Step 1. Gratitude

Whether you wake up grumpy, happy, stressed or rejuvenated – the first step of the Alchemical 8 is to feel gratitude for 3 things. This is not just about thinking what you’re grateful for, but feeling what you’re grateful for, and why you’re grateful for it…

“I feel so grateful for my new bed because I had such an awesome night’s sleep and now my back is pain free. Yay!”

“I feel so grateful for my husband bringing me a cup of coffee in bed. He does that every day regardless of his schedule and I really appreciate having that time to myself. He’s such an angel.”

“I feel so grateful for Liz taking over that complicated project at work because now I can tackle some of the other things on my to-do list. I feel more relaxed about my day and everything feels so much more manageable now.”

No need to say it out loud, but go for it if you’d like to amplify the power of your gratitude!

Step 2. Grounding

Put your feel firmly on the floor and feel the connection with the earth below you (even if it’s 20 floors down!). If you’re sitting cross-legged, imagine the feel of the earth beneath your butt. The earth gives you stability and balance. Imagine a large root growing from your feet or your tailbone and down deeply into the earth below you, helping you tap in to that stability and balance. Imagine lots of roots coming off that large tap root and reaching out in all directions. Feel how anchored you are. This is giving you the support and strength you need for the day ahead. It will give you energy from the earth.

Step 3. Breathing

Take 3 deep breaths. On the first breath, inhale deeply into your abdomen and as you exhale, let go. Let go of thoughts, expectations, plans for the day, and be present in the moment. On your second inhalation, breathe in deeply and imagine that breath filling your whole body. As you exhale, imagine you’re breathing out down through the root and giving your breath to the earth. On your third breath, breathe up from the earth, through the root and into your feet. Fill your body with that breath and when you exhale, breathe out through the top of your head. Let go. Feel your presence. Feel the stillness.

Step 4. Scanning

Do a scan of your body, starting at your feet and going slowly through your body to the top of your head, relaxing each area as you go. Are there any areas that feel tight? Do you feel some sort of sensation anywhere? Tingling, discomfort, pain, stiffness? If you find an area that’s calling for your attention, take 3 breaths into that area and on the outbreath release that sensation and open up the area. Then send the feeling of gratitude from step 1 to that area, filling it up, grateful that it has alerted you that there is something out of balance in that part of your body.

Step 5. Imagining

Imagine it’s the end of the day and you’re telling a friend what happened through the day, from the moment of finishing the Alchemical 8 until bedtime. Tell the story of exactly how you want your day to look and more! Leave room for wonderfully unexpected happenings and as you’re telling the story, feel how it was to live through this amazing day. Be creative. Be expansive. Let your dreams come true. Let your imagination run wild. How would this day look? But most importantly, how would this day feel? Tell a story that makes you smile, that fills you with happiness and excitement.

Step 6. Feeling

Choose one event from this story that makes you feel amazing – it uplifts you and fills you with joy. What is the highlight for you? The one thing that makes you feel “OMG my life is awesome!” It may be something small but it brings a smile to your face every time you feel it happening. It could be the feeling of abundance when the PayPal notification sounds as a client pays you; or the feeling of unconditional love when your child says “I love you”; or the freedom you feel as you hand in your resignation to your boss. This will be your anchor for the day.

Step 7. Actioning

Decide on one thing you will do today to support this amazing day happening. It can be as simple as making a phone call you’ve been delaying, treating someone with more kindness, finally going to that new yoga studio… Just go with the first thing that comes to mind, but most importantly, COMMIT to taking that action. Make the statement out loud “ Today will be an amazing day and I’m going to help make that happen by……(state the action)”.

Step 8. Anchoring

Open your eyes slowly and recall your anchor event and feeling from Step 6, then write it on a sticky note, or your screen saver, or on something that will remind you through the day to come back to this feeling. You may like to put it in your calendar as a reminder to come up on your screen a few times that day. I prefer to just write the feeling such as I feel abundant; or I feel joyful; or I feel inspired and as I read it, I automatically recall the image I’d had when I created the anchor, and then the feeling floods me. Find a way that works best for you – whatever gets you into that feeling regularly.

Secondly, I suggest you write down your action in your calendar or planner to anchor this into your day. This strengthens your commitment to the action.

Now you’re ready to get into your day! You’ve imagined your day, you’ve felt your day and you’ve made a commitment to take action on creating an amazing day.

Now go out there and do it!

PS. Of course there’s the occasional day where you really can’t find the 8 minutes, or you feel like crap and just can’t get that energy happening. That’s okay. Maybe you manage to take 3 deep breaths as you sit at traffic lights, or think of 3 things you’re grateful for as you queue for coffee. Or perhaps you just don’t manage it that day, so just let it go and do it the next day. That’s life. Just continue to show up and give it your best shot, and you’ll reap the rewards. Day after day.