We're just finding a nice comfortable seat.
If you want to do any movement before you settle in,
Let's just start with three breaths.
We're going to be breathing in through the nose,
Hold at the top,
Audible exhale at the mouth.
Big inhale when you're ready,
Hold at the top,
Audible exhale.
Inhale,
This little hold,
Let mind rest at the top.
Really let the muscles relax on the exhale at the mouth.
Big inhale,
Hold,
Let it out the mouth.
Let the breath return to normal.
Let's just come home into the body just like we would greet a really dear friend we haven't seen for a while.
So if they came to our door,
We let them in.
We would just accept them how they are.
We'd want to make them comfortable and welcome.
Let's just see if we can allow ourselves to feel exactly how we're feeling.
It would make sense if our friend was maybe rushing to get to our house or had some stuff going on earlier in the day,
They may not be settled and grounded.
So we'd give them plenty of time to do that.
So let's give ourselves this little bit of time to just allow ourselves to feel how we are as we're settling in.
We just start to notice the tingling of the skin,
The density of our bodies.
We notice our bottom on the cushion,
Let gravity just do its thing.
Maybe this friend that we are welcoming,
Maybe they had some stuff go on earlier in their day and their nervous system has some stuff going on.
You would welcome that.
So let's welcome that for ourselves right now.
So let's go to a place in our body that feels a little activated or uncomfortable.
Something we'd usually push away in regular life.
Something we might not want to feel.
Maybe it's just a tightness in the chest or throat or belly.
Maybe it's more of a mental feeling.
And just go right towards it,
Completely allowing things to be just as they are.
We could even let the sensation get more intense if it wants to.
Just like we would with a dear friend,
We would say,
Maybe I'll be here for as long as you need.
I'm not going to leave you,
I'm paying full attention to you.
Your stuff is welcome here.
We just bring all that love we would for someone else just to ourselves.
You may notice maybe just by allowing and accepting completely.
Things seem to settle on their own.
And if we're going with the analogy of a good friend,
You also want to share in their joys and the parts of them that are feeling good.
But let's just switch it up a little and go to a sensation in the body or mind that feels nice,
That's more pleasant.
And in regular life,
We might cling to that and want more of that.
But let's just let it be exactly as it is.
Just allowing,
Being with pleasant sensation.
Maybe you notice as we allow things we usually push away just to be there,
We meet them with acceptance.
Then there's things that are pleasant that we usually want more of.
We just allow them to be there.
Everything can kind of just dissolve into a nice center spot where there's just a sense of okayness.
And just like with a dear friend,
Once they're starting to settle in and feeling more comfortable in your space,
We want to spend a few more minutes together,
Just relaxing.
And how we could do this in our own practice is just by allowing the breath to get a little bit longer and smoother.
And perhaps let the pauses between breaths.
Last a second or two more.
It's like we want to spend quality time with a good friend.
So we want to spend quality time with our own nervous system.
We just slow everything down.
Maybe you notice as we lengthen the breath,
We return to a space of peacefulness.
The thinking mind tends to settle down.
Almost like we've turned the volume knob down on all the thoughts.
They're not a problem.
They're just less important.
It's just like with a good friend.
We really want to be there with them,
Not just conceptualizing and talking and thinking a bunch.
Perhaps you notice there's a feeling to this beingness.
Maybe there's a way to just be with the breath and to put all your awareness on just simply being with full acceptance,
With a nice slow down.
And as we continue to fall in love with being versus doing,
There's another way to drop in even more.
And maybe on the next few exhales,
We just let the shoulders drop away from the ears.
Let any holding on or the throat,
Chest,
And belly just release.
Belly can just hang out and down.
We can even let the pelvic floor release.
And as you start to feel even more peaceful and centered,
Maybe you start to notice that the more I let my muscles relax,
Because the spine's really holding us up,
Just letting the muscles melt down,
Letting the breath get longer,
Smoother,
Slower,
You may notice the mind gets even less busy,
Less agitated.
Just about 30 seconds left.
I invite you to really see if you can fall in love with the simplicity of just being,
How wonderful it is to be simple and not caught in our thoughts and storylines and dramas and fixing and pushing away.
Just realize this is home,
This is our truth.
Maybe take a moment to notice that,
Or to know that from this place of being and stability,
That we'll have everything we need to live the best lives possible and to take good care of ourselves and others.
And to wrap up this session,
Let's just do one more breath in through the nose,
Hold at the top,
And one nice,
Long,
Audible exhale.
