Sit comfortably,
Both feet on a floor if that feels good,
Spine supported,
Shoulder soft.
Now gently lift one hand in front of you,
Not too high,
Just enough that you can comfortably look at it.
Bring your focus to the centre of your palm,
Notice the lines,
The shapes,
Small creases,
Notice how no one else in the world has this exact palm and as you look at your hand you may begin to notice something interesting,
Your eyes can focus or they can soften,
Your hand might begin to feel slightly heavier or slightly lighter,
There is no need to make anything happen.
Inhale gently through your nose,
Exhale slowly through your mouth,
Notice the temperature of your hand,
Maybe a little warmth,
Maybe a little coolness and as you continue looking your eyelids may begin to blink a little more slowly,
You might notice small muscles around your eyes relaxing and the more you look the more your mind can begin to drift,
You don't need to concentrate,
You can just allow and as your arm continues to hold itself there it may begin to feel heavier,
Heavier and that heaviness is not tiredness,
It's release.
If and when that hand begins to lower you don't have to control it,
You can allow it to move it in its own pace and as it lowers you go deeper and the moment that the hand touches your lap or wherever it lands you allow your eyes to close.
I want you to imagine now that you are standing somewhere safe,
Somewhere peaceful,
You notice beneath your feet a wide stone staircase,
It curves gently downward,
Each step warm and solid and with each step you take you feel more supported,
10 stepping down,
9 your body softens,
8 breathe slower,
7 shoulders melting,
6 jaw releasing,
5 chest soft,
4 belly relaxed,
3 safe,
2 health,
1 deeply supported.
Behind you a presence,
Not a person but a warmth,
It rests gently between your shoulders space,
As if something is supporting your back,
You don't have to hold yourself anymore,
You begin walking,
The air is cool and soft,
You can smell the earth,
Pine,
Something clean,
Light filters gently through tall trees,
As you walk deeper into this forest you hear something faint,
A small delicate sound.
High above you on a thin branch sits a small bird,
Her feathers are soft,
Pale,
Almost blending into the sky,
She watches you carefully and you sense something about her,
She learned long ago to sing very quietly,
Because once when she sang loudly the forest reacted,
Branches shook,
Wind rushed,
Something startled and in that moment she decided,
My voice causes disturbance,
So she learned to chirp slowly,
To take up less space,
To wait until no one was around and as you stand beneath her branch,
You feel her hesitation,
She wants to sing but she fears the reaction and maybe,
As you look at her,
You recognize something.
You continue walking,
The forest slowly opens and you arrive at the river,
But something feels different,
The river is quiet,
Too quiet,
You kneel beside it,
The water is there,
But it's not flowing freely,
You notice stone walls alongside its edges,
Carefully built,
As if the river once believed,
I overflow,
I flood,
I overwhelm,
So it contained itself,
It narrowed,
It restricted and now water moves slowly,
Almost stuck and as you dip your fingers into the water,
It's not fresh,
It's stagnant,
Because rivers are meant to flow.
As evening begins to fall,
You continue walking,
The sky turns deep violet and in the distance,
You see a lantern,
It sits alone on a wooden post,
It glows faintly,
Not dark but dimmed,
You move closer,
You place your hand near it and you can feel it has much more light inside,
But long ago,
Someone shielded it,
Because they believed,
This light is too bright,
It blinds,
It overwhelms,
So the lantern agreed,
It reduced itself,
To avoid disturbing the dark.
And as you stand there,
You realize something profound,
All three,
The bird,
The river,
The lantern,
Made the same decision,
If I express fully,
I will overwhelm.
And as you stand there,
The forest begins to shift,
You notice,
The trees were never harmed by a song,
They were waiting for it,
The land was never damaged by a flow,
It was nourished by it.
And darkness was never blinded by light,
It was warmed,
You were never a burden,
You were adapting.
Safe hearts do not collapse under your emotions,
They connect,
Support is not weight,
It's exchange,
You are not too much,
You were just never meant to carry everything alone.
See the lantern gently increasing its glow,
See the river breaking through one stone wall,
See the bird testing a fuller song,
And notice how nothing collapses,
Everything adjusts,
Everything holds,
And somewhere inside,
Something in you loosens.
And now in a moment,
I'm going to begin bringing you back.
But before I do,
Take one more breath here and notice what feels different,
Maybe it's subtle,
Maybe it's spacious,
Maybe it's softer.
And as you begin to return,
You bring back with you the knowing that you are not a burden,
You are being designed for connection.
In a moment,
I will count from 1 up to 7,
And with each number,
Energy returns gently to your body,
Not sharply,
Not suddenly,
But naturally,
Like morning light slowly filling a room.
1.
Breath becoming slightly deeper.
2.
Awareness returning to your physical body,
The weight of you in the chair,
The support beneath you.
3.
Small movements returning to your fingers and toes,
Maybe a gentle stretch through the hands.
4.
Shoulders rolling softly,
Neck loosening,
Jaw unclenching.
5.
A gentle wave of energy moving through your spine,
Upward stabilizing and grounding.
6.
Taking a slightly deeper inhale now,
As if breathing in clarity,
Breathing in steadiness.
And as you exhale,
You leave behind an old story that says you are too much.
7.
Eyes gently opening when ready,
Feeling present,
Clear,
Grounded and safe.
