Welcome to this beautiful practice for slowing down.
This will be a mix of breath and meditation,
Just stillness to help you connect back to yourself and slow down your mind to be present in the moment.
I just want you to start by getting comfortable whether that's lying down or sitting cross-legged or sitting in a chair and just shutting down your eyes,
Paying attention to your breath and how it's naturally flowing.
That's in through your nose or your mouth and out through your nose or your mouth,
Not changing anything just yet,
Just just focusing on the natural flow of your breath.
And while we're here I invite you to just do a quick body scan starting at the top of your head,
Just scanning down through your body to feel where there may be any tension,
Any aches or just any stuck energy or emotion.
Just allowing it to be without attaching any stories to it,
Allowing your breath to get deeper and slower.
Soon we're going to start with a box breathing practice,
Which is just breathing in through your nose for a count of four,
Holding at the top for a count of four,
Letting it all go for a count of four,
And holding at the bottom for a count of four.
And we'll just be practicing this breath flow for a few minutes just to help slow down your mind and your heart and just bring you back into your body.
So just wherever you are now,
Just taking one final breath as you are,
Letting it all go and starting this breath practice in three,
Two,
One.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
And just continuing on with this breath at your own pace,
Paying attention to the rise and fall of your belly,
Your ribs,
Your chest.
Just finishing the last breath cycle that you're on and returning to your regular breath in and out through your nose,
Breathing deep into your belly,
Feeling the rise and fall,
Allowing yourself to sit in this stillness for a moment.
If your mind starts to wander,
Just bring it back to your breath,
Either in the expansion and contraction of your diaphragm,
The rise and fall of your belly or your chest,
Or the feeling of the breath coming in and out through your nose,
Whatever feels like the most prominent sensation to you,
Just allowing yourself to focus on that,
Being in your body rather than your mind,
Just slowing down and deepening your breath where you can,
Even maybe extending your exhales slightly longer than your inhales.
I invite you to bring your attention to any tension or sensations in the body,
Anywhere you might be holding on to emotion,
To a stuck energy,
Just allowing yourself to breathe into those spaces,
Allowing them to soften with every breath.
I invite you to bring your attention to your heart space,
Feeling your breath flow through on its way to your belly,
Feeling the rise of your chest,
The expansion of your ribs and the rise of your belly and then feeling it all soften and contract with your exhale,
Keeping your attention on your heart space.
I invite you to ask yourself,
What does my inner guidance want me to know?
What does my soul want me to know?
Allowing yourself to sit with these questions,
Opening yourself up to receive,
Allowing any thoughts,
Feelings or imagery to come through from your intuition,
From your higher self,
Just sitting with whatever that is.
And when you're ready,
Start feeling into your body again,
Wiggling your fingers or your toes,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Moving your body in whichever way it needs to move.
And just taking one last deep inhale in through your nose.
With that inhale,
Bringing your hands together in prayer position in front of your heart,
And just letting out a soothing sigh.
Deep inhale through your nose and letting out a soothing sigh.
Whenever you're ready,
Just opening up your eyes.
Feel free to grab your journal or your phone to write down whatever came through for you.
But just bring this slowness and this softness with you throughout your day and feeling free to return back to this practice.
Whenever you need to slow down or to soften.
Thank you for coming on this journey with me.
