Welcome.
I'm really glad you're here.
Let's take a moment to arrive.
However this moment finds you today,
You're welcome here.
There is nothing you need to change right now.
Just a moment to be here,
Just as you are,
With kindness.
In this practice,
We're simply listening to the body.
The way you might sip aside a dear friend and quietly listen.
Perhaps sensing the body breathing.
No need to do anything with the breath.
Just sensing the quiet rhythm of breathing.
Like waves rising and falling on the shore.
Nothing you need to do.
Just letting the breath breathe itself.
From here,
You might notice one small area of the body drawing your attention.
Not the whole body,
Just one place.
Wherever your attention naturally lands,
Or wherever it's easiest to notice.
Perhaps the hands,
The chest,
The belly,
Or somewhere else.
You can let the body choose,
Or gently choose for yourself.
Rather than trying to figure anything out,
You might imagine simply sitting beside this place in the body.
Perhaps with a hand resting there,
Or simply your attention.
Listening the way you might sip aside a quiet lake.
Not needing the water to be still.
Just noticing the subtle movements across the surface.
If you've placed a hand on the body,
Letting the warmth of your hand rest there.
Just allowing the warmth to be felt.
Perhaps noticing what happens right beneath the hand.
A subtle movement,
A softening,
A quiet sense of comfort.
Or maybe nothing changes at all.
And that's okay too.
You don't have to feel anything special.
Just resting here with the warmth of your hand.
And the contact.
You might notice how the warmth of your hand meets the body.
Just letting that warmth be here.
Perhaps sensing how the body receives that warmth in its own way.
Nothing needs to happen in any particular way.
Just allowing the warmth to rest here.
For a few moments.
You might quietly offer this place a few simple words of kindness.
If words feel supportive today.
And if words feel unfamiliar,
Awkward,
Or difficult,
That's completely okay too.
Perhaps something like,
I'm here with you,
Or you don't have to do this alone.
Or simply,
It's okay to feel what you feel.
Let the words be gentle,
Almost like a whisper inside.
Or you may prefer to rest in silence.
Both are perfectly okay.
You might imagine this warmth like a smooth stone warmed by the sun.
Resting gently against the body.
Nothing it needs to do.
Just offering a quiet,
Gentle warmth.
Sometimes warmth spreads slowly,
Almost like a breeze.
Like sunlight touching the earth.
Or sometimes it simply stays right where it is.
Both are okay.
If touch doesn't feel right today,
You might simply imagine a sense of warmth resting here instead.
Just listening.
From here,
You might notice what this place in the body feels like today.
Now.
Just noticing what's already here.
Perhaps there are sensations here.
Warmth,
Coolness,
Tightness,
Movement.
Or something harder to name.
Just a felt sense.
You don't need to describe it.
Just sensing.
You might imagine this place in the body as part of a landscape.
Perhaps like a quiet valley.
Or a stretch of shoreline.
Or a patch of earth after the rain.
Some places in a landscape are smooth and open.
Others,
More uneven.
All of it belongs.
Letting this place in the body be just as it is.
Just another part of the terrain.
As you stay here,
You might gently offer this place a little kindness.
Not trying to change it.
Just allowing it to be felt.
To be here.
Just meeting this moment with a little kindness.
If it feels supportive,
You might offer a little compassion to this part of the body.
Perhaps,
Thank you for trying to help.
I'm listening.
Or,
You don't have to push right now.
Let the words land softly like a hand resting gently on your shoulder.
Or,
Let them pass by if words don't feel helpful today.
If the mind wanders,
That's completely natural.
You simply notice and gently return to this place in the body.
Listening again.
Perhaps sensing how even subtle sensations shift and change over time.
Like ripples in water.
Appearing,
Moving,
Softening,
Or fading.
Nothing you need to follow.
Just letting the body speak in its own way.
Now,
Simply sitting beside the body.
Listening.
The way you might sit beside a dear friend.
With patience.
With gentleness.
Just letting the body know you're here.
You might also sense the quiet message of your presence.
Sometimes the body hears not through words,
But through attention.
Still,
If words arise,
They might be as simple as,
I care about you.
We can go slowly.
Or,
Nothing needs to change right now.
Let whatever feels true be enough.
Before we finish,
You might take a moment to notice how you are now.
Perhaps something's shifted.
Perhaps very little changed.
Or,
Perhaps it was simply a quiet pause.
However it was,
You showed up for yourself.
Listening with kindness can sometimes bring up feelings.
Tenderness,
Emotion,
Numbness,
Resistance.
Or perhaps,
Very little at all.
All of that is welcome.
All of that belongs.
Nothing to judge.
Nothing to figure out.
Just gently noticing where you are now.
If it feels right,
You might offer yourself a final gesture of kindness.
Perhaps placing a hand on the heart.
Or anywhere that feels supportive.
And gently offering words such as,
Thank you for being here.
Or,
I'm doing the best I can.
Or,
May I be kind to myself.
Let the words be simple.
No need to believe them fully.
Just planting small seeds of care.
As we begin to close,
Let your awareness slowly widen.
Sensing the room around you again.
The sounds nearby.
The presence of the space holding you.
Take a moment now to acknowledge yourself.
For pausing.
For listening.
For offering yourself even a few moments of kindness.
That matters.
And when you're ready,
You might gently shift or stretch.
Letting the eyes open if they've been closed.
Slowly returning to your day.
You can move at your own pace.
You are allowed to move gently through the world.
And to meet yourself with a little kindness along the way.
Thank you for practicing.
It's a gift to share this time with you.
You can carry a little of this kindness with you into whatever comes next.
