Day Two: Daily Omer Wellness Practice

Omer Day Two
17 Nisan 5780
10-11 April 2020

For Day 2 of our Daily Omer Practice we deepen our focus on the breath to create our own sacred container for Shabbat through the embodied practice of sequential box breathing (also called square breathing). ✨

Gevurah within Chesed is about strength & discipline within lovingkindness. As day 2 this year falls on Shabbat, for today’s practice we embody the entire creation process in microcosm — one minute per day of creation, building up to Shabbat, the seventh day. As we feel the strength and expansiveness leading into Shabbat, we feel both the beauty and the difficulty of holding such an expansive space within our limited human bodies … hence Shabbat lasting only one day out of seven (at least for those of us still living in the physical world).

Today’s practice:

• Minute One: 1 beat breath in + 1 beat hold + 1 beat breath out + 1 beat hold
• Minute Two: 2 beats breath in + 2 beats hold + 2 beats breath out + 2 beats hold 
• … etc up to 7 beats each segment during final minute *for seven total minutes*

Practice Notes: 

• Eyes closed. Find a grounded position to the floor / earth. Breathe from the belly. 
• First 1-2 minutes and last 1-2 minutes will be most difficult, though in different ways. 
• Try to hold the discipline of the count in each minute; switch at bell to the next count;
• Notice what happens in the body as you progress through each breathing stage from one minute to the next;
• If the longer counts are particularly difficult, stay with a lower count for the remainder of the time … though we encourage you to push through discomfort (different than pain) in order to embody the discipline aspect of Gevurah, to the best of your ability.

Materials: 

• Seat or floor space for sitting;
• Meditation timer capable of chiming at 1-minute intervals (e.g. smartphone app or friend with meditation bell if you have someone nearby)

This post is part of our Omer Wellness Series – a daily 7-minute opportunity for introspection and intentional focus on caring for ourselves, each other, and our environment in this incredibly challenging time.☀️#omer#wellness#jewish#countingtheomer#jewishmovement#movementculture#movementecology#selfcare#dailypractice#hebrewcalendar#kabbalah#jewishwellness#dailyomerpractice#omerinplace #omer5780 #shabbat