Go ahead and take your seat.
You can be seated on a cushion with your legs crossed loosely in front of you or seated on the chair and your feet planted firmly on the ground,
Your hands resting gently on your thighs.
And we'll start by taking three long slow deep breaths,
Inhaling slowly and fully through the nostrils and exhaling deeply.
You can let your breathing return to its natural rhythm.
There's no need to force or control the breath,
Just let it be easy.
And begin to notice the sounds in your environment.
Sounds within the room that you're in.
And now expand your hearing out to that which exists outside the room that you're in.
Sound is not a barrier to this practice.
Welcome everything you hear.
Begin now to relax the top of the head.
Soften the forehead.
Relax the eyes.
Let go of the cheeks.
Let go of the jaw.
Relax your ears.
Notice the whole face just relaxed and still.
Soften the front of the neck and the back.
Roll your shoulders back and down.
And feel the weight of the arms heavy,
Your hands heavy.
And feel yourself supported by the cushion or the chair and really sink your weight down.
Just feel the heaviness of the body being supported and nurtured,
Held.
And relax your legs from hip to toes.
And just notice the whole body relaxed and still.
See in your mind's eye,
Yourself in front of you,
An image of you now.
Or it could be an image of you when you were younger.
See yourself in front of you.
What are you wearing?
What's your hair like?
And see if maybe you can bring a small smile to your face.
And as you see yourself in front of you,
Silently say,
May you know love.
May you know joy.
May you know peace.
May you be free from suffering.
And may you live with ease.
May you know love.
May you know joy.
May you know peace.
May you be free from suffering.
And may you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be excited.
May you be alive.
May you be free.
May you be happy.
May you be excited.
May you be alive.
May you be free.
May you be happy.
May you be excited.
May you be alive.
May you be free.
May you know love.
May you know joy.
May you know peace.
May you be free from suffering.
May you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be excited.
May you be alive.
May you be free.
And silently repeat these phrases to yourself for the next two minutes,
And I'll keep track of the time.
And if you notice yourself distracted,
Taken away by thoughts,
Just thank them for sharing,
And come back to seeing yourself in front of you,
And saying,
May you know love.
May you know joy.
May you know peace.
May you be free from suffering.
And may you live with ease.
May you be happy.
May you be excited.
May you be alive.
May you be free.
May you be free.
It doesn't matter how many times you have to come back to the phrases.
This is the practice.
You you you you let the image of yourself go now.
Let the phrases go,
And if you feel comfortable,
Place your right hand to your heart,
And if you don't feel comfortable,
You can leave your hand where it is.
And silently say,
May I know love.
May I know joy.
May I know peace.
May I be free from suffering.
And may I live with ease.
May I be happy.
May I be excited.
May I be alive.
May I be free.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be strong.
May I be confident.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be strong.
May I be confident.
May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be at ease.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be at ease.
May I be healthy.
If you notice any distraction,
Sounds,
Thoughts that take you away,
That's okay.
Say thank you for sharing and come back to your phrases.
May I be safe.
May I be healthy.
May I be at ease.
And I'd like to give you this opportunity to change the phrases now.
To phrases that really resonate with you.
Something you like more.
Maybe I wish myself happiness.
I allow myself to feel safe.
I am worthy and deserving of good fortune and health.
I like joy.
May I be free of troubles of mind and body.
May I be able to protect my own happiness.
May I be free from hurtfulness.
May I be peaceful.
Again,
Play around with different phrasing that feels good for you.
May you be filled with love and kindness.
May you be safe from inner and outer dangers.
May you be healthy in body and mind.
May you find peace and be truly happy.
May I be free of mental anxiety.
May I be healthy.
May I be free of suffering.
May I be safe.
May I be well.
May I be free of anger and judgment against myself.
May I let go of all self hatred and self contempt.
May I let go of all feelings of hopelessness and despair.
May I let go of all self sabotaging thoughts and actions.
May I let go of the feeling that I am inadequate and defective.
May I let go of the fear that I am unimportant and undesirable.
May I let go of feeling shameful and misunderstood by others.
May I let go of the feeling that people always let me down.
May I let go of all unrealistic expectations of myself and others.
May I let go of all claims of needing to be treated differently.
May I let go of all self-doubt.
May I let go of wanting to protect myself.
May joy and warmth fill my heart.
May I love myself.
Let the phrases go and sit in the stillness.
And start to take some deeper breaths now coming back into the physical body.
And with your eyes closed you can circle your wrists,
Your head,
And roll your shoulders up back and down.
And when you're ready you can blink your eyes open.
Notice the shapes and colors around you and move back into activity slowly.
