Hey,
I'm Coach Charlie,
And I'm really glad you're here.
This practice is for the part of you that's been working too hard to get it right.
For the next few minutes,
We'll explore what it feels like to soften without losing yourself.
To release a grip of perfection,
Just enough to breathe again.
You don't have to fix anything or make this moment perfect.
All this asks is that you show up as you are.
Right now.
To settle into this meditation,
I invite you to find a place to sit or lie down.
If it feels comfortable,
You can close your eyes,
Or keep a soft gaze on the floor or an object nearby.
Let your body melt into whatever is holding you right now.
Feel your body sink into that place.
Relaxing.
Releasing.
All of the stress.
Let's begin with a breath together.
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
And exhale through the mouth.
One more time.
Inhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Notice your breath as it moves through you.
Maybe it hovers high in your chest.
Maybe it catches halfway up the throat,
Unsure if it's safe to drop.
Maybe it feels tight,
Like the body's forgotten how to exhale.
Whatever you find,
Simply let it be.
You're meeting the body as it is,
Before it softens.
Begin to notice where perfection lives in your body.
Maybe it hums behind the eyes,
The head aching from chasing an endless standard.
Maybe it presses in the chest,
The heart racing to keep pace with impossible standards.
Maybe the muscles along your back have turned to heavy stone,
From trying so hard to stay upright.
These are the places that have been working overtime to keep you safe.
Notice the effort behind that safety.
You've carried it a long time.
And now,
The body is learning another way.
They whisper the same old promise.
If I don't make any mistakes,
Everything will be okay.
Take a slow breath in,
Toward the bottom of your chest.
Replace that tighten around that promise.
Now exhale.
Take one more breath in.
And exhale.
Not to feed it,
But to let it soften in the light of your awareness.
Feel your breath expand,
As if the breath itself were warm light,
Finding its way into the narrow corridors of your body.
You don't need to perfect the breath,
Or manage the body.
Just stay here.
With a gentle rise and fall of air moving through you.
It's a simple proof that you're alive.
And know this.
Every exhale is a small permission.
To let go.
To allow.
To trust the flow returning to you.
Here's the turning point to consider.
We've softened the body.
Now let's soften the way we see perfection itself.
I'd like to help you reframe it through an old Japanese art form.
It's called Kintsugi.
Where broken pottery is repaired with gold.
The fracture in the pottery becomes a vein of light.
Think of your own body right now.
In this moment of softening.
The places that feel imperfect.
Not quite enough.
Those dings,
Those dents,
Those tears.
They're witnesses.
Testimony of your hard-earned wisdom.
Your lived experience.
With every breath,
You're laying gold into those lines.
Not to restore what was.
But to reveal what's become.
You see,
The vessel was never damaged.
It was waiting for gold.
Take another slow breath in.
And exhale all the way out.
Feel the steadiness beneath you.
Let it remind you that you can return to the seas anytime you need.
If you like,
Gently wiggle your fingers or your toes.
Or look around your room.
Reminding the body that you're safe.
And in this moment.
As we close,
I extend to you this thought.
May you go forward with peace.
Carrying this awareness with you.
As you return to the rhythm of your life.
Thank you for sharing this space with me.
