Settle yourself into a comfortable position,
Whether that is seated or lying down,
Wherever feels right for you.
Allow your hands to rest wherever feels natural,
Maybe on your lap,
Could be resting on your heart,
Wherever feels right for you.
And just checking in with your sit bones,
Your shoulders,
Your jaw,
Making yourself as comfy as possible.
And if it feels comfortable for you,
An invitation to softly close your eyes,
Or perhaps lower your gaze to somewhere steady in front of you.
It could be a still point in the room,
A candle,
Just whatever feels right for you.
There's nothing you need to do right now.
Nothing you need to become.
This time belongs entirely to you.
Take a slow breath in and a long,
Easy breath out.
And again,
Breathing in a little more slowly.
Remembering to pause and then breathing out a little more fully.
And find your own natural rhythm of your breath.
And let each exhale carry something with it.
The busyness of the day,
The weight of the week,
Anything that you've carried here that you no longer need to hold.
And we begin by honoring the four directions.
Turning first to the north,
The direction of earth,
Of roots,
Bones,
And the deep ground that has held us through every season.
We honor the part of us that has endured.
The quiet,
Steady foundation that remains,
No matter how much has shifted above the surface.
Turning to the east,
The direction of air and new beginnings,
Of first breath,
Of curiosity.
Of the questions that arrive before the answer.
We honor the part of us that is still learning,
Still willing to begin again.
Still open to what we have not yet discovered about ourselves.
Turning to the south,
The direction of fire,
Of warmth,
Of courage,
Of the sparks that keep going even when we cannot see the path ahead.
We honor the part of us that has kept showing up through the hard seasons as well as the soft ones.
Through the doubt as well as the knowing.
Turning to the west,
The direction of water and feeling,
Of intuition,
Emotion,
And the wisdom that lives beneath words.
We honor the part of us that feels deeply,
That has been shaped and softened by everything we have moved through.
And finally,
We come to the center,
The place where all directions meet.
Your body,
Your breath,
Your presence here in this moment.
Every part of you,
The roots,
The reaching,
The courage,
The feeling,
Gather together in this moment.
Take one more slow breath in and out.
Now,
I'd like you to bring your awareness to the story of your own growth.
Not the story you tell when someone asks how you are,
The quieter one,
The one that lives beneath the surface.
Think back,
Not too far,
Just far enough,
To a version of yourself that was smaller,
Not lesser,
Just earlier in time.
She was doing her best with what she had.
She was carrying things she didn't yet know how to put on.
She was growing even when it didn't feel like it.
Notice what she has moved through to become you.
What she has survived.
What she has learned.
What she has slowly,
Quietly released.
You may not have noticed the growing as it happened.
Growth rarely announces itself.
It tends to arrive in hindsight.
A moment when you realize you are handling something differently.
Perhaps responding where once you would have reacted.
Maybe resting where once you would have pushed.
Opening where once you would have closed.
That is not nothing,
That is everything.
I invite you to bring your hand gently to your heart if that feels right.
And offer yourself something you may not offer very often.
Recognition.
Not for what you have achieved,
But for who you are becoming.
Slowly,
Honestly,
In your own way.
There is a version of you still unfolding.
She's not finished.
She's not behind.
She is right here in this room,
In this moment,
In this body,
In this breath.
And she is exactly where she is meant to be.
Stay here for a few moments with this knowing,
With this gentleness towards yourself.
And when you are ready,
Begin to bring your attention back to your body.
Begin to feel and notice the room around you.
The sounds,
The warmth,
The smells.
Maybe wriggling your fingers,
Wriggling your toes.
Taking a gentle breath in.
And let it go slowly.
Carrying with you a little more of what you already are.
And a little more trust in who you are still becoming.
Whenever you're ready.
Opening your eyes.
Namaste.
