I hope that today is a good day to find a little space for yourself with movement, meditation, or something else that makes you happy.
I don’t have a lot of advice today but I do have a question:
What kinds of small things can you do over the next few days to either feel more restful in the moment OR to help yourself start the new year with more ease?
Please don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself to figure this out!
But if you can think of a few things that will make life a bit easier for future you, please try to do them.
Anyway, Team, no matter what you are doing today or what you have planned for the next week, I wish you ease and peace of mind and as much space as you need.
And with that, let’s get into our suggested practices for today:
Since this is Boxing Day, I had decided to post a boxing workout and a box breathing meditation. Boxing Day has nothing to do with the sport of boxing (nor about breathing practices) but I do like a tangential theme!
Then, on a less tangential matter, I realized that today is also the first day of Kwanzaa so I wanted to post a meditation and movement practice related to that celebration as well.
(There are a lot of holidays and cultural events throughout December and I don’t mention them all because I don’t always have the time to do proper research and determine if it would be appropriate for me to reference them in this type of post. If you celebrate something in December that you think would be appropriate for Making Space 2026, please let me know in the comments and I will include it next year.)
Here’s one of our movement practices for today.
In the still image of this 10 Minute Kickboxing Quick HIIT Workout from BodyFit by Amy, the title of the video is on the left in black and the instructor, a person with light skin and freckles and their blond hair in a ponytail and cloth hairband, is demonstrating a punch with their right fist towards the camera and their left arm close to their body in a guarding position (upper arm close to the body, elbow down, forearm leaned slightly across their chest, fist near their chin. They are wearing a blue cropped tank top and you can see the black waistband of their pants (or shorts?)
Here’s our first meditation practice for today:
In still image for this Box Breathing Relaxation Exercise from Hands On Meditation, a variation of the video title ‘5 Minute Box Breathing Relaxation Exercise Beginner Pace’ is in the middle of the screen with the first two words in yellow, the rest in white. The first four words are in larger text than the last four. Behind the text is a silhouette of a square with thick lines for each side and the background is a sort of patterned blue that gives the impression of being underwater.In case you are interested, here’s a good explanation of the benefits of Box Breathing from Sunnybrook Hospital.
Here’s our second movement practice for today:
In the still image for this Kwanzaa Quick Workout video from Uhuru Dancers, Atlanta the instructor, a black person with curly hair pulled upwards away from their face with a yellow and brown patterned scarf, large hoop earrings, a black tshirt with the word LEGACY in white, a hip scarf in the same pattern, and red leggings, is standing on a white and red patterned rug with their hands on the back of their hips. They look calm and determined. In the background, next to a red wall, are several tall drums, and a wooden table. There are posters and other hangings on the wall.
And here’s a Kwanzaa meditation from a few years ago:
In this still image from Principles of Kwanzaa, 7 Day Meditation Challenge Day 1: Umoja – Unity from Manii Dot Calm, the instructor, a young black person with their hair covered in a brightly coloured scarf is sitting on a couch that is covered with yellow fabric and there are two windows with blinds closed behind them. They are wearing a white sleeveless blouse over a burgundy tank top, and they are wearing gold earing and bangles on both arms. Their eyes are closed and their arms are raised so their elbows are away from their body, their forearms are closer to the camera and their hands are palm inward at face height but maybe 6-8 inches away from their face.
If you are interested in more Kwanzaa meditations, her other videos are available at Manii Dot Calm but they are not in a separate playlist.
