Hi,
And welcome to your practice for decreasing overwhelm.
I often describe the sensation of overwhelm as being sticky.
It brings with it heightened sensations in the mental,
Emotional self,
The physical body.
And that often means manifesting as tension,
Fatigue,
Or heaviness.
And these sensations stick to everything.
They stick to the mind,
The body,
The heart.
And in overwhelm,
It can feel as if you're unable to let go and return back to your true self.
The self that doesn't have all the stickiness.
In this meditation practice,
I'll be guiding you through mindfulness of breath as a way to create space,
Or more a sense of spaciousness,
Between yourself and this stickiness.
It is in this space you can begin to witness thoughts,
Feelings,
And sensations tied to overwhelm with a compassionate,
Non-judgmental awareness.
So with that in mind,
As you meditate,
The goal isn't to have zero thoughts.
Instead,
Acknowledge each one for what it is before letting it go.
That's the skill you can take with you after the practice,
So that as you navigate overwhelm in your life,
You're able to lower the volume of the mind,
Not silence it,
Finding a space of ease where compassion can come in.
So to start,
Please get into a comfortable seat.
That could also mean lying down,
Walking,
Or standing if sitting doesn't feel right for you.
If you're choosing to sit,
Gently align the shoulders and head,
Chin slightly tucked,
To create length along the spine.
Choosing to rest the arms in the lap or on the knees.
Begin with eyes open,
Focus soft,
Starting to take some deep breaths,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
In this moment,
Before we fully transition into the practice,
Take a moment and check in with your posture.
Are there any final movements or adjustments that would create support here?
Remembering that our goal here is compassion.
And once you've felt settled in the body,
With this next exhalation,
Gently closing your eyes or letting your gaze rest softly in front of you.
Becoming aware of your environment.
Notice any sounds near or far.
Maybe there's even a particular smell.
Allowing your mind to note it before letting it go.
Shifting your attention to the body.
Feel the arms rest against the legs,
The weight of the body pressing into the surface beneath you.
Recognizing how the body feels in this moment.
Not how it felt yesterday or how we wanted to feel,
But what is in the here now.
You might begin to notice where overwhelm feels stuck in your own body.
Gently shift your awareness one layer deeper.
Noticing the natural rhythm of your breath.
Where does the breath create a rising or falling sensation?
Are the breaths long or short?
Deep or shallow?
Witnessing with curiosity the qualities of each breath.
Can you sense the space between each breath?
There's a natural pause at the beginning and end of every breath.
Letting your awareness rest here.
Be with the rise and fall.
The moment between breaths.
Allowing the space to filter in between all the layers of your being.
Allowing your unique breath to unstick the layers.
When the mind starts to wander,
It's okay.
This is your humanness.
You'll simply guide yourself back to the breath.
And when it wanders again,
Which it will,
Extending yourself grace.
Continue to rest your attention on the breath.
Your breath creates spaciousness.
And this spaciousness creates ease.
Remain present with your presence,
Your breath in the here and the now.
A presence that is nonjudgmental,
Simply aware of what is.
Breath to breath.
Moment to moment.
Presence to presence.
With the next exhale,
Release the focus on the breath.
Letting yourself take in the spaciousness you've cultivated.
A spaciousness between layers.
A breath that unsticks the overwhelm.
A space that always exists within you.
We are now in the in-between again.
Between the end of practice and what you'll do next.
In the same way that there is a pause,
A moment between each breath.
Within this pause and this moment,
Note you can always come back to your breath.
You can always cultivate spaciousness within yourself.
Starting to become aware of the body.
Transitioning out of your practice with the same compassion you entered in with.
That could mean wiggling fingers and toes.
Maybe a gentle neck roll from side to side.
Sensing the weight of your body pressing into the surface beneath you.
Connecting with the sounds in their space.
Becoming gently and compassionately aware of your environment.
Take a deep inhale through the nose.
Exhale through the mouth fully with a sigh.
And when you're ready,
Slowly opening the eyes.
