Welcome.
This is a gentle grief practice.
There's nothing to fix or figure out here.
If at any point this feels like too much,
You're invited to open your eyes,
Shift your body,
Or pause the practice.
You can take this at your own pace.
And when you're ready,
Close your eyes.
Letting your thoughts move gently to the back burner.
Just you,
Here,
Now.
You only need to follow my voice,
Follow my guidance.
And now allow the breath to be in and out your nose.
Noticing how the breath moves through you.
Feel it starting in your belly,
Moving up and expanding in your chest.
And then a slow exhale,
Feeling the chest sink,
The belly retract,
Sinking into the body.
No effort,
Just allowing,
Softening.
And then again,
Taking a deeper breath this time,
Starting in your belly,
Moving up and expanding your chest,
And then a slow exhale.
Giving yourself permission to pause.
Noticing where your body holds tension.
No need to fix,
Just notice.
Your eyes melt,
Your jaw is slightly open.
And now bring your shoulders up to your ears,
Hold them there for a moment,
And on the exhale,
Let them gently soften and drop.
This is an invitation for your body to soften.
Another slow inhale,
Expanding,
Opening.
And a slow exhale,
Releasing tension.
Releasing what no longer serves.
Continue noticing the breath as it moves through you,
Like a gentle tide,
In and out.
Starting in your belly,
Moving up and expanding your chest,
And then out.
It's always here,
Always supporting.
Noticing the earth beneath you,
Solid,
Unmoving,
Present.
Allowing yourself to be held,
Safe,
And supported.
No need to carry anything right now.
The body,
The mind,
They speak.
But here,
Right now,
The noise fades.
There is only this breath,
This moment,
Nothing to do.
Nowhere to be,
Only right here with your breath.
And with each breath,
Begin to notice the quiet shifts inside you.
The way the inhale rises.
The way the exhale softens.
Nothing forced,
Simply witnessed.
Allow your awareness to settle low in the belly.
This is where breath begins,
Where the body often guards itself during grief.
Feel it as it is.
Tight or dull,
Open or heavy.
No judgment,
Only noticing.
The breath here is slow and steady.
Now let your attention travel upward,
Into the ribs.
Feeling the breath gently create space from the inside.
Giving the lungs more room,
More ease,
As the breath rises into the chest.
Notice how it feels here.
This tender place where grief can gather.
Feel it as it is.
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to change.
On the exhale,
Let the breath fall out of you.
Gentle,
Slow,
Releasing without effort.
Bringing awareness to the center of the chest,
Right behind the sternum.
A place that often clenches in protection.
You're not trying to open it,
Only offering presence,
Breath by breath.
Notice if the breath wants to stay shallow.
If the chest hesitates before expanding.
Let that be here.
Grief has its own rhythm.
The body remembers what it has survived.
Now simply breathe with what is here.
A slow inhale through the nose.
A longer,
Softer exhale through the mouth.
Allowing the body to settle.
Loosening its grip.
If emotion moves in,
Let it move.
Breath is the pathway,
Not a barrier.
Making space for whatever is here.
Sorry,
Not sorry.
Arrow,
Heaviness,
Numbness,
Or even moments of lightness.
Now imagine the breath melting downward on the exhale.
Softening through the spine,
The legs,
Into the earth beneath you.
Stay with this rhythm.
The body receiving breath,
The breath receiving the body.
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to chase.
Only this gentle meeting.
Feel your whole body.
The whole system slowing,
Unwinding,
Settling in its own time.
Breath like a tide.
In,
Out.
Steady,
Patient.
Continue here until my voice returns.
And now,
Coming back to the sound of my voice.
Awareness shifts,
Still present,
And carrying this pause within you.
This remembering.
No need to grasp it.
It stays with you.
And now beginning to return.
Feel the breath moving through you.
Bringing you more fully back to the present.
Allowing slow and gentle movements.
You may want to wiggle the toes,
Wiggle the fingers.
No rush.
A soft inhale.
A soft exhale.
Bringing warmth back into the body.
Feeling calmer,
More connected.
These stay with you.
Now open the eyes into a soft gaze.
Here,
Now,
More spacious.
