Hey everyone, it's Dora here. I just want to let you know that we've launched a brand new

call and advice podcast called Dear Headspace. Each week the headspace teachers along with

some amazing new friends are answering your questions about relationships, work, life,

mindfulness, and just about everything else. It's so different from anything we've ever

created and we're so excited for you to hear it. Dear Headspace comes out every Tuesday

on the Headspace app and anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

Hi, I'm Dora and welcome to your Headspace and to Thursday. So today I wanted to talk

to you about change and what change looks like when it's inspired from a place of compassion

and what it can also look like when inspired from a place of pain or punishment. There's

a quote by the great spiritual teacher, Ram Das, he says, you can do it like it's a great

weight on you or you can do it like a dance. I found myself coming back to this time

and time again, especially as the world begins to open and I'm realizing how much my own

body has changed in the past year. And I can only speak for myself when it comes to this,

but when my actions are inspired from a place of shame or fear, I tend to be impulsive.

The action plan I may have may be a bit more harsh and restrictive as a way to invoke

change but also as a way to punish myself for how I've been in the past. Like, ugh, I'm

doing this new workout routine because I've been like this or I'm exercising because

it's just what I need to do right now. But maybe we can approach our journey of self-improvement,

whether that's physical or mental in a lighter way, like a dance instead of a marathon

or desperate to complete. I wanted to share a personal story of mine and I feel like we've

been pretty vulnerable these past few episodes. So well, I've been and you get to listen and

reflect. But before we begin, I wanted to give a trigger warning for anyone who's a bit

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