Welcome,
Please take a moment to settle into a comfortable position.
You may choose to sit upright with support beneath you or lie down if that feels more nourishing right now.
Allow your hands to rest softly,
Let your eyes gently close or lower your gaze.
There is nowhere else you need to be,
Nothing you need to solve in this moment.
This time is for rest,
Softness and returning to yourself.
Take one slow deep breath in through the nose and gently exhale through the mouth.
Again,
Breathing in slowly,
Breathing out with ease.
One more time,
Inhale calm,
Exhale tension.
Now allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Notice the support beneath your body,
The chair,
The floor,
The bed holding you effortlessly.
You do not have to hold yourself up completely right now,
You are supported.
Bring awareness to the crown of the head,
Softening the forehead,
Relaxing the space between the eyebrows,
Unclenching the jaw,
Letting the tongue rest gently.
Allow the shoulders to drop away from the ears,
Softening the chest,
Relaxing the belly.
Let the hips feel heavy,
The legs soft,
Feet relaxed and again let's take a slow deep breath in and a long steady breath out.
As you breathe,
Imagine the nervous system receiving a message.
You are safe in this moment.
You can soften now,
You can rest.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of the breath,
No need to force it,
No need to control anything.
Simply breathing,
Simply being.
If thoughts are moving through the mind,
Allow them to come and go like clouds drifting across a wide open sky,
Drifting across a wide open sky.
Nothing needs to be pushed away,
Nothing needs to be fixed.
You are allowed to simply witness.
With each exhale,
Imagine the body releasing layers of tension.
With each exhale,
Releasing pressure,
Releasing urgency,
Releasing the need to carry everything all at once.
You may choose to silently repeat,
I am allowed to slow down,
I am allowed to rest,
I do not need to earn peace,
I breathe in calm,
I breathe out peace,
I breathe in peace,
I breathe out calm.
Feel the breath moving like a gentle wave through the body,
Each inhale creating space,
Each exhale inviting softness.
Bring awareness now to the heart space,
Imagine breathing directly into the centre of the chest.
With every inhale,
Invite warmth and as you exhale,
Invite ease,
Inhaling warmth,
Exhaling ease.
Perhaps you'd like to imagine a soft golden light glowing within the heart,
Warm,
Steady,
Calm and as you continue focusing on this area of the heart space,
With each breath imagine this light gently expanding throughout the body,
Into the shoulders,
The arms and the hands,
Into the belly,
The hips,
Legs,
Feet,
A quiet warmth moving through every part of you.
Allow yourself to receive these words,
You are doing enough,
You are enough as you are,
You do not need to carry the future right now,
This moment is enough.
Notice if the body can soften just a little more,
The jaw relaxing,
Shoulders loosening,
Belly softening,
Even a small release matters.
Imagine now that you're sitting beside a calm lake at sunrise,
Somewhere that you already know or somewhere in your imagination,
Here the air is still,
The water is smooth and quiet,
You feel held by the peacefulness around you,
The mind does not need to rush in this place.
As thoughts arise,
Imagine placing each one gently onto the surface of the lake,
Watching it drift away without resistance,
No struggle,
No judgement,
Just allowing.
Bring your attention back to the breath,
Slowly inhale,
Slowly exhale.
Now silently repeat inwardly these affirmations at your own pace if you'd like to or simply listen to my voice as I say them.
I am safe to relax,
My body knows how to heal,
Calm is available to me.
I can meet this moment gently,
I release what I cannot control,
I welcome peace into my mind and body,
Slowing down is healthy,
I deserve moments of ease,
I choose compassion,
I breathe in calm,
I breathe out tension.
Notice how the body responds to kind words,
Even if only a small part of you believes them right now,
That is enough.
Imagine now a soothing wave of calm flowing from the top of the head slowly down through the body,
Moving through the forehead,
The jaw,
Throat and as it moves it relaxes every muscle that it touches,
Over the shoulders,
Chest,
Through the arms and hands,
Down through the belly and the lower back,
Softening the hips,
Thighs,
Knees,
Flowing through the calves and feet,
Leaving the entire body feeling grounded and calm and in this beautiful space allow yourself to rest in stillness for a few breaths.
If emotions arise let them be welcomed with gentleness and compassion,
You do not need to push away your experience,
Allow yourself to feel,
Allow yourself to be soothed with kindness,
If you would like to bring one hand to the heart if that feels comforting right now and feel the warmth of your own presence,
You are here for yourself,
May I be peaceful,
May I be gentle with myself,
May I feel supported,
May I trust in my ability to heal and rest,
May I move through life with greater ease,
Take a deeper inhale and a slow long exhale,
Notice the calm that you have created within yourself and even if the mind is not perfectly quiet perhaps there's a little more space,
A little more softness,
A little more breath and know that that is enough,
When you're ready begin slowly returning awareness to the body,
Noticing the surface beneath you,
The air all around you,
Gently wiggle fingers and toes,
Take one final nourishing breath in and exhale slowly,
As you continue with your day or your evening you may carry this sense of calm with you or find that you can return to it with remembrance,
May you remember that peace does not have to be perfect to be real,
May you return to this softness whenever you need it,
When you're ready gently open your eyes
