effect it has. From here on out we’ll be measuring sleep, hydration and mood.

You can use an app like Sleep Cycle or simply give a rough estimate. Color in the bar to represent number of hours of sleep.

SLEEP

Ideally, you want to be getting ½ your body weight in oz of water per day. To track hydration I recommend getting a convenient water bottle and counting the 8 oz servings. Fill in one water drop per 8 oz serving.

HYDRATION

This is where our mindfulness practice comes in! Pay attention to your mood throughout the day as if you were simply observing. Write down one or two emotions that you feel best represent how you felt over all throughout the day.

MOOD (Describe your mood): _________________________________________________________


Mindfulness Challenge 4: Cultivating Self Awareness Today really pay attention to how you’re feeling throughout the day, both physically and emotionally. Take a moment every so often to really take stock. Make it a goal to check in with yourself 3-5 times throughout the day and ask yourself: How do I feel? In order to make lasting health changes, we need to really know our body and pay attention to its calls. We need to know when something isn’t feeling right and also when we’re feeling really good so we can start connecting how we eat to how we feel.

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Reflection

Day 5

Jot down a few notes reflecting on part one of your mindfulness challenge today. What did you notice about your experience with technology?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


Mindfulness Challenge 5: Digital Detox + Awareness Something we don’t often consider when it comes to cleansing is technology. Technology is an amazing tool but the constant intake of information through social media, news and even google can be a lot to take. Today’s mindfulness challenge is two parts:

Part One: Be extra mindful of how incoming information from your phone affects your mood. Pay attention to how you feel when browsing facebook/instagram. How do the headlines on your news feed alter your train of thought? What type of response do you have to the ping of incoming emails?

Part Two: Schedule a one day digital detox. Find a day within the next two weeks and reserve it to be tech free. That means no phone, no tv, no computer. Make sure to put a note on your calendar and stick to it!

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Define Your Support System

Day 6

As the saying goes, “No woman or man is an island.” Meaning, you can’t do it alone! To accomplish any undertaking, big or small, you need a support system. This cleanse is an example of a big undertaking. You’re shifting a lifetime of habits, kicking out incredibly stubborn addictions, and changing yourself from the inside out. Luckily, YOU ARE SUPPORTED. Well supported in fact! I’m here to support you and so is the cleansing community.

Today, write all the people and places in your life where you feel supported. Then write the places where you feel you would like to invite in more support. Finally write one thing you can do today to feel more supported.

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


Mindfulness Challenge 6: Create a mentality shield One of the hardest parts of cleansing can be the judgement you receive from others for getting healthy. It’s a strange paradox. Humans are social creatures and many people may feel threatened by those reaching beyond the norms--even if those norms make people sick and tired. These people are unavoidable whether it’s at the office or at family gatherings. Letting the judgement of others roll of your back is an important part of cleansing. One tool I’ve found to help this process along is to create your own invisible “mentality shield”.

During your morning meditation, take a few seconds and briefly envision a clear, impenetrable shield that creates a bubble around you. Imagine negative talk from others coming at the shield and simply bouncing off. It seems a little silly at first but you’re simply wiring your brain! This imagery prepares you to mentally reject any negativity that comes your way. Feel free to add this to your daily practice.

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Staying in the Positive

Day 7

What are all the POSITIVE things that eliminating certain negatives have brought to your life in the past? How can you frame your daily thoughts to focus on those positives first?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


Mindfulness Challenge 7: No complaint challenge! One of the quickest ways to fall into the trap of negative energy is complaining. We ALL do it. I have a serious challenge for you today: kick complaints to the curb. Seriously, everything from “I’m so tired” to “Ugh it’s so hot out!”. If you find yourself slipping, try and reframe. “I’m so tired” can easily be turned into “I can’t wait to get a good night sleep tonight!”.

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Reflection: No Complaint Challenge

Day 8

How was your no complaint challenge? What did you find to be helpful in staying aware? What were your thought processes that led to complaining? What were some ways you were able to turn negative complaints into positive statements today?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


Mindfulness Challenge 8: Mental Toughness We are capable of so much more than we think we are if we just get out of our own way! In the spirit of getting a little physical. Today our mindfulness challenge involves exploring physical discomfort. Choose a simple exercise like a plank or wall sit. With a timer, I want you to perform the exercise three times for as long as you can. When you feel like you can’t continue any longer, push yourself to simply add on 2-3 seconds.

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Gratitude Journaling

Day 9

Today we’re adding in a new component to our daily journaling habit: Gratitude journaling. Want to live longer, feel less stressed and be happier? The secret is to practice gratitude! The key to gratitude journaling is really FEELING the gratitude for a particular piece of your life. Before you write something down, really feel what it means to you.

From here on out we will aim to include 2-3 gratitude points in our journaling. Today we’re going to get some extra practice in. Think of as many things as you can that you’re grateful for, really feel it and then write it down in the space provided.

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


Mindfulness Challenge 9: Body Awareness Scan Today we’re doing a simple mindfulness practice to help us check in with our physical bodies. The more aware we are of how we feel, the easier it is to nourish ourselves. During your five minute meditation, try this guided 5 minute body scan from mindful.org.

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Reflection

Day 10

Almost halfway there!! Congratulations for making it this far! I know it’s not always easy. Today we’re going to do a quick reflection:

List 3 big wins you’ve had so far: _______________________________________________________

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What’s one obstacle you’ve overcome? __________________________________________________

What’s one failure you’ve experienced? __________________________________________________

Looking back, what is a step you could’ve taken to prevent that same type of failure in the future?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


Mindfulness Challenge 10: Just breathe! I’m obsessed with breathing! That might sound weird but once you experience the amazing effects of breathing you can’t help but begin to love it. My favorite part about breathwork is its ability to reset our stress response. You can go from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” in a matter of minutes with simple breathing techniques. Try the breathing technique below before a meal or meditation to reset your stress hormones!

*** BOX BREATHING INSTRUCTIONS****Box breathing is simply inhaling, holding, exhaling and holding for identical counts of time. I suggest starting with 4 seconds. Simply inhale on a four second count, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale for a 4 second count and hold for an additional 4 second count. Do this for a total of 10 repetitions. Notice how you feel afterwards!

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How do you Take Care of Yourself?

Day 11

Sometimes we forget that in order to take care of others we have to take care of ourselves first. List all the ways you take care of yourself or the things you do that re-energize you so that you’re able to be more effective at home or work.

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How can you make it a point to do at least one of these things everyday?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION


GRATITUDE: What are three things you’re grateful for today?

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Mindfulness Challenge 11: Add 2-3 minutes to your daily meditation routine Today we add to our meditation time! Simply add 2 or 3 minutes to your meditation starting today or tomorrow.

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Define and Release Your Stress

Day 12

Where do you feel stress in your life? Friends, finances, family, love, work? List the top three specific things that are creating stress:

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Now dig a little deeper. What’s behind that stress? Fear? List all the fears that are associated with those three stressors

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Release yourself from some of those fears. Write it down and breathe it out.

I release myself from _____________________ I release myself from ___________________

I release myself from _____________________ I release myself from ___________________

DAILY TRACKER: Recommended Meditation (5-8 minutes)

SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 12: Random acts of kindness In Chinese medicine, diseases relating to the liver are heavily tied to the imbalanced emotion of anger. Today, in order to support our emotional livers, we are going to practice kindness. This can be to yourself, a family member or a total stranger. It can be incredibly small. Holding the door for someone, letting someone cut in on the freeway, or simply smiling and saying hello. Try and aim for 3-5 acts.

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Reflection: Random Acts of Kindness

Day 13

List your random acts of kindness for today. How did this change the mood of your day?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 13: Turn the mundane into mindfulness!You don’t have to sit on a cushion to practice awareness and mindfulness! Doing the dishes, driving, sweeping or just about any other “boring” task can be turned into a practice. All it takes is being 100 percent present with whatever action you choose. Pay attention to how it feels and try and let thoughts pass through rather than getting caught up in them.

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Reflection: Week Two

Day 14

Two weeks down!! Congratulations for continuing to push through! I know it’s not always easy. Today we’re going to do a quick reflection.

List 3 big wins you’ve had so far: _______________________________________________________

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What’s one obstacle you’ve overcome? __________________________________________________

What’s one failure you’ve experienced? __________________________________________________

Looking back, what is a step you could’ve taken to prevent that same type of failure in the future?

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What have you learned about yourself so far? _____________________________________________


SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 14: Implement a pre-meal gratitude practiceIn studies of “Blue Zones” (populations with above average people who live to be over a hundred) one of the significant commonalities found was the pre-meal gratitude practice. Your challenge for today is to create your own. It doesn’t have to have any sort of spirituality attached. It can be as simple as taking a quick moment to feel thankful you’re about to enjoy a delicious meal.

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Creating Space

Day 15

How has this cleanse created space in your life so far? What are a few things you’ve been able to gain from that space? What are other areas in your life that need more space and how might you go about creating it?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 15: Eat with no distractions! Today I’m challenging you to eat a full meal with NO distractions. No tv, texting, emailing, not while driving not even while reading a book. Just EAT! This sounds simple but is incredibly hard for some people. Try to aim for at least one meal a day in a calm, quiet environment with no distractions

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Create a Bucket List

Day 16

Today we’re going to create a mini bucket list with a little twist. I want you to look back at your journal assignments for day 1 + 2. Reconsider your “why” and how you want to feel when you achieve a specific goal in health. Achieving optimal health is great, but what do you want to DO with your health? What will achieving physical, mental, and emotional vitality allow you to do that you didn’t feel was in reach before? Today, we’re creating a bucket list of 3-5 things you want to complete in this lifetime because your health will allow it. It could be anything from running a 5k to starting a business, or giving a talk. Remember, health means more than just the physical!. Don’t force these. If nothing comes to mind right away, keep it in the back of your head for a few days and see what comes up. They should feel exciting but also a little scary or intimidating.

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SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 16: Get some time in nature!Yet another commonality with the centenarian population (those who live beyond one hundred years) is that many of them enjoy time outside. Getting a dose of nature is a cost free way of reducing stress and increasing happiness. Today your challenge is to spend some time in nature. This might mean going on a hike or simply sitting under a quite tree. Aim for 30 minutes to 1 hr.

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Anger Journaling

Day 17

Today’s journal is all about releasing anger. The idea is not to get rid of it necessarily but to really feel it and give it recognition. This technique acknowledges the emotions rather than shoving them away and allows them move through you rather than letting them sink their teeth in.

1) Set a timer for 3-5 minutes. 2) On a piece of blank paper, write down all the things that have been bothering you this week. 3) Try not to judge whether you “should” or “shouldn’t” feel that way. Don’t get too attached to the circumstances around them. Just write them out on paper. 4) Move right into today’s mindfulness challenge with this paper in hand


SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 17: Releasing AngerToday we’re going to implement a mindfulness technique called RAIN and use it to release anger. RAIN stands for the following:

1) R- Recognize: Simply recognize the emotion that’s coming up 2) A-Allow: Allow yourself to be with the anger 3) I- Investigate: Why might this situation make me feel this way? 4) N- Non-identify: Turn your attention to the idea that you are not your emotions but separate. Take a step back and release your identity from your emotion

With your paper in hand, feel the anger that is present. Use this guided RAIN meditation to work through the RAIN process with this anger. Once you’re finished, honor the emotions contained within your paper for what they’ve taught you, but dismiss them. Rip the paper and place in the trash.

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How Can You Embrace More Discomfort in Life?

Day 18

“He or she willing to be the most uncomfortable is not only the bravest but rises the fastest” - Brene Brown

What are you afraid of? Heights? Spiders? Public speaking? List your fears. How can you facilitate more discomfort in your life by stepping up and embracing fears with courage?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 18: Do something that scares you. Right now. Commit to doing something that freaks you out a bit. Maybe it’s signing up for sky diving or volunteering to give a talk at your local community center. It could be as small as letting a spider crawl on you. Maybe it’s simply being a little more open or vulnerable. The challenge is to sit with the discomfort. Courage isn’t the elimination of the feeling of fear, it’s feeling the fear and moving forward regardless.

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Reflection: Digital Detox

Day 19

By now, hopefully you’ve completed your 1 day digital detox. How was it? What differences did you feel throughout the day? How can you incorporate mini digital detoxes throughout your day/week?

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SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 19: Write a thank you note Having gratitude and connection in your life are two things that make staying healthy possible. Today your challenge is to write a thank you note. It doesn’t have to be super long or a literary masterpiece. IA post-it note to a partner or dropping a card on the mail to a good friend. Connect with someone you care about and let them know how much you appreciate them.

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Eliminating Negative Beliefs

Day 20

What are ways you’ve held yourself back in the past? What are some limiting beliefs you tend to cling to? (example: I’m not ____ enough) Write them down.

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Now, I want you to go through them all and cross out all the negatives (Can’t, not, don’t, etc) until each one reads a positive statement. Read through them again and imagine yourself embodying each positive statement.


SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 20: Keep Your Goals in Mind Today during meditation, I want you to to really embody how you want to feel as you reach a future health goal. Try not to attach too what this looks like but what it feels like. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, imagine how that would make you feel. Again, the goal isn’t to picture what it would look like, just how it feels.

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Commit to Owning Your Health

Day 21

I want you to write yourself a letter as if it was to one of your dearest friends. I want you to explain to this person, that you care deeply about, all the things they’ve gained by standing up and owning their health. I want you to commit to continuing to stand with them and let them know how proud you are of their progress.

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SLEEP

HYDRATION



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Mindfulness Challenge 21: You are powerful! Taking ownership of your health is such a huge way to take back your power. We so often underestimate our personal power. You are SO freaking powerful. Today as, you sit in your meditation, I want you to repeat the affirmation: “I am powerful”. Really feel it. As you more forward in your health journey, keep this feeling as something to revisit often.

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mindfulness journal - elissa goodman day cleanse... · 2019-02-27 · the 21-day cleanse program...

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