Daily Alchemy 002: The Mind + Body + Soul Check-In
One of the simplest ways to begin changing how you respond to life is to become aware of what is happening within you before you automatically react to it. Throughout the day, thoughts arise, the body responds, emotions move through us, and old beliefs or patterns can come online before we even realize what is happening. This practice creates a small space between what you are experiencing and what you choose to do next.
You can use this check-in when you feel triggered (activated), anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, uncertain, or simply when you want to come back into the present moment. You do not need to immediately fix what you discover. The intention is first to observe yourself with curiosity.
MIND | What am I telling myself?
Notice the story running through your mind. What are you assuming, predicting, remembering, or believing about this moment? Ask yourself whether you know it to be true or whether an older experience may be influencing the way you are interpreting what is happening now.
You are not trying to stop your thoughts. You are becoming aware that you can observe a thought without automatically allowing it to become your truth.
BODY | What am I feeling?
Bring your attention out of the story and into your body. Notice your breathing, chest, stomach, jaw, shoulders, hands, or anywhere else you feel sensation. Is there tightness, heaviness, warmth, pressure, restlessness, openness, or ease?
Instead of asking your body to stop feeling what it feels, allow yourself to notice what it may be communicating. Take a few slow breaths and give the sensation space to exist without immediately attaching another story to it.
SOUL | What do I know beneath the reaction?
Once you have noticed the thought and connected with the body, become quiet for a moment. Beneath the fear, conditioning, expectations, and immediate reaction, what feels true?
You might ask yourself: What would love choose here? What feels aligned with who I am becoming? What do I know when I stop trying to control the outcome?
You do not have to force an answer. Sometimes the practice is simply becoming quiet enough to listen.
CHOICE | What do I want to do next?
Awareness creates space, and within that space you have an opportunity to choose.
Maybe the next choice is setting a boundary. Maybe it is taking a breath before responding. Maybe you need movement, rest, a conversation, a different thought, or simply a few minutes to allow an emotion to move through you.
The goal is not to always make the “perfect” choice. The practice is recognizing when an automatic pattern has taken over and remembering that you are allowed to choose again.
Your Daily Practice
When you notice yourself becoming activated, disconnected, or caught in a familiar pattern, remember:
NOTICE → FEEL → LISTEN → CHOOSE
Notice what your mind is saying.
Feel what your body is communicating.
Listen for what feels true beneath the reaction.
Choose the response that feels most aligned with who you are becoming.
The more often you practice meeting yourself this way, the easier it becomes to recognize the space between an automatic reaction and a conscious response.
That space is where the alchemy happens.
Bent, Not Broken
Daily Alchemy | Mind • Body • Soul
Stephanie Lewin