Hi everyone,
It's me again.
My name is Myra,
Javi's mom.
Welcome to our first session together as part of the Prescription to Feel Steadiness series by Emotion.
If you haven't already,
Please listen to the welcome session to get a sense for what you can expect during our time together.
Emotion is on a mission to change the way the world shows up for one another through grief and loss.
We leverage the power of movement,
Community,
And ritual to help us move with,
Rather than away from,
The most impossible things.
This and every session is meant to be listened to while in motion,
And each of us can choose which form of motion feels right in this moment.
It could be a walk,
A jog,
A hike,
Just a few steps,
Or even a stretch.
For me,
I'm a runner,
So I'll be running alongside you as we move together today.
Let's get started.
We have three opening rituals that make space to hold and move with our grief.
These rituals are each tied to one of Emotion's three values,
And it's how we'll start every session together.
After we move through these rituals,
I'll invite you to get moving.
If you can,
Find a quiet place outside where you can be still.
If you are moving already,
Take this time to pause your movement.
I will let you know when it's time to start moving again.
You can keep your eyes open or closed now.
I'm going to keep mine open today.
My gaze is straight ahead and not focused on anything in particular.
Our first value is to be where our feet are.
Wiggle your toes,
Squish your heels into the ground beneath you.
And we are going to embody this with a short breathing ritual to ground us in this moment.
Take one deep inhale through the nose and a long exhale through the mouth,
Trying to watch that breath land down at the toes you just wiggled.
If you can,
Imagine your breath making contact with your toes and wiggle them before you take your next inhale.
We'll do that together three more times.
We are here firmly planted on the ground beneath us.
Our second value is to honor all feelings.
To embody this value,
We tap our heart two times.
Whatever comes up in our time together today,
Joy,
Heartbreak,
Laughter,
Anger,
Confusion,
Anguish,
Whatever it is,
It's okay.
We're going to honor,
Not judge ourselves for these feelings.
Instead,
We will just move with them.
Our third value is to connect,
Not compare.
To embody this,
Move your feet so they are securely on the ground,
Facing forward,
And roughly shoulder-width apart.
Slowly and with softness,
Lift your arms so they're level with your heart.
Stretch them out wide with a slight bend in your elbows and imagine that you're embracing the space in front of you.
Lean into the energy of connection.
Now relax your gaze and let go of any comparison.
Connection will be our guide as we move together.
We will start every session with these grounding rituals.
We hope that these exercises and the values they embody can be a source of comfort and steadiness in moments that feel hard and heavy and unpredictable.
Are you ready to get moving?
So whether you're walking,
Hiking,
Biking,
Or running with me,
Let's take that first step forward together.
Here we go.
Find a pace that feels right for you in this moment.
I'm going to be quiet for a moment as we find our stride.
We're going to begin today by turning inwards.
Let's direct our attention to being where our feet are,
To appreciating that we are here,
And trusting that we can put one foot in front of the other,
Even when it feels impossible.
We build our capacity to pay attention to the here and now the same way we build muscles in our body,
By practicing this in dosed,
Moderate,
And predictable ways,
As Dr.
Bruce Perry teaches us.
Learning to be present with ourselves is a powerful way of being.
When we are present,
We can create intention.
Intention comes from the Latin word tendere,
Which means to stretch.
We often talk about stretching in the context of sport or movement,
And the same is true for emotional work.
This stretching allows us to cross a threshold from the past or future into the present.
When I learned that I'd only have a year or so to live with my daughter,
Javi,
On this earth,
My family and I set an intention to honor every Friday night as if it were Javi's birthday.
We got 57 of these Fridays with her on this earth.
Because our intention to be present was so clear,
That we would hold and laugh and dance and squeeze every moment of life out of these Fridays,
Now I can recall most of them with such exquisite detail.
The night we had cheesy eggs and blueberry pancakes for dinner,
The night Javi laughed so hard I thought her giggle would never end.
These memories are gifts,
And while they are not nearly enough,
I appreciate what presence has brought me wherever I go.
As we prepare for our first quiet movement together,
We'll use the intention of looking up to help us get present.
I'm going to talk us through how to do this now,
And then I will transition us into our three minutes of quiet movement together.
You will hear a gentle chime bell to open and close that time.
As you continue to move,
Gently raise your gaze above what is directly in front of you,
Being careful not to strain your neck.
Try channeling the mantra,
Slow and soft,
As you lift your gaze and tilt your neck slightly.
Observe what comes into focus for you.
Maybe you notice the top of a tree,
The design of tiles on a roof,
Or the shape of a cloud in the sky.
If and when you feel yourself moving out of the present moment when you're walking in quiet,
Use looking up as a way to re-center and send an implicit message to yourself that you can look up and out and stay steady on your feet all at the same time.
If you feel like you need more than three minutes in quiet,
We invite you to pause this session and resume once you're ready to gently close.
This time is for you and your grief.
When we come back,
We will invite you to reflect on what came up for you,
And then we will close with a poem.
Okay,
Here we go.
Welcome back.
I hope you had a chance to explore presence through intention setting in quiet.
It can feel different and scary to be in quiet like this.
If you feel a bit overwhelmed,
You are not alone.
Be gentle with yourself as you move into the rest of the session and your day beyond.
We invite you to reflect on what came up for you during this time.
What did you see when you looked up?
How did it make you feel?
Did this shift your attention at all?
How does presence,
Intention,
And paying attention relate to your grief experience?
If there's something you'd like to take from this exploration,
Feel free to take a moment right now and make note in your phone or just a mental one to yourself.
If you feel like you need to hear the questions again,
Please feel free to rewind.
As we come to the closing of our first session together,
I'm going to read a poem,
Which is how we'll close every session together.
Today's poem is called Between Two Worlds by Malka Heifetz-Tussman and is ultimately about the power of presence.
Between Two Worlds by Malka Heifetz-Tussman.
I stroll often in a nearby park,
Old trees wildly overgrown,
Bushes and flowers blooming all four seasons.
A creek babbling childishly over pebbles,
A small bridge with rough-hewn railings.
This is my little park.
It's mild and gentle in the breath-song of the park and good to catch some gossip from the flutterers and flyers.
Leaning on the railing of the bridge,
Seeing myself in clear water,
I ask,
Little stream,
Will you tumble and flow here forever?
I ask,
Little stream,
Will you tumble and flow here forever?
The creek babbles back,
Laughing.
Today is forever.
Forever is right now.
I smile,
A spark full of believing,
A sigh full of not believing.
Today is forever.
Forever is right now.
This brings us to the end of our session today.
Feel free to continue your movement if that feels right to you.
If you're ready to close,
Slow down to a stop and take a few deep breaths.
Thank you for moving with the emotion community today.
This is Myra Sack,
Javi's mom,
And I look forward to moving with you again.
Until next time.
Prescription to Feel is a series created by Emotion,
An organization on a mission to change the way the world relates to grief and loss.
Learn more at emotion-mc.
Org or find emotion on Instagram at we are underscore emotion.
Thanks for moving with us.
