
As we begin this year’s Counting of the Omer, many of us have already been counting the days since the world entered this period of isolation, distancing, anxiety, and stress on the one hand … and self-sacrifice, community-care, and virtual connection on the other.
The Omer — the 7 week / 49 day period from Passover to Shavuot — lends itself beautifully to numerous layers of interpretation and practice. This year in particular, as we cope and manage with the COVID-19 pandemic as best we can, it’s more critical than ever that we each do what we can to develop and/or maintain a wellness practice.
It’s the strange irony of this time that some folks are dealing with hours upon hours of unstructured time to fill while others are so busy working full time either from home or on the frontlines of healthcare and other essential services, while also caring for children and other family members whose normal school and care services are shut down, that it feels like there’s barely time to breathe.
That’s why we’ve started a daily seven minute wellness practice based on the Counting of the Omer. In this incredibly challenging time, we need opportunities for introspection and intentional focus on caring for ourselves, each other, and our environment, however brief.
Seven minutes is all we ask. Most of us can find seven minutes within even the busiest of days.
We’re take inspiration from the mystical framework of the Sefirot (divine qualities) the Kabbalists layered upon the Omer to help organize our wellness practice.
We hope you’ll try these practices on. Please let us know how it goes!
And for those with ample time, certainly feel free to use the seven minutes expansively — it isn’t meant as a limit, but as a bite-size starting point.
And for those for whom seven minutes is a stretch, we hope you’ll give this gift to yourself, and that these practices will serve to help you find more groundedness, comfort, joy, and nourishment to help sustain you through this time.
To join the practice, follow Mitsui Collective on Instagram and see the links below for an archive of each day. Jump in at any time!
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Daily Omer Wellness Practice
Week One Sefirah: Chesed (Lovingkindness)
Day One: Exponential Love — Chesed (lovingkindness) within Chesed
Day Two: Creating a Sacred Container — Gevurah (strength / discipline) within Chesed
Day Three: Listening for Love — Tiferet (harmony) within Chesed
Day Four: Breath & Stillness — Netzach (endurance) within Chesed
Day Five: Loving the Little Things — Hod (humility) within Chesed
** featuring nature journaling methods from Emilie Lygren
Day Six: Locating our Foundation — Yesod (foundation) within Chesed
** featuring a Four Direction Song & Dance from Rabbi Mira Rivera
Day Seven: Love & Sovereign Nature — Malkhut (majesty) within Chesed
** featuring Torah Yoga from Autumn Leonard
Week Two Sefirah: Gevurah (strength / discipline)
Day Eight: Centering for Strength — Chesed (lovingkindness) within Gevurah
Day Nine: Strengthening Boundaries — Gevurah within Gevurah
Day Ten: Harmonious Vision — Tiferet within Gevurah
Day Eleven: From Strength to Strength — Netzach within Gevurah
**featuring Yoga & Song from Samia Mansour
Day Twelve: Memory for Strength & Blessing — Hod within Gevurah — Yom HaShoah
Day Thirteen: Relationship Before Task — Yesod within Gevurah
Day Fourteen: The Sovereign Squat — Malkhut within Gevurah
Week Three Sefirah: Tiferet (harmony / compassion)
Day Fifteen: Self-love & Liberation — Chesed within Tiferet
**featuring body liberation practice from Talia Cooper
Day Sixteen: Radical Candor — Gevurah within Tiferet
Day Seventeen: Love & Harmonic Explosion — Tiferet within Tiferet
**featuring dance immersion practice from Roey Kruvi
Day Eighteen: Finding the Sacred — Netzach within Tiferet
**featuring poetry + meditation from Rabbi Jessica Minnen
Day Nineteen: Softening the Heart — Hod within Tiferet
**featuring movement from Chelsea Taxman
Day Twenty: Feet at the Foundation — Yesod within Tiferet
Day 21: Calm in Chaos — Malkhut within Tiferet
**featuring grounding practice from Nate Looney
Week Three Sefirah: Netzach (endurance)
Day 22: Shaping Endurance — Chesed within Netzach
**featuring somatic practice from Cara Michelle Silverberg
Day 23: Strength in Patience — Gevurah within Netzach
**featuring yoga flow from Hannah Henza
Day 24: Balance in Stillness — Tiferet within Netzach
**featuring compassion statement practice from Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife
Day 25: Enduring in Mind & Body — Netzach within Netzach
Day 26: Expansive Humility — Hod within Netzach
Day 27: Foundation & Connection — Yesod within Netzach
Day 28: Hands in the Dirt — Malkhut within Netzach
Week Four Sefirah: Hod (humble splendor)
Day 29: Interconnected Glory — Chesed within Hod
**featuring gratitude practice from Rabbi Deborah Waxman
Day 30: Strong Feet Strong Body — Gevurah within Hod
Day 31: Splendid Spine Compassion — Tiferet within Hod
Day 32: Loss and Letting Go — Netzach within Hod
Day 33: Celebratory Vision — Hod within Hod + Lag b’Omer
**featuring vision and journaling practice from Nigel Savage
Day 34: Low Flow — Yesod within Humility
Day 35: Sovereign Splendor — Malkhut within Hod
Week Five Sefirah: Yesod (foundation / connection)
Day 36: Mindful Nurturing — Chesed within Yesod
**featuring meditation practice from Catherine Bell
Day 37: Strengthening the Swivel — Gevurah within Yesod
Day 38: Listening On Purpose — Tiferet within Yesod
**featuring mindfulness practice & conversation guide from Melissa Carter
Day 39: Enduring Connections — Netzach within Yesod
**featuring connection practice from Ben Becker
Day 40: Humble & Well-Heeled — Hod within Yesod
Day 41: Aligning our Foundation — Yesod within Yesod
Day 42: Roots & Shoots + Rainbow Day! — Malkhut within Yesod
Day 43: Reflecting the Light of Others — Chesed within Malkhut
Day 44: Strength in Sacred Space — Gevurah within Malkhut
Day 45: Compassionate Sovereignty — Tiferet within Malkhut
Day 46: Mapping your Patronages — Netzach within Malkhut
**featuring commitment mapping practice from Adina Polen
Day 47: A Story Towards Sovereignty — Hod within Malkhut
Day 48: Tending the Garden — Yesod within Malkhut
**featuring mindfulness practice from SooJi Min-Maranda
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