In conducting group conversations, the leader performs as an instrument.  Like any other instrument, we need regular tune-ups.  This nurturing attention supports us to be a Letting Go to meet the group's needs.

In North America today, there is a fertile profusion of personal practices.  Some common ones include: 

• meditation
• tai chi, qigong, and other eastern-influenced movement sequences
• walking, especially in natural settings
• therapy (or co-counseling)
• prayer

These practices are commonly done as part of a daily or weekly routine.  In addition, many people choose to do a session specifically as a prelude to a group event, before acting in a leadership position.  (Such preludes may be shorter than a regular full-length practice.)  As the name implies, a personal practice is normally done alone, or (as in the case of counseling) with someone whose role is to support the person in getting clear.  Some groups also have a collective equivalent, such as the reading of a mission statement or ground rules, as part of an Opening and Welcome that fulfills a similar purpose

Whatever the specifics, the goal here is to get beyond one's own needs, preferences, and ego, so as to be of service to the larger whole.