Welcome to our 16. Day of the Natural Highs Academy!

FIVE SENSES PRACTICE DURING A CRISIS

How are you?

I know it can be challenging to be cooped up and it is really normal to get bored with your surroundings especially if it’s the same all the time and you can’t spend much time outside. It is also easy to fall into habitual ways of sensing the environment around us.

But what if we trained ourselves to experience all that surrounds us with a new lens or with new eyes? How might we find beauty in the ordinary, or even in everything?

Check out these youtube videos which talk about how to see beauty everywhere and in everything.

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES:

Print out the outline of the hand below or if you don’t have a printer trace your own hand on a piece of paper and write/draw 1-5 of the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and things you can touch (real or imagined) that you feel most attracted to today.

Either inside your house or outside, I invite you to bring your attention to your surroundings.

1) What colors, shapes, textures are you attracted to? What can you see in your environment that inspires you or brings you energy? 2) What can you smell, and which smells are you attracted to? 3) What can sounds can you hear? Notice each sound and notice how each one makes you feel? 4) What can you taste on your lips? What food is in the pantry or the refrigerator? Can you imagine how your favorite food would taste? 5) What can you touch and feel on your skin? What textures and temperatures comfort you? As you notice these things, notice your breath, your energy, your emotions. Has anything changed since before you did this exercise? What is your relationship like to your environment? How does this space support/inspire you to experience beauty and safety? How does it not? What would you change in it? Can you find something you appreciate or find beautiful in something that you find boring or uninspiring? If you struggle to find anything beautiful in observing through your senses the environment around you, try using your imagination to dream up the most beautiful place you can conjure up. Our imagination is a phenomenal gift that can transport us to the places of our dreams, and from this place we can also create our realities. What sights, smells, sounds, tastes, textures could you create and bring into your space to give it more beauty? Short on the resources to make this possible? Could you create an artwork or a visual talisman that could be a reminder of this imagined place, that you can return to at anytime from any place to bring you a sense of beauty, inspiration and peace? Activity #2 Speaking of beautiful environments, we also have the Natural Highs inspired coloring page created by the very talented Boulder born and raised artist and Natural Highs Alumni, Nisty Tharp. We invite you to save it to your computer, print it out, color it in with your favorite colored pencils, markers, paints, or material. TODAY'S ACTIVITIES: - Watch youtube videos on how to find beauty everywhere - 5 senses activity to experience beauty in your environment - Color Nisty’s Coloring page - If you know someone who could use some support right now and you would like to reach out to them during these times, feel free to send them this coloring page or this email as a gift of support. Thank you, Tess Eckert, for today's beautiful activities, videos, and instructions to inspire us! Thank you! If you have ideas you want to contribute to these daily email inspirations, please let us know: avani@naropa.edu

Also, feel free to check out the Natural Highs Google CALENDAR with daily Natural Highs activities for TEENS: 

Teen Calendar of Online Events

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=83gi6m9jfn9j2noao4gac5adlk%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FDenver If you have joined the Natural Highs Academy after March 30, you can find all the previous exercises and worksheets that you might have missed on:  & Materials

Feel free to share any of these resources with anyone - teen or adult - who you think might benefit from daily inspiration and structure during these times. I so look forward to have you be part of the Natural High https://www.naturalhighs.org/post/welcome-to-the-natural-highs-academy Want more Natural Highs Resources? Now, everything in the Natural Highs Store is available for FREE with the Coupon: "coronarelief": Community. We can support each other to make the best of these times Stay strong & inspired ❤️ Avani