And finding a comfortable position now as you sit for this short practice,
Sitting with your back straight and upright,
Perhaps standing or laying down.
There's no right or wrong.
You might close your eyes if you feel comfortable or just gaze downward the ground and start with a couple deep cleansing breaths.
Breathing in through your nostrils,
Expanding the lungs,
Holding for a short pause,
And slowly exhaling out your mouth through pursed lips like you're breathing out through a straw.
And one more time,
Breathing in,
Breathing in this clear,
Fresh energy,
And slowly exhaling out.
And as you exhale,
Seeing if any tension or tightness that's being held might be willing to release.
And finally,
One more breath,
Breathing in,
Pausing at the top when you can't breathe in anymore,
And slowly exhaling out,
Just letting go,
And letting go.
And acknowledging yourself for taking this important pause out of your day to turn inward.
And first,
Just letting be whatever's here,
Scanning the inside of your body,
Noting different sensations,
The interplay of energy in your body,
And just not making it wrong in any way.
Just observing without any judgment,
Without any expectation that you should feel a certain way.
And the same with your emotions or feelings,
Your mood that might be there,
Just letting it be as it is,
As the various weather systems.
We have all kinds of feelings and moods,
And none of them are wrong.
So giving yourself permission to feel what you feel right now,
Even if it's hard or unpleasant,
It's here,
And that's okay.
And offering that same acceptance to your mind,
And what can sometimes feel like many voices,
Many parts chattering,
Sometimes called the monkey mind,
And that's perfectly fine.
Even telling the mind,
I know your busyness is trying to help me in some way,
Maybe sending it appreciation,
And at the very least permission to just be.
And now taking a full deep breath to your whole body,
And breathing out that energy of acceptance as it steeps through your body,
And just notice what that feels like on the inside,
That permission to just be with what is right here and right now.
Perhaps noticing already a gentle,
Even subtle softening that so much tension and straining and stress we feel in our body,
As the parts of us that have internalized society and our culture that we must be producing,
Or we must be busy,
We must be doing things a certain way or being a certain way,
And all of this creates such tension.
Just letting that go as best as you can right now.
Just giving yourself that beautiful gift of acceptance.
There's not a problem with you right here,
Right now,
In this moment.
You are good,
And you're okay.
That all is welcome,
Even the part that wants to resist it,
That wants what's unpleasant to go away or to stop,
Even that part,
It plays its role,
And we thank it,
And we give it permission to relax.
And in this last moment,
In this practice,
I invite you to consider the possibility that this okayness is true right through to your core,
And that much of the pain and the suffering that you've endured in your life is a result of unconsciously,
Unknowingly absorbing other people's pain,
Internalizing other people's shoulds,
Absorbing the contagiousness of trauma and toxicity,
Because as children in this world,
We have no choice.
We are sponges.
And so forgive yourself now for being that sponge,
And give yourself permission to see that so much of what you carry is not yours,
And that you are not broken or bad,
Or unworthy,
As you may have been made to feel and believe.
But in fact,
This is a grand misunderstanding.
And it's carried you away from the truth of who you are,
Which is a valuable,
Worthy,
Lovable being on this earth.
And that if you didn't get the love and the care,
And the attention to your needs for connection that you longed for,
That you deserved,
And that you needed,
It was through no fault of your own.
It was through no fault of your own.
See if you can take that in,
And of these child parts within that did internalize blame and think that bad things that happen must have been their fault,
Because this is what children do.
Let them know it was not their fault,
And they no longer need to carry these burdens of unworthiness,
Feeling inadequate and hiding from others,
That this wound can now be healed.
And taking a couple deep breaths,
Feeling yourself centered,
Perhaps stirred,
And that's the key,
That grappling with long-held beliefs can be jarring and can be difficult,
And they are the gateway to our freedom,
And to finally giving ourself what it is we need,
Which is love,
Compassion,
And care.
Loving you and wishing you blessings and love right now.
