I enjoy Fridays and associate them with a sense of freedom.
After dealing with a week full of constraints from work or school,
Here in Friday,
We're looking forward to the weekend,
To being free.
Almost like a dog when somebody left the gate open.
It's nice in moments like this to be able to really sit and feel what freedom feels like.
To kind of catalog what it feels like in our body,
What it feels like in our minds.
To be able to store that away for use at a later date when we are maybe not feeling so free.
Times when we may be overwhelmed by how much we have on our plate.
Stressed out with job responsibilities or other familial or just life responsibilities.
We have a lot going on and we feel very constrained.
It's good to take a moment when possible and reflect on that feeling of freedom.
Both to be able to cultivate that freedom in the moment,
Or at least the feeling of that freedom in the moment.
Or to remind ourselves that whatever we're going through right now is not permanent.
There will be an end to the stress or the restraint or the busyness.
There is a Friday on the horizon where we can look forward to taking that much needed break.
So today,
Whether this is a Friday for you or another day that you just want to cultivate that Friday feeling.
I invite you to sit and really reflect on what it feels like to be free.
A moment when you had a break from your responsibilities.
That feeling of finally finishing a big project or checking off a few items on that to-do list and feeling like,
Wow,
I'm caught up.
That feeling may not come around often,
But I'm sure everybody has had that experience before.
So keep that in mind for today.
I want to call that back to the forefront of our thoughts here in a little while.
But to get started,
Let's go ahead and find a good comfortable spot.
Seated on the floor in a chair,
Meditation cushion,
Or even if you're taking a break in your car,
That works too.
Go ahead and take a moment to fidget and settle.
Get comfortable.
Make note of how your body feels.
The feeling of pressure against the surface you're sitting on.
The feeling of the temperature in the air.
Observe your breath for a moment.
Notice where you feel that breath come in.
Expand your chest.
Notice where you feel that breath leave.
Maybe you feel it brushing along your nose.
As we sit here,
Go ahead and bring forth a little bit of that feeling of freedom.
Keep that thought kind of on in the corner like a light in the room.
That feeling of freedom as we start to relax.
And start just by bringing our awareness to our face.
Let's relax your eyebrows.
Relax your lips,
Your jaws.
Soften your eyelids.
If you're sitting with your eyes closed,
Let them be closed gently,
Not squeezed.
Allow that awareness to travel down to your neck,
To your shoulders.
Allow your shoulders to lower just a little bit.
Relax your chest muscles.
Allow your arms to just rest,
Whether they're on your lap or on the arms of a chair.
Just allow gravity to do its thing.
And allow those to just relax.
Note the muscles in your legs,
Your thighs,
Your hips,
Your glutes.
Consciously allow them to relax.
Allow your calf muscles to relax.
And your feet,
Even down to your toes.
And let's spend a few minutes in this relaxed state.
And you can count your breathing while doing this.
Or just kind of marinate in that feeling of freedom that we drew up from earlier.
I invite you to notice how deep your breath is at this moment.
When you're breathing in,
Are you constricting your breath to be smaller than it could be?
You can take a good deep breath.
And then maybe take in a little bit more air.
And then allow it to just leave naturally.
Do that a few times.
Taking intentionally larger than normal breaths.
But doing so slowly,
Controlled.
Notice how it feels in your body to have your lungs completely filled.
And then allow your breathing to return to normal.
Note if it seems to be a little bit more open,
A little bit more free now than it was before.
Sometimes when we are stressed,
We will subconsciously restrict our breathing.
Which then in turn makes us feel more restricted,
More anxious.
So as we're sitting here,
Just breathing,
Just being free.
Continue to have the awareness of your breath.
Gently nudge that feeling of freedom back to the forefront of your mind.
Just breathing and relaxing.
Continue to check in with the body.
Check in with your shoulders.
Make sure those are still relaxed.
Check in with the thighs and the glutes.
Those often tend to tense up without us realizing it.
Note a good upright posture.
That allows your lungs to open easier.
Allowing that breath to feel free.
And I invite you to use a miniature shortened version of this.
Anytime throughout your day,
Anytime throughout the week.
You can always take a moment.
Even if it's just a minute.
Find a seat to relax.
Take a few deep breaths.
Try to cultivate that feeling of relaxed freedom again.
It can often be just enough to get you through to that next Friday.
So as we draw to an end.
Go ahead and allow your eyes to open if you had them closed.
Invite some little movements in your fingers and toes,
Ankles and wrists.
Maybe open your arms real wide.
Straighten your back up.
Maybe even arch and lean back just a little bit.
And I hope you can take some of this freedom with you throughout your day.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Know that you are always welcome here.
Your presence matters.
You matter.
Go in peace.
Go in freedom.
Thank you.
