So this is a short audio track to bring you home to the heart,
In a moment when you're feeling freaked out,
Or worried,
Or anxious,
Or stuck in your head and things feel hard.
We will pause,
Come to presence,
And self-soothe back to the heart,
To hope,
And to the goodness of being here together.
Sometimes,
We get knocked off centre.
Something happens and we get a jolt of adrenaline,
Of nervous system,
Of worry,
Of anxiety.
Sometimes when that happens,
The energy goes quickly up to our minds.
It's almost like we leap out of our own skin with a fear of what is happening or what could be.
Don't get me wrong,
Minds are brilliant things.
They can plan,
And plot,
And get strategic,
And do all sorts of clever stuff.
Yet in moments of anxiety,
They can feel like a prison of worrying thoughts,
Of what ifs,
And what could be,
And can I,
And what about?
And we can feel our mind go faster and faster.
So for this session today,
We're going to practice simply coming back to the body and home to the heart.
Start with your eyes open.
Look around.
Instead of bringing the energy to your inner world and to the feelings of anxiety,
Notice the outer world around you.
Track what colours you can see,
What you're sitting or standing on,
And the feeling of where that meets your body.
Deepen your breath.
Soften your shoulders.
And if you can do so in the place where you are now,
Place one hand on your heart.
Place that hand with curiosity,
With tenderness,
With care.
Approach yourself with a sense of,
I got you,
And you got this.
Feel where your hand touches your chest,
The physical sensations.
You might want to tap a little bit gently,
Or press firmly,
Or stroke your hand across your chest area a little bit.
Invite yourself into the heart.
Not into the swirling anxiety or emotions,
But into the mythic heart,
The archetypal heart,
The love that lives within you.
Touch in to a sense of care,
Of kindness.
Touch in and notice you can ground yourself with your own presence.
Notice that the body may still be full of feelings,
And the mind may still be looping,
But that you are here with yourself,
In touch with yourself.
You are not alone.
You have your own good guidance.
The bright light of your heart within,
And the intention to compassionately care for yourself and sit with yourself.
That kind of presence will take you a long way forward.
That kind of self-care is excellent companionship.
Yes,
It may be hard right now,
That may be true,
But you are here with yourself,
Touching in,
Showing up for yourself.
Learning how to settle your own system and soothe yourself.
You do not need to tackle your whole life in this moment.
You simply need to bring yourself back to better alignment.
As we finish up,
I'm going to suggest something that might sound strange here.
We've been practicing giving ourselves care.
Hand on heart,
Caring attention,
Presence.
For the last minute of this meditation,
See if you cannot give yourself care,
But receive your own care.
Oh,
I'm with me.
Oh,
I'm with me.
Someone cares about me.
Oh,
It feels good when I support myself.
Notice that someone is trying to calm you down.
That's you.
Notice that someone is sitting with you with kind attention.
That's you.
See if you can let in a little ease at that,
A little delight,
A little gratitude at the care you're giving yourself.
So that we're not just doing our practice,
We're reaping the benefits.
We're seeing how it sweetens our day.
We're letting ourselves lighten our own load.
We're becoming friends with ourselves.
So let's just sit quietly together and see if we can let the care in.
Let the heartfulness in.
Let our self-love in.
So I thank you for being present with yourself,
For caring for yourself,
For honoring your own heart in a difficult moment.
I'm so grateful to be in a community of people where we learn to show up for ourselves better,
So we can show up for each other better.
You're doing great for practicing and for daring to be present and for holding your own heart.
So I thank you for this quick pause practice,
And I wish you so much goodness for your day.
You got this.
