Wherever you are right now,
Whatever brought you here,
I'm glad you came.
You don't need to be okay to begin.
You don't need to feel calm before we start.
You just need to be here.
And you are.
Thank you for choosing you in this moment.
Find a comfortable position.
Maybe sitting or lying down.
Whatever your body is asking for right now.
And when you're ready,
Let your eyes close or soften your gaze downward if that feels easier.
Just for a moment.
Let everything else wait.
The thoughts that are running around in your head,
The feelings that are alive.
The things that are pulling at you.
They can wait.
Right now,
There is just this.
Let's begin with a breath.
Nothing forced.
Nothing dramatic.
Just a slow,
Easy breath in through your nose.
And a long,
Soft breath out.
Longer than the in-breath if you can.
Like something releasing.
Let's try that again.
Breathing in slowly.
And breathing all the way out,
All the way.
One more.
In through the nose.
And out.
Long and slow and easy.
How dumb.
That long breath out is doing something real.
It's telling your nervous system you are safe.
That the danger,
Whatever it felt like,
Is not here right now.
Your body is listening.
Even when your mind is still catching up.
I'd like you to notice for a moment the surface beneath you.
Whether that's the chair,
Floor,
Or maybe your bed.
Whatever is holding your weight right now.
Feel it.
I mean really feel it.
Notice how solid it is.
The way it meets you,
How your body makes contact with it.
You don't have to hold yourself up.
You are already being held.
Let your weight sink into it a little more.
Your shoulders.
Your back.
Backs of your legs.
Let's all be supported.
Notice your hands wherever they're resting.
Feel the temperature of them.
The weight of them.
Just present as they are.
And notice your feet.
Contact they make with the floor or the surface beneath them.
Is an invitation to see that contact as an anchor.
A quiet reminder that you are here.
Inner body.
In this moment.
And this moment is safe.
If your nervous system has been activated.
Who've been feeling anxious or overwhelmed.
Or on edge or perhaps just not quite right.
I want you to know something.
That isn't weakness.
That is your body doing exactly what bodies do.
Trying to protect you.
Trying to keep you safe.
Even when the threat isn't what it thinks it is.
Even when it's gotten it a little bit wrong.
You don't have to fight it.
You don't have to be frustrated with yourself for feeling this way.
You can just be here with it,
Gently.
The way you might perhaps sit with a friend who's having a hard time.
Just being there.
Place a hand on your chest if that feels okay.
Or your belly.
Somewhere that feels like comfort for you.
And just feel the weight of your own hand there.
Notice the steady rise and fall beneath it.
You are not broken.
You are not too much.
You are a human being having a perfectly ordinary human experience.
And right now.
In this moment.
You are held.
I'm going to offer you a few simple phrases.
You don't have to believe them fully right now.
Just let them land wherever they can.
I am safe in this moment.
My body knows how to find its way back to calm.
I don't have to fix everything right now.
I am allowed to rest here.
I am held.
Take.
One more slow breath in.
And breathe it all the way out.
Begin to bring your awareness back to the room around you.
Starting to notice the sounds.
The light.
The surface beneath you.
Feeling of being here in this body.
In this moment.
If you need to,
You can wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes.
Maybe having a stretch.
When you're ready.
Gently open your eyes.
And know that whatever you're carrying today,
You don't have to carry it alone.
And you don't have to carry it all at once.
Thank you for practicing with me today and for doing this act of self-care for yourself and know that you can return to this practice anytime you need.
Namaste.
