In today's practice you'll gently explore the subtle ways your body protects you when you feel uncertain or unseen.
Together we will work with breath,
Awareness and a steady sense of inner safety to soften the protective guard that may have become your habitual stance.
Today's lesson helps you reopen,
Slowly,
Wisely and on your own terms so that you can meet yourself and your relationship with greater clarity,
Warmth and presence.
Find a position where your body feels supported,
Whether that's seated,
Lying down or simply resting somewhere that feels naturally useful for you.
Allow yourself to tune in to your breath.
There's nothing that you need to change.
Just notice your inhale and your exhale.
That small steady rhythm that reminds you that you're here and you're safe enough to pause.
Let your shoulders soften and drop.
Let the muscles around your eyes loosen and relax.
Let your jaw unclench.
And as you breathe,
Begin to sense the subtle guard your body holds.
The ways you brace,
Protect,
Anticipate or stay ever so slightly on alert.
There's nothing wrong with this guard because it's formed for really good reasons.
It has kept you safe,
Especially in moments when someone's behavior felt unpredictable,
Dismissive or destabilizing.
But right now,
In this moment,
You get to choose a different relationship with it.
Take a slow deep breath in and imagine the inhale gently illuminating the edges of your guard,
Showing you its shape,
Its texture,
Its tone.
And as you exhale,
Imagine a warm wave of softening,
Washing over it.
Not dissolving it completely.
Not pushing it away.
Just softening it.
Let your breath do the work.
Your mind doesn't need to do anything but observe.
Inhaling,
Awareness.
Exhaling,
Ease.
And notice where the guard sits most strongly today.
Perhaps your chest feels slightly lifted,
As if bracing.
Maybe your belly feels tight.
Maybe your throat feels like it's holding back a truth or a need.
Wherever it is,
Greet it with the same warmth you would offer a loyal friend who's carried far too much for far too long.
You may take quietly inside yourself.
I see you.
Thank you for protecting me.
You can tell for now.
Let your breath help in this communication with your guard.
Relaxing.
Smooth.
Natural.
Unrushed.
And with each exhale,
Imagine your guard shifting from rigid to flexible and relaxed.
From contracted to receptive.
From vigilant to simply aware.
There's nothing to defend here.
There's nothing to perform.
Nothing to manage.
It's just you,
In the simplicity of this moment,
Opening one layer at a time,
At a pace your body chooses.
And if you notice resistance,
A part of you that doesn't want to soften,
Let it be the one.
Honor that.
Let it be here.
Let it speak in its own quiet language.
And say to it,
You don't have to disappear.
We're just finding a more comfortable way to be.
And gently rest on the place in your body that feels the most guarded.
Feel your own warmth.
Your presence.
Your steadiness.
And understand that your body responds to truth more than it does to force.
To kindness more than pressure.
Take another slow inhale.
And on your exhale,
Imagine this guarded place receiving a bit more breath.
More spaciousness.
More room to exist without tightening.
Now imagine this.
What if softening your guard did not make you more vulnerable?
What if it made you more accurate?
More attuned?
Better able to sense truth without fear or distortion?
Allow that possibility to settle into your awareness.
Like warm sunlight touching the edges of a cold room.
Feel the gentle widening inside of you.
Not dramatic.
Not forced.
Just letting go.
Just a subtle returning to yourself.
Let your breath be a quiet reminder that softness is not weakness.
Softness is clarity.
Softness is self-trust.
Softness is knowing you can make life from your center.
Rather than with your armor on.
Take one more long inhale.
And a full releasing exhale.
Letting your whole body drop.
Just a little deeper into ease.
And as this practice comes to a close.
Rest in the awareness that something inside you has shifted.
Even if only slightly.
There's a little more room.
A little more calm.
A little more of you available to yourself.
And when you're ready.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes.
Gently returning to the room you're in.
The space around you.
Carrying this softened.
Steady presence.
Into the rest of your day.
Thank you.
