Breathing
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Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Starting from the feet and moving up to the head, participants tense and then relax each muscle group. This activity helps release physical tension, calm the body, and regulate strong emotions.
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Mindful Movement
Gentle activities like stretching, walking, or yoga done with attention to breath and body sensations. This practice helps release tension, reduce stress, and bring emotions back into balance.
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Breathing Exercises
simple techniques that focus on slowing and deepening the breath to calm the mind and body. By practicing patterns like deep belly breathing, box breathing, or alternate nostril breathing, you can reduce stress, improve focus, and support emotional balance. Just a few minutes a day can help lower anxiety, ease tension, and create a greater sense of calm and clarity.
Reflecting on Life Shifts
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Gratitude Reflection Walk
Participants take a reflective walk, either outside or indoors, and think about the life shifts they have experienced. As they walk, they note one thing they are grateful for in each major life change—whether it was a new relationship, a skill learned, or simply strength built. The walk combines movement with mindfulness to reinforce appreciation.
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Turning Points Storytelling
Participants identify one or two major life shifts (such as becoming a parent, changing careers, or experiencing loss) and write or share a short story about how they navigated that transition. By exploring these stories, they can recognize strengths, coping skills, and areas of personal growth that emerged during challenging times.
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Letter to Past and Future Self
Participants write one letter to their younger self and another to their future self. The first allows them to reflect on what they’ve learned and what advice they would give to their younger self, while the second encourages them to imagine and define what they want their future to look like. This exercise fosters self-compassion and forward-focused hope.
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“Before and After” Reflection
Participants choose one significant life event—such as a career change, moving to a new place, or a major relationship shift—and write about who they were before and who they became after. This structured reflection highlights personal growth and helps them recognize how change shaped their identity and resilience.
Decision-Making
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Decision Tree Exercise
Map a decision visually, showing possible choices and the short-term and long-term consequences of each path.
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If / Then Plan
Outline plans for decisions with conditional statements (e.g., “If I choose X, then I will…”), helping anticipate consequences. red this article!
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Letter to Past and Future Self
Participants write one letter to their younger self and another to their future self. The first allows them to reflect on what they’ve learned and what advice they would give to their younger self, while the second encourages them to imagine and define what they want their future to look like. This exercise fosters self-compassion and forward-focused hope.
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Past Decision Reflection
Revisit a past difficult decision: what steps were taken, what worked, what didn’t, and what can be learned.