Welcome back friends.
As we come back together take a deep breath in through your nose and slowly exhale as we arrive together.
One more time in through the nose for 4,
3,
2,
1 and as you exhale let your shoulders come down just a millimeter.
Beautiful.
Today we enter day 2 and that is rest without guilt because if you're wintering the hardest part often isn't just the rest but it's the story in your head while you rest.
If you're anything like me that story could be I'm lazy,
I'm wasting time,
I should be doing more.
Or maybe it's I don't deserve rest until I've earned it but that line is always moving.
So I'd like to start here.
First guilt is not a sign that you are doing something wrong but often can be a sign that you're doing something new.
If you have spent an entire life measuring your worth in one way,
If your love ever felt conditional or praise only came when you were useful,
Productive,
Helpful,
Impressive,
A on the report card,
Then this rest can feel like an act of rebellion but not because it's wrong,
No no dear friend,
Because it's unfamiliar.
So today we're not gonna force ourselves to love rest,
We're not gonna magically become the human that never feels guilt,
But we are going to practice this.
Rest can be safe.
Rest can be allowed.
And rest can be aligned.
Let's take a big deep breath in together.
In,
Hold it,
And out.
And let me name a little winter truth for you.
In nature,
Rest is required.
The trees don't negotiate with winter,
The animals don't justify their hibernation,
And the earth does not apologize for being still.
Winter is a season of conservation and your body understands that even if your mind doesn't.
So that guilt,
That guilt you feel when you slow down,
Here's a gentle reframe.
Guilt is often an echo of an old agreement that we made before we may have even realized it.
An agreement that may have said I must produce to be worthy,
I must keep going to be safe,
I must prove that I deserve ease.
So today,
Today we loosen that agreement gently.
So let's move into the practice that you can repeat any time this guilt shows up.
So if it feels good and if you're in a safe place,
Get comfy.
Maybe soften your gaze or close your eyes and place one hand on your chest.
Take your other hand and you can place it on your belly or wherever your body likes touch.
Now inhale for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And exhale for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And as you keep breathing I want you to bring to mind something that you have been wanting rest from.
Not in a way but just honestly.
Maybe it's overthinking,
A constant need to fix,
To take control,
To caretake,
To push,
To be perfect.
We're not asking to solve it,
Just name it.
And as you name it and you take your next big deep breath in,
Notice where that guilt lives in your body.
For many of us it's in our chest like a tightness or maybe it's your throat like a pressure.
For some of us it can be a sinking feeling in our stomach.
There's no judgment,
No right,
No wrong,
Just noticing where it comes up in our body.
And now we're going to give that part of you something it probably hasn't received enough of.
Permission and safety.
So on your next big inhale I want you to repeat this to yourself out loud or in your head.
I do not have to earn rest.
I do not have to earn rest.
Inhale,
Hold it,
And exhale.
And on this next inhale I want you to let these words sink into your soul.
No need to repeat it,
No reason to overthink it,
Just let these words land on your heart.
Rest supports me,
The people around me,
And the person I am becoming.
Biggest inhale yet.
Rest supports me,
The people around me,
And the person I am becoming.
Let it land.
And here's your reflection prompt for today.
You can journal it,
Think it,
Hold on to it,
Or share with those here.
What do I truly believe would happen if I rested without guilt?
Let the honest answer come up.
Some answers,
Maybe I'd fall behind.
People wouldn't need me,
And I'm terrified of that.
I'd lose momentum,
I wouldn't get the promotion,
I would disappoint somebody.
There's no one else that can do it.
Whatever arises is so perfect.
It doesn't mean that there's anything that needs fixing,
It means you're seeing the bargain that you have been holding yourself to.
And now we simply and gently renegotiate it.
Every breath,
Every exhale.
Wintering is not laziness,
Friend.
So I hope that you take this practice with you today.
Whenever you listen to it,
May you know that rest is allowed,
That rest supports you,
And that you do not have to earn rest.
So with one final deep breath in,
Maybe you wiggle your toes and sigh it out.
I am so grateful to have practiced with you today.
I am grateful for your mind,
Your body,
And your soul,
And I will see you tomorrow for day three,
The sacred in-between,
Where we honor that liminal space between here and where we want to be without rushing to it.
Until then,
Be gentle with yourself.
