Take a moment and settle into the space,
Taking whatever shape your body desires,
Whether it's seated or lying down,
And I invite you,
If it's comfortable for you,
To close your eyes.
Sensing in to your body in this space and time,
Maybe noticing your feet on the floor,
Your hands in your lap,
And your legs or your bottom on whatever surface supporting you.
Bringing our attention now,
Starting to notice where in your body you feel your breath the strongest.
Not judging it,
Just noticing where you feel it.
And as you breathe,
You might notice that your mind is already drifted away to a story or an idea about something other than this moment.
Again,
It's perfectly fine.
No judgment,
Just notice.
And maybe bringing to mind a story that you have about yourself,
About someone else,
About your job.
Maybe it has something to do with a change you're trying to make,
What's your story?
We all have many stories we tell ourselves,
The narratives that come,
Our mind uses to try and make sense of the world.
Try and choose one.
Picture it.
Maybe just out in front of you,
Could be a shape,
Could be some words.
It could come in the form of a person who's told you the story.
Really take a look at it.
Is this a story that you want in your life?
Is it serving you?
Or is it hindering your progress?
If you're okay with the story,
That's wonderful.
You can do whatever you'd like with it.
If it's something that's not working for you,
I'd like you to join me in getting curious about it.
Understanding what it means.
Maybe asking your story some questions and no worries if nothing comes up right away.
Just bringing that sense of curiosity to it.
If it starts to feel painful or uncomfortable,
You can always return to that anchor of the breath and where you feel it the strongest.
Is this a regular story that you tell yourself?
Is there a pattern,
Something that happens on a regular basis related to the story?
Does that seem like a rerun of a past experience?
Or is it something you're ready to let go and change?
In looking at the story,
Is there anything that you can label around it?
Types of thoughts,
Emotions that come up,
Not getting caught up in them,
Just recognizing.
Not identifying with it either.
So if the story brings up an emotion like sadness,
You can recognize and label,
I feel sad versus I am sad.
Recognizing that you are not the story.
Stories can change and so can our thoughts and feelings around them.
What about the story can you accept?
Instead of pushing it away,
Resisting it,
What can you get curious about and accept?
When you accept some stories,
You can create space for the feelings they bring.
And when those feelings are seen and known,
Oftentimes they can dissipate.
The reason they often play on repeat is because they've not yet been seen.
And this isn't to resign yourself to agree with the story or accept something that just seems unacceptable.
It's to offer your emotions the space they need to be seen.
To allow yourself to experience them,
To breathe with them,
Again,
Turning your attention to your breath if you need an anchor to go back to.
You are not your story.
Stories are assigned meanings we give to our experiences to make sense of them.
And while certainly valid to protect us and keep us safe,
They don't have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If this story is no longer serving you,
See if you can unhook yourself from it by accepting it,
Seeing and feeling the emotions,
And responding in alignment with your values in order to free yourself from the story.
Create the story that helps you live the life you want to live.
Returning now to that sensation of your breath wherever you feel it the strongest.
Noting if it's changed.
And sensing into the weight of your body on the surface you've sat on,
Your feet on the floor,
Your hands in your lap,
While simultaneously feeling that support of that surface holding you in this space and time.
And we'll go ahead and take one nice big deep breath with an audible sigh here,
Inhaling.
You can start to bring some movement back to your fingers and your toes,
Maybe opening your eyes and giving yourself a stretch.
Thank you.
