Welcome.
If you're here,
There's a good chance you're running on empty.
Maybe you just got the kid settled.
Or maybe you're stealing a few minutes in a parking lot,
A bathroom,
Five minutes before everyone wakes up.
Whatever brought you here today,
I want you to know this is a place where you get taken care of for a few minutes.
Not your child,
Not a family member,
You.
So go ahead and find some stillness,
However that looks for you today.
Sitting,
Lying down.
Eyes closed or open.
There's no wrong way to arrive here.
And you've been giving so much.
Watching so closely.
Holding so much that other people don't see.
And that takes a toll on you.
Even when you love who you're doing it for.
So for the next few minutes,
We're going to do something different.
We're going to give something back.
Let's start by helping your nervous system understand that right now,
In this moment,
There's nothing to fix.
There's nothing to manage.
There's nowhere to be.
We're going to breathe together.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Letting the exhale be a little longer than the inhale.
That longer exhale is what tells your body to breathe.
You can settle down now.
Go ahead and breathe in for a count of four.
And out for a count of six.
Just noticing your body begin to soften.
Let's breathe again.
In through the nose.
Filling up.
And out through the mouth slow.
And let your shoulders drop a little more.
Breathe in again.
And this time as you breathe out,
Silently say to yourself.
I don't have to hold this right now.
Breathe in,
Filling your belly,
Not your chest.
And out long and slow.
Let your jaw unclench.
Again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
This time,
Notice if you're bracing anywhere.
Your stomach,
Your back.
Your hands.
Just notice you don't have to change anything yet.
Breathe in.
And as you exhale,
Let that bracing soften by even 1%.
Let that be enough for now.
Breathe in through the nose.
And out through the mouth.
This time,
Let a little sound come out if it wants to,
A sigh,
A release,
Your body's allowed.
One more breath in.
And out,
Slow and easy.
And now let your breath return to its own rhythm.
No need to guide it anymore.
It knows what to do.
Now bring your awareness to wherever your body is being held.
Chair,
Floor.
Seat of the car.
Let yourself actually be held by it,
Instead of holding yourself.
And now in your mind picture just for a moment.
A cup.
Your cup.
Not the one you're constantly filling for everyone else.
This one belongs to you.
And I want you to notice.
Is it empty now?
Is it half empty?
Is it cracked at the edges from being poured out so many times without a refill?
Whatever you notice,
There's no judgment here.
It's just information.
This is what caring for someone else day after day without enough support can do.
Now imagine something.
Anything.
Beginning to pour back into that cup.
It doesn't have to be dramatic.
It can be as small as this exact moment.
These few minutes you gave yourself.
It can be warm.
Bye.
Quiet.
Peace.
Whatever your body wants it to be.
You are allowed to receive.
You are allowed to have a cup.
That isn't only for pouring out.
Now say silently to yourself.
I can care for someone else and still take care of me.
My needs are not the thing getting in the way.
They are part of what makes this sustainable.
I am allowed to be supported.
In a moment,
You'll go back to your day.
To the noticing,
The holding.
The caring that you do so well.
But you don't have to go back the exact same way you came in.
And take one more breath with me.
And out long and slow.
Whatever is ahead of you today.
You get to meet it from a little more ground beneath you.
A little more room in your chest.
A little more room in your cup than you had 10 minutes ago.
You're doing an extraordinary thing every day,
Often without anyone telling you so.
So let me tell you,
What you do matters.
And so do you.
Take your time coming back.
Wiggle your fingers,
Your toes,
Open your eyes when you're ready.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself.
