Inhaling,
Maybe 1,
2,
3,
4 seconds.
And then exhaling.
And repeating that a few times,
Redirecting your attention on your inhale and on its length for a little while.
Find your shoulder long and back,
Wrapping.
And slowly let's find our exhale.
Pay attention,
How many seconds is an exhale for you this morning?
Just like a little longer than your inhale.
Is it the same?
And you don't try to change your breath,
You're just taking it as it is.
There's no need to take deeper inhale or slower exhale,
Just notice how those breaths are doing.
And then maybe for the next couple of seconds you can pay attention to the pose,
That little pose that happened just between your inhale and your exhale.
And count how many seconds you start.
And then you can do the same thing with your exhale.
And maybe you're aware that there is two times of pose,
One between the inhale and the exhale,
And one between the exhale and the inhale.
And check that.
And stay with that rhythm of noticing the inhale,
Noticing the pose,
Noticing the exhale,
Noticing the pose,
And on and on.
And if your mind drifts away as it should towards the meal you have prepared,
The multitude of gift wrapping you may have to do,
All those instances that you have to share with your children.
Whatever it is that your mind gets drifted by,
Just come back,
Come back to your breath,
To those inhales,
Those pose,
And those exhales.
Just take a second more here.
And for the next moment.
Bring to your mind eye a moment of joy you have felt over the last few days or weeks.
Notice your mind scanning.
Joy,
Joy,
What is it like?
Maybe it's a joy of taking an airplane to go see your family.
Maybe it's a joy to receive a card,
A package from your family.
Maybe it's just a simple joy of being able to pet a cat or receive a picture of a dog that makes you laugh or smile.
Whatever it is that brought you joy,
Can you sense in your body how it kind of reprocuted there?
Where is it?
Was it in your face with the release of your smile?
Was it in your heart pounding?
Waiting in front of the airport,
You know?
How is it in your hand from the touch?
And see if you can,
As you inhale,
Confuse your whole body with joy.
Some of you may have a color that reflects joy to you.
Maybe also it's a scent,
Like an old scent that,
Ugh,
This is joy for me.
And maybe try to fill up every single part of your body as you inhale with joy and all that sensation of gentle softness.
And maybe locate it in your heart for a second and imagine you could send that joy to somebody,
Somebody that needs it,
Or somebody you wish that was there with you,
Or somebody that's just right there next to you.
And so visualize that person you're thinking of,
Their eyes,
Their face.
And let yourself smile there.
And imagine them smiling back.
Whether they are a few inches away or a thousand miles away.
Share with one another that smile.
And enjoy it.
Enjoy imagining their eyes with glitter.
Enjoy imagining their body relaxing like yours.
Maybe their neck relaxes and their shoulder.
Imagine with them,
Imagine a little body skin for them.
Going from their head to their toes with every one of your breath.
You're imagining their body releasing.
Their body bringing joy in every corner.
So it's like doing a joy body skin for someone else.
And all that space for them a little longer as we enter some silence.
Maybe coloring them or spraying them with aroma of joy.
And maybe disappointment is present,
Anger is present.
Acknowledge that.
Don't let it tint you joy.
It's like a cloud passing over your sky,
Right?
There's still the sun behind it.
So for today focus on the joy,
Focus on the sun inside.
And really allow the cloud to just pass.
And together let's take a nice deep inhale.
And a long exhale.
And a long exhale.
