Shonda Moralis - Breathe, Empower, Achieve: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Women Who Do It All—Ditch the Stress Without Losing Your Edge

About the Author

SHONDA MORALIS, MSW, LCSW, is a womens mindful empowerment coach and psychotherapist in private practice with over twenty years experience, specializing in stress-related disorders and womens issues. Trained as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher in 2006, Shonda presents workshops and keynotes in numerous settings. Her award-winning first book, Breathe, Mama, Breathe: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Busy Moms, is a Parents magazine Mom Must-Read. She believes that when women feel strong, balanced, and empowered, they are capable of extraordinary accomplishments on the home front and out in the world at large. Shonda lives in Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley with her husband and two kids, loves to play outside, and is perennially fascinated by what makes people tick.

ShondaMoralis.net

acclaim for

BREATHE, EMPOWER, ACHIEVE

"A healthy salve of compassionate encouragement to help women step back from hectic, overloaded agendas.... Readers wanting to find simple ways to bring mindfulness into their lives will find this empathetic, enjoyable guide to be a beneficial tool."

Publishers Weekly

Breathe, Empower, Achieve, reminded me of my dads advice: Steer into the skid. Shonda Moralis is amazing. She knows that balance doesnt come from a magic eraser that leaves you ohming in some silent, gardenia-scented space; it comes from paying attention to the chaos and clutter, to whats happening, to what matters. Plus, she lets you meditate while youre drinking coffee, so theres that, too.

CATHERINE NEWMAN, author of Waiting for Birdy and Catastrophic Happiness

This book is what we all need. Apply these practices and start being present in your busy lifeand find joy.

LISA DRUXMAN, founder of FIT4MOM

We all need that friend who believes in us and stands with us as we pursue our dreams. In Breathe, Empower, Achieve Shonda is that priceless friend. With powerful, yet gentle words she reminds us of the necessity of balance, helps us examine our dreams, and inspires us to breathe in the midst of life.

RACHEL MARIE MARTIN, author of The Brave Art of Motherhood

Breathe, Empower, Achieve beautifully captures the importance of self-compassion for all women. Rather than adding one more thing to our to do lists, Moralis helps us cultivate a wise and powerful way of being as we move through each moment of our day.

SHAUNA SHAPIRO, PhD, professor of counseling psychology and author of Good Morning, I Love You

BREATHE, EMPOWER, ACHIEVE: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Women Who Do It All
Copyright 2019 by Shonda Moralis

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or online reviews, no portion of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The Experiment, LLC
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This book contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the book. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The author and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or riskpersonal or otherwisethat is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

THE EXPERIMENT and its colophon are registered trademarks of The Experiment, LLC.Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and The Experiment was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been capitalized.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

ISBN 978-1-61519-584-8
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61519-585-5

Cover and text design by Beth Bugler
Author photograph by Elaine Zelker

Manufactured in China

First printing October 2019
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Mom and Anika, my two most beloved quietly powerful women.
And to Dad, Erik, and Ben, the strong men who empower us to flourish.

At my age, in this still hierarchical time, people often ask me if Im passing the torch. I explain that Im keeping my torch, thank you very muchand Im using it to light the torches of others. Because only if each of us has a torch will there be enough light.

Gloria Steinem

introduction

Ditch the Stress without Losing Your Edge

When you quiet the mind and give it one thing to focus on, you quiet your body. When you quiet your body, you quiet your mind. When the mind and body are quiet, there is synergy that feeds pure performance.

George Mumford

There is never enough time in the day.

I am spread so thin, no one receives my best. The guilt is
constant and overwhelming.

Im not even sure who I am or what I enjoy.

At the end of the day, there is nothing left for meno energy,
no time, no motivation.

Worklife balance? What balance?

W hoa. Heavy. I feel exhausted even typing those words onto the page and can imagine the effects of internalizing this dismal inner soliloquy day after day. Many of us do, whether or not we fully recognize it. And simply because everyone else looks like they are thriving, it doesnt mean they arent struggling desperately on the inside. You thought it was just you? Not a chance. Welcome to the club, girlfriend.

When teaching mindfulness to women of all ages, in all types of careers, and in various phases of life, I repeatedly hear: We are stressed, overwhelmed, and time starved. Each of us hops onto the hamster wheel of busyness each morning, sprinting nonstop until we crash into bed in the eveningeither falling fast asleep or grappling with insomniaonly to wake up the next morning and do it all over again. What worklife balance? Indeed.

Thankfully, life neednt feel so chaotic and overwhelming. Imagine I could offer you an all-natural prescription designed to induce a calmer, healthier worklife balance that will fill your days with sustained energy and an adequate amount of space to breathe. It is free and legal, generates no negative side effects, requires very little time, and is beneficial to your overall health. You in?

Research indicates that with regular mindfulness practice we can change the feel of the pace of our days from frantic and urgent to calm and efficient while also enhancing our health, productivity, and general well-beingno physicians prescription required. And all it takes is five minutes a day. Regardless of how busy our lives are, we can all carve out five minutesI am convinced of it. I know; it sounds too good, too easy, too simple to be true.

I, too, was once skeptical of the seemingly counterintuitive ability to slow down yet accomplish more. As a recovering perfectionist, I have firsthand knowledge of the type A, workaholic- leaning buzz that comes from checking things off the beloved to-do list. I appreciate the palpable fear of losing ones edge, the apprehension that pausing for five entire minutes a day might precipitate the loss of precious creative momentum. Not to mention, I once thought,