From the book
One practice a day, drawn from the first seven chapters of Running with Llamas. No streak to protect, and no prize at the end.
You can read all seven here. The email series has not started. There is no price and no deadline. Otis is a character. He is not in a hurry, and neither is this list.
Seven short practices from Running with Llamas, one a day. They are written on the 7-day page. Leave your email and we will send them when the series starts. No price, and no streak.
Write "After I ______, I will ______ at ______." Keep the action at two minutes or less, and do it once. If you miss, write "trail resumes" and take the next cue. Do not double tomorrow to pay today back. The longer version is A plan with a hinge.
List what the week is carrying. Circle three value words for the next month, with one ordinary behavior beside each. Set one thing down: a no, a dated pause, or a smaller dose. If leaving it would harm someone who depends on you, or cost income you need, it is not the one to leave. A higher sense of purpose has been associated with lower risk in long studies. The values exercise itself is not shown to extend life.
If it fits your life, get up at a time you can repeat, including after a poor night. Keep the last hour dim, and charge the phone outside the bedroom. This is not CBT-I. If sleep has been badly broken on most nights for about three months, ask a clinician. Do not build a sleep-restriction schedule from an email.
After a cue you already have, walk for about ten minutes. Ten thousand steps is not the assignment. If a clinician has not cleared you and you have a heart condition, are pregnant, or have been still for a long time, ask before you add speed. Stop and get medical help if exertion brings chest pain, fainting, or breathlessness you do not understand.
About five quiet minutes. Breathe in, and let the out-breath last longer. Stop if you feel dizzy, tingly, frightened, or unwell. If you are pregnant, or you live with a heart, lung, seizure, or fainting condition, ask a clinician before any practice that is more than quiet breathing. It is a brake, not a cure.
Write the situation as a camera would see it, the thought in quotes, a little evidence for it and a little against it, then one balanced sentence. Aim for fair, not cheerful. If the thought is about hurting yourself or someone else, skip the lines and use the help page.
Some feelings will not be talked out of the room. While the feeling is still here, do one small thing that fits a value you named on day 2. Acceptance, in the book's sense, is not approval of a harmful situation. One page is not therapy.
If you might hurt yourself, do not wait for a note from this list. Use the help lines now.