Settle in to a comfortable position.
Feel the weight of your body.
The ground beneath your feet.
The chair or the cushion holding you.
Just become aware of the surface below you.
And for a moment.
Let yourself be held by that.
You don't have to hold yourself together quite so tightly right now.
You are supported.
If it feels comfortable,
Softly close your eyes.
Or maybe lower your gaze to somewhere steady.
And take a slow breath in.
And a long,
Easy breath out.
And again.
Breathing in a little more space.
And breathing out anything you're carrying that doesn't belong here right now.
And we begin by honoring the four directions.
Turning first to the north.
The direction of earth and deep roots.
We honour the ground beneath us.
The stability that holds us up.
Acquire unshakable foundation.
That allows us to stand fully in ourselves.
Turning to the east,
The direction of air and new beginnings.
We honour the breath of courage.
The part of us that keeps showing up.
Keeps trying.
Keeps choosing to be present.
Even when it would be easier to disappear.
Turning to the south.
The direction of fire.
We honour the light within us.
Spark that has always been there.
Even when others couldn't see it.
Even when we couldn't see it ourselves.
Turning to the west.
The direction of water and feeling.
We honour our debt.
The richness of everything we have lived through,
Felt,
Survived.
And grain from.
The wisdom that lives in us.
That the world does not always make room for.
And the centre.
Your body.
Your breath.
Your presence.
Here.
No.
In this moment.
Take one more slow breath in.
And out.
And remember.
If your mind wanders at any point.
Which it will.
You can return your attention to your breath.
And listen to my voice.
Now I want you to bring to mind.
A version of yourself.
Perhaps not so different from who you are now.
But a version of you that has learned to take up space.
Not lively,
Not aggressively.
Just fully.
She walks into a room.
And she stays.
She doesn't immediately make herself smaller to fit what she thinks is expected of her.
She doesn't scan the room first to check whether there is permission for her to be fully present.
She simply arrives.
And remains.
She speaks and she doesn't apologise for having something to say.
She doesn't pre-qualify her words with this is probably a silly question or I might be wrong but She just says the thing.
Because it is hers to say.
She's seen.
And she doesn't immediately deflect the attention back to someone else.
She lets herself be looked at.
She lets herself be known.
She allows the warmth of being recognised to land.
Without brushing it away.
She takes up her seat at the table.
She asks for what she needs.
She allows herself to be present.
Not a version of herself edited for other people's comfort.
But the real one.
The whole one.
The one that's always been there.
Waiting for enough safety to finally step forward.
Notice how she feels in your body.
Where do you feel her most strongly?
In your chest.
In your shoulders.
Your voice.
Take a moment now.
Just pause.
And see if you can feel where this lands.
Where in your body does this version of you live?
Perhaps there's a warmth there.
Perhaps a tightening.
As if something in you recognises her and aches a little towards her.
Whatever arises,
Just notice it.
Without judgement.
With curiosity.
Without rushing past it.
She is not a fantasy.
He's not someone else.
She is you.
A little further along.
A little less apologetic.
A little more willing to stay in the room.
A little more trusting of her own presence.
And here is the thing.
She got here.
Not by becoming someone different.
She got here by slowly,
Gently stopping the habit of making herself less.
By noticing the moment she was about to shrink.
And choosing just once,
Not two.
And then again and again.
One moment at a time.
One room at a time.
One breath at a time.
Like the one you are taking now.
Stay here for a few breaths.
With this woman.
With this knowing.
Let her presence settle into you.
She's not asking you to become her overnight.
She's just asking you to remember that she exists.
When you are ready.
Begin to feel the room around you returning.
The womb.
The light.
The sounds.
Take a gentle breath in.
And let it go slowly.
Carrying with you.
The quiet recognition that she is not far away.
She's already here.
She's always been here.
Again to add some gentle movement.
Wiggling your fingers,
Wiggling your toes,
Stretching if that feels comfortable.
Whenever you're ready.
Opening your eyes and returning to this space.
Namaste.
