Hi and welcome.
My name is Danielle,
And I am so glad you're here.
Before we begin.
I want to take a moment to share something with you,
Something personal,
Because this practice,
The pause,
It didn't come from a textbook or a training.
It came from my life.
I've moved countries more than once.
I've walked through grief.
I've navigated the kind of change that asks you to rebuild yourself from the ground up.
And through all of it,
Being a mother,
Being a partner,
Being a friend.
Being a daughter.
I've been learning how to truly show up for myself.
And I keep coming back to this one thing.
The pause.
Not because everything was falling apart,
But because even in the beautiful moments,
The ones you want to hold onto forever,
I needed a way to actually be in it.
There.
Fully.
Not halfway in my head.
Not already on to the next thing.
Just there.
And that's what the pause gave me.
A way to slow time down.
Just for a moment.
Just enough to remember that I am here.
That this moment is real,
And that I am real in it.
And that's what I want to give to you today.
So wherever you are,
Whatever kind of day you've had,
I'm honoured you chose to stop,
To pause,
Even just for a few minutes.
Let's begin.
Find a comfortable place to settle.
You can be seated or lying down.
Whatever feels right for your body right now.
Let your eyes close gently.
And just for a moment,
Let yourself arrive here.
Not where you were five minutes ago.
Not where you need to be later.
Just here.
Just this moment.
Just this breath.
Take a slow breath in through your nose.
And then slowly let the breath out,
Letting everything go.
Again,
Inhaling slowly,
Filling the belly first,
Then the chest.
And then exhale fully,
Letting it go again.
Good,
One more time,
Breathing in.
And releasing.
Beautiful.
Now place one hand on your heart.
Feel the warmth of your own hand against your chest.
Feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath beneath your palms.
This is your center.
This is where we begin.
And if your mind starts to wonder,
If thoughts come in,
If the to-do list arrives,
If you suddenly remember something you forgot,
That's okay.
That's what minds do.
Simply notice and come back.
Hand on heart,
Right here,
Right now.
You don't need to do anything with what you're feeling.
You don't need to fix it,
Or understand it,
Or push it away.
You just need to be with it.
That's the whole practice.
The pause.
In the middle of everything,
You stopped.
You chose this.
That is not a small thing.
Take a breath here.
Underneath all of it,
The noise,
The rushing,
The grief,
The ordinary Tuesday,
There is something in you that is steady.
It has always been there.
It is there right now.
Let's check in with your body.
Starting at the top of your head,
Just notice what's there.
Any tightness,
Any tension,
Any holding?
Just breathe into it.
Moving down through your face,
Your forehead.
Let it smooth.
Your eyes,
Soft behind the lids.
Your jaw.
So many of us carry so much here.
See if you can let it go,
Just slightly.
Just enough.
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Let them fall away from your ears.
Feel the weight of them releasing.
Your chest,
Your heart space.
With your hands still resting there,
What do you feel?
Tightness,
Warmth,
Happiness.
Whatever it is,
It's allowed to be there.
Just breathe into it.
Your belly,
Your low back,
Your hips,
All the places we store what we haven't had time to feel.
Your thighs.
Your knees,
Places you rarely think to check in on.
Just notice.
Your calves.
Your ankles,
All the way down to your feet.
Feel the weight of your whole body now.
Grounded.
Held.
Here.
Take a breath and feel the full length of yourself,
From the crown of your head all the way down to the soles of your feet.
You are here.
Completely here.
Now breathe into wherever feels most held.
Inhale,
Sending warmth into that place.
Exhale,
Let it soften,
Just a little.
You don't need to release everything today,
Just enough to remember that you can be free.
Now I want to invite something in.
Not a forced gratitude.
Not a list of things you should be thankful for.
Just a quiet acknowledgement.
You are breathing.
Right now.
Effortlessly.
Automatically.
Faithfully.
The air is moving through you.
Your heart is beating.
It has been beating your entire life,
Without you ever having to ask it to.
Your body has carried you through everything.
Every hard day,
Every beautiful moment,
Every season of your life,
It is still carrying you.
Place both hands on your heart now,
And just say,
Silently or out loud.
Thank you.
Not for anything specific.
Just thank you for this breath,
For this moment,
For being here.
That is what I want you to know.
You are here.
And you don't have to go anywhere to heal.
You don't have to have it all figured out,
And you don't need to be further along than you are.
The returning,
The coming home to yourself.
It happens right here.
In a pause.
In a breath.
In a hand on you.
In a hand on your heart,
In the middle of an ordinary day.
This is available to you always,
Not just on a mat,
Not just in stillness.
Not just in the car or at the kitchen sink,
Anywhere you remember to stop and feel.
The pause is always here,
And so are you.
Begin to deepen your breath now.
And feel the weight of your body against whatever is beneath you.
Wiggle your fingers Wiggle your toes.
Let the sounds of the world begin to come back in.
And when you're ready,
Slowly,
Gently open your eyes.
Take a moment before you move.
Just sit with this.
You came home to yourself today,
Even just for a few minutes.
God.
Matters.
