Hello and welcome everybody.
I want to thank you for carving out this time for yourself today.
Now let's begin by shifting our focus away from our screens,
Away from your to-do list,
And just simply arriving in this present moment.
Take a moment to get comfortable in your position,
Whether you're seated or lying down.
But allow your spine to be straightened and soft,
Not too rigid.
And let your shoulders drop away from your ears.
You're sitting in your chair,
Go ahead and uncross your legs and plant your feet firmly on the floor.
When you're ready,
Go ahead,
Gently close your eyelids if you feel comfortable to do so.
I want you to begin by taking a slow deep breath in through your nose.
And let it out through your mouth with a soft sigh.
Let's do that one more time.
Deep breath in.
Doing as much of your body as you can.
And then exhale completely,
Just letting go of anything you might have brought with you today.
Now we're gonna move into our box breathing practice.
This technique helps us to balance our nervous system and clear our mind of things that we may continue to be thinking about.
So we'll inhale for the count of four,
We're gonna hold for a count of four,
Exhale for four,
And then hold that pause for four.
So gently exhale all the air from your lungs,
Now inhale 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4,
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4.
Again,
Inhale 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4,
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
Fold,
2,
3,
4.
Now continue to do that in your own mind for the next three or four times.
Now go ahead and release the counting and let your breathing go back to its more natural rhythm.
You don't need to control it anymore.
Just let your body breathe by itself.
Now I want you to bring awareness to the top of your head,
The crown of your head.
And imagine a soothing warm wave of relaxation slowly washing down from the top of your head.
All the way down.
Allow it to roll over your forehead.
Creasing out any lines of worry you may have brought with you.
Allow it to roll over your eyes.
Allow them to just rest and sit heavy inside of you.
Allow your jaw to relax and your facial muscles to completely soften.
Allow this warm wave to roll down your neck and over your shoulders,
Feeling any stress or tension you may have there,
Pulling away with this warm wave.
Feel your shoulders pulling away from your ears.
And let that wave continue down your arms,
Relaxing all the way down to your wrists and your fingertips.
Feel this relaxing and soothing energy continue to move down your body,
Through your chest and your abdomen.
And with each breath you take,
Feel your body begin to relax more and more.
Allow that wave to move all the way down through your thighs and your knees and your calves.
And finally allow it to wash over your ankles and your feet and down your toes.
Your entire body is now resting in a state of deep and heavy comfort.
Now I invite you to imagine yourself stepping barefoot onto a beautiful,
Secluded beach.
The time is just before sunset or maybe even early morning.
You see a quiet twilight where the sky is painted in those kind of soft purple and lavender shades.
You feel the sand beneath your feet is powdery,
Soft.
And yet perfectly warm.
Imagine yourself walking slowly towards the water's edge.
With every step,
You feel that soft stand just molding around your feet and grounding you to the earth.
The air here is fresh,
Carrying with it clean,
Salty scent of the ocean.
Take a deep breath of this ocean air.
As you continue to walk,
You reach the shoreline where the wet sand meets the dry.
And you sit down comfortably,
Just far enough away from the water's edge,
And you look out into the vast open horizon.
There's no one else here.
And this beautiful space is entirely yours.
Close attention to the sound of the ocean.
How the waves are gentle and rhythmic.
Watch as the wave slowly rolls in,
Washing up onto the sand.
And then gently pulls back into the vastness of the sea.
Rolling in,
Rolling out.
Notice how the rhythm of the ocean naturally mirrors the rhythm of your own breathing.
As you sit there watching the waves,
You might find thoughts or distractions bubbling up into your mind.
And when they do,
Simply imagine writing that thought and worry or task that it might be into the wet sand,
Just right in front of you.
And as you finish writing,
Just watch that gentle next wave roll over on top of it.
And as it pulls away,
It washes those words away,
Smoothing the sand completely.
And carrying that thought out to sea.
Whenever a thought arises.
Just go ahead and write it in the sand.
And let the ocean just gently take it away.
Allowing your mind to be as vast and clear.
As the ocean you see in front of you.
As you sit here deeply relaxed.
Begin to contemplate the nature of the ocean.
On the surface,
There are waves.
There's movement.
Sometimes there's storms.
But deep down,
Miles beneath the surface.
The ocean is always completely still.
It's always silent.
Undisturbed.
And deeply peaceful.
Your mind is just like the ocean.
Events of your day,
Emails,
Meetings,
Conversations with friends and family.
Those are just the waves on the surface.
The deep within you.
There is a place of profound stillness that is never disturbed.
Breathe that stillness into your body right now.
Know that you have the power within you to access this deep and quiet place at any time you need.
When the surface gets rough,
You can always close your eyes,
Take a deep breath.
And drop down into the calm,
Deep,
Peaceful center that you have.
Now that we've found that deep and quiet place for yourself,
It's time to leave this beach.
In your mind,
Go ahead and stand up from the soft sand.
Take one last look over the horizon.
And feel gratitude for this moment of peace.
Walking away from the water.
But bring this stillness.
This deep oceanic calm back with you.
Now slowly begin your transition,
Your awareness,
Back to the room you're sitting in.
Feel the air on your skin.
Notice the weight of your body resting safely on your chair or maybe on the ground.
Take one deep,
Long breath in.
Feel your chest expand.
And then let it out completely.
Begin to rub your fingertips together and wiggle your toes.
If you feel like it,
Go ahead and do a nice gentle stretch,
Maybe rolling the shoulders or stretching your arms.
Take one final deep energizing breath in.
And as you exhale,
Gently open your eyes if you've closed them.
And welcome back.
Take your time reorienting yourself to the space around you.
And carry this calm focus with you into the rest of your day.
Thank you and have a wonderful day.
