Welcome.
However you're arriving here today,
You are welcome here.
Before we begin,
I'd like to just let you know that there is no right way to practice this.
You do not need to settle completely.
You don't have to feel 100% calm and you definitely don't need to force anything to change.
So this practice is simply an invitation to get curious,
To notice whether there might be one small part of your experience or this moment that feels just a little bit more supported than the rest.
You don't have to feel completely safe,
Just safe enough.
And we're gonna explore what safe enough feels like.
And we're gonna start by orienting to our environment first.
So to do that,
You're invited to let your eyes explore your space that you're in right now.
Slowly and gently,
Noticing things like light and shadow,
Color,
Shapes,
And textures.
And we're looking for things that inform our nervous system,
That it can settle just a bit,
And that it can find a little morsel of safety within.
The question is,
How does your body,
How does your nervous system receive that support in this moment?
So now you're welcome to orient through your auditory senses,
Just sort of tuning in to what you hear.
It could be sound that's close,
Or sound that is far,
Or maybe there is the absence of sound,
Which can be a sound too.
And again,
Just getting a little curious about how that lands in the body,
How the nervous system is receiving that input right now.
And taking a moment now to connect to your tactile senses.
Noticing texture,
Noticing the feel of the air on your skin,
Or the temperature.
Maybe there's something you can hold.
Maybe you can notice being held as well by the chair,
Or the floor,
Or gravity itself.
Maybe there's something supporting your weight without asking anything from you.
There's no need to figure anything out,
Just letting your environment inform your nervous system that you are safe,
Or safe enough.
And if it feels comfortable,
You might let one hand rest somewhere on the body.
The chest,
The belly,
The arms,
The hands,
The legs,
Wherever feels most natural today.
Just noticing the contact itself.
Perhaps a sense of warmth,
Or pressure,
Or presence.
Taking a moment here.
Perhaps connecting to your breath,
If that supports you as well.
Nothing to change,
Nothing to achieve.
Breathing in.
And from here,
Very gently,
Notice whether there is anything in your experience right now that feels even slightly easier to be with than the rest.
It doesn't have to be excessively pleasant or peaceful,
Just a little less charged.
It might be something very small.
It matters less as to what it is,
But more of how it supports you in this moment,
And how you know how your body,
Your nervous system,
Signals this to you in this moment.
It could be your feet touching the floor,
Warmth of your own hand,
Or a part of the body that feels neutral.
Or maybe it's the simple fact that you are breathing.
If nothing stands out,
That's okay too.
No need to search hard.
No need to force an experience that isn't here,
If that's the case.
If you do notice even the smallest sense of support though,
See what it's like to stay with it for a few more moments,
If that's okay,
Without trying to deepen it,
Without needing it to become something larger.
Just allowing the body a little more time to register it and integrate it.
Letting it flow through your nervous system so it knows,
Okay,
I can be with this.
This is safe enough.
Perhaps noticing what happens.
Maybe nothing obvious,
Or maybe a small softening somewhere,
Or a slight change in the breath,
Or a tiny reduction in efforting.
Even subtle shifts matter.
Sometimes it can be the smallest thing that can help your body find a little bit of ease,
A little bit of safety.
And help bring about just a little bit of a relaxation response,
A signal in your nervous system.
And so we're trying to really notice what that feels like.
It's very easy to notice what it doesn't feel like,
But we're retraining our system to have that experience that in this moment,
It's safe enough.
And so if you'd like,
Maybe taking another breath into and through this body,
Through this nervous system,
Through this being of yours.
And now letting the attention widen again.
Just starting to come back outward again to the sounds around you.
And noticing how the body moves between inward attention and outward attention,
Back and forth,
And what that feels like for you.
Contacting something perhaps internal,
And then returning to the environment again.
There's no rush here.
And once again,
Maybe if you feel called,
Gently returning inward once more.
Back to that internal state,
That nervous system awareness,
That interoception.
If it feels right.
I'm curious what feels most available to notice right now.
Maybe there's still one small place in the body that feels a little easier than the others.
Or maybe there's a sensation of warmth or coolness or steadiness.
Maybe there's a little more room around the breath than there was before.
Or maybe there's just a sense of neutrality.
Or perhaps what really felt supportive was outside of the body.
That's okay too.
That's information.
Maybe it was the quiet of the room,
Or the feeling of being held by the chair.
Whatever it is,
Letting it be enough.
Sometimes the mind wants something clearer,
Or something more certain,
Or a stronger feeling.
And if that happens,
Just notice that too.
This practice is not about certainty.
Only contact.
Noticing small moments of contact with support,
However they arrive.
Sometimes we have to get a little more still,
Or a little more quiet to notice.
And we can do so safely.
It can be incredibly subtle.
And before we close,
Just noticing what you may want to carry with you from here.
Maybe a reminder that support can be quiet and subtle.
Maybe a memory of one small place that felt easier to rest in.
Or maybe simply the experience of safely slowing down enough to just notice what's here.
Or learning how to let that in,
Integrate into this beautiful nervous system of yours.
It's a beautiful thing that you've offered yourself this moment,
And I honor you for that.
Thank you for being here.
