Welcome.
Today's practice is a softening of the heart.
We will activate the heart chakra by breathing in and out through the heart.
Then we will call upon an emotion that lives within us and is ready to be released.
Connecting to the emotion itself and the sensations but letting go of the story completely.
Let's begin.
Please confine the comfortable position.
You can be seated or be lying down on your back,
Whatever feels more supportive for you.
Take a moment to settle in,
Nice and slow.
Close your eyes and allow your body to be relaxed and supported.
Begin to notice the weight of your body pressing on the surface beneath you.
Sit and know you're sitting.
Relaxing the muscles on top of the head,
The muscles around your eyes and mouth.
Loosening the jaw.
Allowing your shoulders to drop back and down.
Softening the chest and the belly.
Allowing the breath to move effortlessly.
And begin to become aware of your breath.
Noticing the rhythm,
The depth,
The sound.
Now place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.
Pressing them slightly into your body.
Notice the warmth of your hands.
The energy emanating from them.
Notice the rhythm of your heart.
Now allow your awareness to drop out of your head and into the heart space.
Letting go of the need to think about anything,
To remember anything.
Letting go completely.
Letting yourself drop into the heart space.
Now begin to breathe into the heart space.
As you inhale,
Imagine the breath flowing into the heart as if your heart itself were breathing.
As you inhale,
Imagine fresh energy flowing into your heart,
Traveling on the breath.
And as you exhale,
Release the breath through the mouth.
Breathing in through the nose,
Sending the breath directly to the heart space.
And breathing out through the mouth.
Inhale into the heart.
Exhale through the mouth.
Allow your exhales to become a release.
Softening the shoulders just a little bit more.
Softening the jaw and the space around the heart.
Allowing yourself to be heavy,
Relaxed and open.
Continue this heart-focused breathing on your own now.
Being completely immersed in the breath.
Inhale receiving,
Exhale letting go.
Allowing yourself to soften again and again.
Now begin to let go of this visualization and bring your hands back on your lap if you're sitting or by your sides if you're lying down.
Now with your awareness still in the heart,
I am inviting you to ask yourself a question and I will ask you that when you ask yourself this question that you don't start thinking.
Instead,
I want you to allow the answer to come up on its own.
What emotion or feeling is asking to be felt right now?
Asking to be released.
Really trust whatever comes up for you.
Trust that that is the perfect emotion to work with today.
What emotion or feeling is asking to be felt right now?
Asking to be released.
Allow yourself to really feel the emotion that came up for you.
Bring the felt sense of this emotion into your experience.
But let go of the story behind it.
Now notice where this emotion lives in your body.
Where do you feel it in the body?
Do you feel it in the chest,
The throat,
Maybe the belly?
What does it feel like?
Does it feel heavy or light,
Tight or spacious?
Does it feel warm,
Cool,
Dull,
Sharp?
There's no right answer.
Just notice what is present right now.
Trying to get really curious about these sensations.
What else do you notice?
Do you notice a color,
A shape,
A texture?
Whatever you notice is welcome.
As you rest your attention here,
See if the sensation stays the same or if it suddenly shifts.
Does it move?
Does it change in shape,
Intensity or temperature?
Or does it remain steady?
As you rest your awareness on feeling this emotion and feeling the sensations,
I will invite you to pair it with an intention.
As you inhale,
Tell yourself,
I allow.
As you exhale,
Tell yourself,
I release.
Inhale,
I allow.
Exhale,
I release.
In doing so,
You are allowing this emotion to move in whatever way it wants to move.
Often when an emotion comes up,
We are subconsciously trying to control the experience.
We are pushing it away,
We are hiding from it or we indulge in it,
Making the emotion stronger than it has to be.
And when you instead allow the emotion to come up and move on its own,
It is going to give you exactly what you need in that moment.
Inhale,
I allow.
Exhale,
I release.
Imagine this emotion like a wave rising,
Cresting,
Falling.
And you,
You are not the wave,
You are the ocean that holds it.
Stay with this rhythm,
Allowing,
Releasing.
Allow whatever wants to come up in this moment to come up.
Everything that is coming up is coming up for you,
For you to release it.
Stay with this rhythm.
Beautiful.
Now let go of the phrases,
Let go of the effort and allow yourself to rest.
You have the option here to place your hands on your heart and your belly again.
Noticing if there is any warmth,
Any space,
Any softness that you have created.
Let yourself rest here,
Just being with what is,
Just breathing,
Just being.
Now let us rest here in silence,
To soak up this beautiful energy that you have created,
This beautiful space and to let it integrate within us.
Slowly begin to deepen your breath again.
Bringing your awareness back to the room.
Noticing the sensations of sitting or lying down.
Beginning to move the fingers and toes.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Thank you so much for practicing today and we'll see you again tomorrow.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
