Fridays are great. No work for me. I have a yoga class first thing. I wake up knowing I can put on easy comfortable clothes and make my way to our tiny studio and class of just 4 of us. We're all a bit needy and our teacher oozes 'acceptance'. She easily assesses our moods/needs and we work through it, emerging from the class an hour later, re-energised with our heads up, almost cleansed.

This week I followed yoga with the last lesson in a course on meditation. With my fellow yogis we trooped across town to the meditation teachers beautiful, peaceful, coach house. I'm new to meditation and it's been really interesting reading other Moodscopers recent experiences. This week I was feeling low, and couldn't manage to get my mouth around the chants, I couldn't tell the class how my practice had been going because tears came before words could. Then our teacher played her most stunning and grand Chinese gong and I was terrified. The noise and vibration was there to excite, relax, focus..... I just wanted to run away. Thank goodness we finished the class with some soothing music and lying under a cosy rug. I tried to keep my focus on my breathe and mantra 'Hong Sau' and I did, finally, relax.

I then had an hour of Counselling scheduled. I'd got my tears out of the way earlier, I felt relaxed and it was a good hour, a positive hour. I was able to say some nice things about myself which had never come naturally in the past.

Fridays used to be about rushing to the end of the week, making weekend plans, meeting for drinks after work, assessing the kids activities. Now they're about me. Just about staying on track and slowing down. Do you have time just for you? Or even a day?

Lizzie

A Moodscope member.