Please bring yourself into a comfortable seated position,
Sitting up tall in your chair and placing your feet firmly on the ground in front of you.
And then bring your attention to the soles of your feet,
Placing even weight between the left and the right.
Placing both of them evenly and firmly on the ground,
Feeling the support of the earth beneath you.
Take a deep breath into the nose and as you exhale,
Allow the eyes to close if that feels comfortable.
Alternatively,
Bringing your focus down towards your knees and just allowing for a soft,
Gentle focus.
Inhale again through the nose and as you exhale,
Soften any tension in the jaw and let your shoulders fall away from your ears.
Another deep inhale and this time as you exhale,
Open your mouth and breathe out as if you're blowing out candles on a birthday cake.
Inhale again,
Nice and deep through the nose and as you exhale again,
Blow out every last candle on your imaginary cake until your lungs are completely empty.
And then on your next deep inhale,
Allow the mouth to open as you exhale and let out a sigh.
Then last deep breath as deep as you can inhale and then again exhale to sigh.
And now allow your breath to just guide itself,
Letting go of any control over it and notice how you feel.
Notice if your heart rate is slower than when you began.
Notice the pace and the rhythm of your breath,
Is it slower now than before?
Notice that you were able to take control,
Calming your body and your mind by deepening your breath.
You told your body there is nothing to fear,
Nothing to be stressed about and you gave your mind the gift of presence being right here,
Right now in this moment.
So with this newfound feeling,
Give yourself permission to relax into the knowledge that there is nothing you cannot handle today.
Know that you are in control.
Take a nice deep inhale through the nose and as you exhale,
Allow the eyes to softly open,
Knowing that you can take on anything that this day brings your way.