Honoring yourself as human first.
When you feel the weight of the world,
Or perhaps just the four walls around you,
Heavy on your shoulders,
Heavy on your mind,
Heavy on your heart,
I'd like to offer you permission,
Should you need it,
To offer yourself some kindness,
Some gentleness,
And some grace,
Remembering that you are human first.
You are allowed to feel a multi-faceted array of emotions.
You are allowed to feel loving and frustrated.
You are allowed to feel happy,
Yet oh so tired.
You are allowed to feel grateful and exhausted,
And you are allowed to surrender when the scales tip towards exhaustion and not feel guilty about it.
Balance does not always mean equal.
You are human.
You are a mama,
Yes,
But first and foremost,
Your heart needs to be tended to in order for you to tend to others.
Your mind needs to be nurtured.
Your soul needs to feel alight.
Can you let go of this old paradigm where mothers are meant to give every drop and be expected to just keep going,
To care for their children at their own expense?
Yes,
Our children's well-being is number one,
We know this,
But we are better mothers when we are not depleted.
What a tricky thing to learn,
What a risk to take,
But I promise you,
Mama,
The self-love you give yourself will show up tenfold as love to give away.
Trust me,
Trust yourself,
Honor yourself,
Even if it's just in stolen moments to start.
Every moment counts.
Take a deep inhale and as you exhale,
Come home,
Come home to your body,
To yourself.
Be right here,
Right now,
Knowing this is where you're meant to be in this moment,
Giving yourself permission to rest if only just for now,
But yes,
Rest for now.
Deep inhale through the nose and as you exhale,
Open the mouth to sigh.
Start to invite relaxation into the body.
Starting with the feet,
Can you place them on the earth and feel the support she's giving you?
Can you invite relaxation into all ten toes?
Deep inhale through the nose and as you exhale,
Open the mouth to sigh and send the breath into the hips.
Let them feel heavy and supported and relaxed.
As you continue to inhale and exhale,
Can you soften the belly as it breathes in and out?
Can you soften across the shoulders as your chest breathes in and out?
Can you invite softness into the jaw?
Soften across the cheeks and the eyelids.
Let go of any tension across the forehead.
And then imagine a wave of relaxation and softness moving from the top of your head all the way down to the soles of your feet,
Allowing the whole body to feel the energy of your body.
Allowing the whole body,
The whole body to be completely and totally relaxed.
And then inviting your mind here as well,
Knowing this is where you're meant to be.
Allowing your mind and your body to be completely and totally relaxed.
And then bringing the attention to the breath,
Just noticing the breath,
Watching it as it rises and falls through the body,
Noticing where it lands,
Noticing its pace and its rhythm,
Being a witness to your own breath,
Watching the inhales and the exhales.
And if a thought pops up into your mind,
Which it's going to do,
It's completely normal,
You are human first.
Allow that thought.
Welcome that thought and give it a mental hug and then let it go on its way.
And return your attention to your breath.
Watching the inhales,
Watching the exhales,
Allowing thoughts to come and go like clouds in the sky.
Remembering that thoughts will come,
Allowing them and letting them go.
Remembering that this is a practice.
You don't have to be perfect here.
On your next inhale,
Releasing your focus from the breath and again as you exhale,
Letting out a sigh of the mouth.
Starting to remember where you are in the room,
Feeling your body in this space,
Maybe introducing small movements to the fingers and toes,
Maybe rolling the head from side to side,
Shoulder to shoulder.
Bring the hands to the heart,
Whether it's over the heart or in prayer,
And bowing your chin ever so slightly and showing yourself some love and some gratitude for taking this time for you,
For doing something so good for your mind and for your spirit.
Accepting and allowing however your practice went today.
Taking a nice deep inhale through the nose.
As you exhale,
Allow the eyes to softly open.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
It was my honor to guide you.
Enjoy the rest of your day,
Mama.
Take care.
