The 25-Day Mental Training Plan

Realigning with my Blueprint to Bliss before surgery

When the body can’t, the mind can

This phrase has been circling my mind for the past two weeks. I’ve been forced into a season of stillness after a back/hip injury flared up on a hike two and a half weeks ago. On top of that, I was diagnosed with endometriosis (with an endometrioma the size of a lime on my left ovary, woohoo). Because of all this, even the lightest exercise, like going for a walk, exhausts me and leaves me in discomfort afterward. Basically, the universe’s not-so-subtle way of saying: slow the f down, girl. (I swear, I get the message, universe.)

This is a lesson that continually keeps coming back for me. If you’re anything like me, maybe you know the pattern too: overworking, overextending, ignoring your body, and trying to please everyone. Inevitably, the body throws up a stop sign... There always comes a point when, if I do not slow down and reconnect with my inner being, my body will force me to do so.

So I’m taking this as my sign to slow down and tune in. They say it takes 21 days to build a new habit. I have 25 days until my surgery. So I’m looking at this window of time as my training ground, not for strength or endurance in my body, but for mental strength, clarity, and alignment.

Throwback: Last September’s Lesson

Almost exactly a year ago, I was in a similar place. I had just started my yoga teacher training with a horrible back/hip injury that left me unable to do most of the physical postures. It was defeating at first, watching everyone around me flow through asanas while I sat there (in a special chair that they had to bring out for me because I couldn’t sit on my mat), unable to participate. All I wanted was to force my body into the same postures they were doing ( I didn’t want to feel incapable). I judged myself harshly, frustrated that at 21, I couldn’t even make it through a simple sun salutation. Honestly, I felt like a failure.

But my instructor offered me a piece of wisdom that helped shift my mindset around this: only 10% of yoga is the physical practice. The other 90% is the mind. The breath. The presence. The discipline. That experience taught me that even when the body feels broken, the mind can still expand. And when I leaned into meditation and manifestation instead of movement, my life shifted drastically. I started studying the Yamas and Niyamas religiously (seriously, every page of my copy is highlighted and covered in tabs). All of a sudden, the things that I wanted in my life started falling into place.

Looking back, I realize I had been ignoring my body’s signals (the pain, the discomfort) and trying to force it into something it clearly wasn’t ready for. What my body was really asking was for me to learn a different lesson: how to connect instead of resist. So I practiced slowing down, tuning in. Even though the discomfort didn’t magically disappear, my mind softened and my perspective shifted.

Typically, the practice of yoga allows you to connect deeper with your body so that you can connect with your mind. For me, it was backwards; I needed to get into my mind in order to get into (and begin to listen to) my body.

Over the past year, I’ve fallen away from some of those practices. the ones that truly anchored me to my highest self. And now, almost like clockwork, the universe has handed me the same lesson again: sit down, slow down, and return to the blueprint.

My 25-Day Mental Training Plan

For the next 25 days leading up to my surgery, I’m committing to showing up for my mind every single day. No excuses, no negotiations, just showing up. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Daily Meditation
Every day, I’ll sit with a guided meditation by Joe Dispenza, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes (I’ve got nothing but time over here). Meditation was the tool that first shifted my nervous system, rewired my brain, and helped me hold a vision of who I wanted to become. This is me returning to that anchor. This, for me, is the most crucial step.

(If you want to learn more about Joe Dispenza’s approach to meditation, and how to rewire your brain, I’ll put a link to his book HERE.)

2. Practicing Presence in Silence
This morning, I read an article that resonated deeply with me: boredom, though uncomfortable at first, is where creativity is often born. Our generation is terrified of being alone with our own minds, so we layer constant noise on everything: scrolling while eating, YouTube while cooking, podcasts while walking. But downtime isn’t downtime if your brain is still being overstimulated. True downtime is silence. Stillness. Just being.

So I’m making space for it. If I’m eating, I’ll just eat. If I’m sitting outside, I’ll notice the trees in the wind. This injury, as much as it’s challenged me, has also given me an opportunity to tune back into my creativity by tuning out the noise.

3. Unrotting My Brain (I know what a great name)
Another piece of this reset is what I am calling “unrotting my brain.” I read an article recently that used this term and thought was was fitting. It’s too easy to let endless scrolling and overstimulation rot our attention span, so I’m making it a point to stretch my mind instead. For me, this looks like picking one word a day, learning its meaning, and then intentionally using it three times in conversation, or using it in my journaling practice. It sounds simple, but it keeps my brain active, curious, and out of autopilot. It’s like giving my mind a little daily workout (nothing fancy, just proof that growth doesn’t have to be complicated).

4. Writing, Even Just a Sentence
I don’t care if it’s one line in my journal or five pages; I’m writing daily. Writing is how I process, release, and reconnect with myself. And when I stop? I feel it. So this practice is a non-negotiable.

5. Create > Consume
The easiest trap when I’m overwhelmed by emotion is numbing out on my phone. But for these 25 days, I’m committing to creating more than I consume. That means less doom-scrolling and more writing, recording, dreaming, and simply sitting with my own thoughts.

Post-Surgery Check-In

I’ll be sharing a post-surgery reflection. Not because I expect perfection out of this, but because accountability matters, and because I know I’m not the only one who needs this reminder: Sometimes, when you ignore your alignment for too long, your body forces you to stop and listen.

That’s what this season is for me. A forced pause. A call to realign with myself and rebuild my Blueprint to Bliss from the inside out. Because even if I can’t move my body, I can still move my mind. And that might just be the most powerful exercise of all.

With love,

Nevaeh