Hello sweet soul.
This is a practice to be present to whatever is happening.
In unprecedented times we gather.
We practice.
We are here to do nothing.
We are here to not do nothing.
We focus on our breath,
Arrive,
And be with the present.
Whatever shows up.
Practicing this will strengthen this ability in your day to day life.
As we navigate uncertainty,
Uncertain times,
And ask ourselves,
Just what was even certain before?
Are you sure?
So let us start by moving into a comfortable shape.
Whatever feels good right now.
Whether that's sitting up,
Cross-legged,
Feet resting on the floor in a chair,
Or perhaps even lying down,
Supported by some pillows or props.
Let us take a moment to arrive.
Begin to soften.
Settle.
To prepare.
To sit with whatever arises.
Perhaps gently closing the eyes mindfully,
If that feels right for you.
Or if that doesn't feel good,
Slowly lowering the gaze to the floor,
Or on an object off in the distance.
And start to develop a conscious relationship with your breath.
And what I mean by that is,
Start to turn inward.
Develop curiosity for the inhalations,
As the belly rises,
Sucking up a delicious sip of oxygen.
And as the belly falls on the exhalation out the nose,
We empty out.
Get curious to what that feels like.
The filling up,
And the emptying out.
Notice the quality of your breath.
Is it short?
Long?
Can you deepen and lengthen it?
Notice in each breath,
Every time,
Every moment,
Is there an opportunity where you can create more space?
And as we connect to our breathing,
In through the nose,
Out through the nose,
Let us do a body scan,
And see where perhaps we can let go of more tension.
Can we send some extra oxygen to our toes,
Our feet,
Our ankles?
Letting go on the backs of the calves,
Up the shins to the kneecaps,
To your thighs and your calves.
Sending conscious awareness,
Releasing any tension in the buttocks and the hips,
The pelvic area.
Letting go in the lower back,
Along your spine to your upper back and your shoulders,
Where we carry so much weight.
Can we try to release anything that we have brought here today?
Maybe we've experienced some struggle or challenges or expectations in our day so far.
Maybe we're anticipating those things.
Can we be here and soften and relax those shoulders down on the exhalation?
Softening the upper arms,
Backs of your arms to the elbows to the forearms.
Relaxing the muscles in the wrists,
The hands,
The fingertips.
Can you soften?
As we sit here and breathe together,
Can we offer a moment of gratitude for ourselves,
Silently,
Internally in our mind,
Saying thank you for slowing,
For being willing to be with yourself in times uncertain or otherwise.
When's the last time you stopped and thanked yourself?
And as we continue to breathe together,
Can we soften and relax the jaw,
Our cheekbones,
Our eyelids,
The space between our eyes?
Can we soften our tongue?
And finally,
If it feels appropriate,
You can place a hand on your heart and another palm on your belly as we continue to breathe and bring attention towards one of your most vital organs,
The heart.
Can we work on expanding it and keeping it open,
Especially when it finds evidence of why it should close?
Can we work on softening it as we consciously keep it open?
This miraculous energy that keeps us going,
It still keeps beating,
Especially when we think we cannot keep going.
Our heart works beautifully with our breath.
The perfect pair.
Connecting to your body and to yourself and sending love and gratitude to these things that are there for us no matter what.
Offering yourself kindness,
Often the kindness that we wish to receive or seek from another.
Can we offer that to ourselves right now?
And now we begin to observe our thoughts as they come up,
Like images on a movie screen or cars passing by or bubbles floating up and popping.
There's no need to follow the thoughts anywhere.
Just notice.
You are the witness.
No judgments,
No emotions that need to control or override you.
Those are just things.
The thoughts and judgments and emotions are just things that are happening.
And you are the observer.
Your thoughts are a thing that's happening.
As we notice,
Is your mind noisy or quiet right now?
And just notice,
Without trying to change it or fix it,
You're doing it right.
Can we just accept the mind,
The thoughts as it is,
As they are and let it be?
Just notice.
You are the witness.
No judgments,
No emotions.
You are the observer and your thoughts are a thing that's happening.
If you notice getting tangled in the wild web that our minds can weave,
Just notice that and come back to your breath.
Your breath is as constant as the ocean waves,
Deepening the inhalation and elongating the exhalation.
Letting go,
Not just a word we say,
But something we're intentional about.
What can you release?
Are you willing to release now?
Is there something you're holding onto tightly?
Is there something you are willing to release as you release the breath and empty out?
We're not here to stop the thoughts.
We are the witness,
The observer,
Deepening our inhalation and elongating the exhalation,
Accepting whatever arises into the moment and loving ourselves.
Are the thoughts that we think even true?
Are the stories that we tell even true?
Are the thoughts and the worries helpful?
What could be helpful?
Breathing in,
I am here.
Breathing out,
I have arrived.
Breathing in love and releasing pain.
Breathing in calm and exhaling exhaustion.
We are a tired collective,
I know it.
But taking a moment to slow,
To soften,
To arrive,
To ground,
Can fill us exponentially to navigate these uncertain times.
Stay with yourself.
There's nowhere else to go.
Nowhere to be.
I assure you,
You are doing it right.
It's okay to be here.
It's safe to be with my body.
It's safe to be with my thoughts.
Breathing everything with your breath.
And as we breathe together now,
Let us release a little more with three cleansing breaths.
I'll guide you.
We'll exhale and empty the air from our lungs and breathe in through the nose and let it out the mouth with a sigh or a noise,
Really releasing.
Exhale,
Empty the air out of your lungs and breathe in through the nose.
Let it go out the mouth with a sigh or a noise.
Two more.
In through the nose,
Out the mouth.
One more deepest inhalation of your day,
In through the nose.
Let it all go out the mouth.
Being here,
Offering a moment of gratitude for ourselves,
Thanking yourself for showing up,
For dedicating time for you in this extreme uncertainty.
And whenever you feel ready,
You can gently flutter your eyes open if they were closed or raise your gaze and give yourself a few moments to integrate.
Come back into the room.
Come back to yourself.
Coming back to our breath over and over.
Coming back to keeping the heart open and softening it.
What do you notice now?
Thank you for being here.
