What comes first?
And make any adjustments to the body so that you can feel comfortable and supported.
And once you're there,
Gently closing the eyes.
And with the eyes closed,
Just taking a full breath in through the nose,
Pause at the top of that breath and then gently open the mouth and sigh out loud,
Allowing the body to sink into the support that is beneath and behind you.
You might feel your hips sinking further into the support of the seat beneath you,
The shoulder blades pulling deeper into the support behind you.
And perhaps feeling the support of the earth beneath your feet.
And gently bringing your awareness to the sounds that are around you in the environment,
Just beginning to notice them.
Allowing your awareness to travel from one sound to the other.
Without naming them or focusing on what the sound is,
Simply noticing the quality and the experience of the sound.
One sound and then the other.
And gently bringing the awareness into the flow of the breath.
And you might even visualize the breath coming in through the crown of the head on the inhale down into the center of the heart.
And exhaling from the center of the heart down through the base of the spine.
And inhaling from the base of the spine to the heart.
And then exhaling from the heart through the crown of the head.
Inhale,
Crown to heart.
Exhale,
Heart to the base of the spine.
Inhale,
Base of spine to the heart.
Exhale,
Heart to the crown of the head.
Continuing to breathe in this way at your own pace and your own rhythm.
You might visualize the breath traveling in this pattern and holding your awareness at that center point in the heart,
The transition point between each inhale and each exhale.
And seeing if you can allow that transition point to be as smooth as possible,
That you're ironing out the breath.
That each exhale and each inhale softly and smoothly flow one into the other.
If you notice any areas of tension or stickiness in the breath,
See if you can slow the breath down and soften those edges.
That each breath is flowing fluidly,
A very gentle and circular rhythm flowing through the heart.
Now resting your awareness here in the heart space and the body's fully supported beneath and behind you.
The breath is soft and steady.
The awareness is resting here in the heart.
You might begin to invite a memory here now,
A memory of a time when you experienced shame.
This may be recent or from the past.
This may be shame coming from a moment when you unintentionally caused harm to someone else by judgment,
Prejudice or shaming others.
This may also be an experience where you felt shamed by someone else,
Shamed for being who you are,
For something that you said or did.
Just bringing the memory forward and gently releasing the awareness of the source of the shame,
Bringing the awareness now into the body.
Noticing the sensations,
Feeling tones and emotions that arise with this memory.
Notice if your breathing has changed.
Notice if your posture has shifted.
Gently become aware of the muscles around the eyes and the mouth.
No need to change anything,
Simply observe how the body responds to this memory.
Breathe here for a moment.
Inviting the body to engage with this memory,
Allowing the emotion and the feeling of shame to be fully present with you as you begin to help move the emotion through you so that it can be released.
Notice where in the body you sense the emotion most strongly.
Scanning the body from head to toe and toe to head and noticing where the shame is held.
This may be in the belly,
In the chest,
Could be in the jaw or the hips,
Could be in the shoulders or even the muscles in the face.
There's no right or wrong here.
Simply notice where the body is holding and experiencing this emotion.
Gently bring your hands to rest on this place in the body.
Gently resting your hands on the body where the emotion and the sensation is the strongest.
Touching your discomfort.
Softly and compassionately touching the pain.
You might notice the body wants to move ever so slightly.
If you feel called to,
Allow this motion to be there rocking slightly side to side or back to forward.
Soft,
Gentle rocking,
Massaging the vagal nerve in the spine with each gentle movement.
Touching the discomfort with the hands,
Allowing a soft,
Gentle rocking to take place in the body.
Allowing the body to guide this motion.
Noticing how the body wants to be as this pain and this emotion begin to move.
You might imagine that your breath is coming in to the body,
Into the point right beneath the resting hands.
Breathing into the space.
There's no need to change anything.
You can be with this.
It's okay.
You might even begin to say in the mind to this emotion and to the sensation,
It's okay that you're here.
I see you.
Thank you for letting me know that you're hurting so I can be here for you.
Noticing the sensation and the pain,
Allowing the breath to envelop and embrace this point in the body beneath the hand.
It's okay that you're here.
Thank you for letting me know that you're hurting.
It's okay to feel this.
It's okay to feel this.
Thank you for letting me know that you're hurting so that I can take the time to pause.
And holding here in the space for as long as your body feels the need.
You might continue to rock side to side or front to back or you might find yourself perfectly still.
Beginning to deepen the breath.
Sensing further into the support beneath and behind you.
To draw full breath in through the nose.
Open the mouth,
Exhale,
Releasing with a big sigh.
Letting go.
You might release the hands.
And begin to bring awareness back into your surroundings.
Visualizing your body sitting in the supported seat in the space that is around you.
And noticing what has changed in the last 10 minutes.
As you scan the body from head to toe and toe to head.
Feeling your feet on the earth.
And gently opening the eyes,
Returning to your day.
Thank you for letting me know that you're hurting so much.
