Hello and welcome.
Together today we'll take a trip to the shore,
Give ourselves an opportunity to become acquainted with our mind,
To reconnect with our body.
On our trip today you may find that you feel distracted,
Or thoughts arise,
Emotions may even join the party.
That's okay,
Everyone is invited on this little trip with acceptance and love.
If you're feeling nervous or excited,
You can use your breath as a tool.
We can move our arms above our head,
Wiggling our shoulders,
Finding our feet firmly planted on the ground,
Our sit bones supporting a tall spine,
Our chest opened with our shoulders moving up,
Back,
And down,
Settling into your body.
At your own pace,
Take 10 deep breaths in and out through your nose.
If you haven't done so already,
You can slowly close your eyes,
Keep a soft gaze out in front of you.
Imagine that you're stepping off of the boardwalk,
Just place your first step into the sand at this beach.
You can feel the salty breeze,
Hear the birds overhead,
The sound of the waves.
You walk towards the shoreline and find a spot that feels comfortable.
You begin to unpack what you brought with you today,
Towel,
A hat,
Some snacks.
You remember the pail and the shovel that you brought with you to build a sand castle.
Once you've settled into your space,
You begin to walk to and from the shore,
Grabbing water and sand to build the castle that you've always wanted to build.
As the day progresses,
You know it's inevitable that an incoming wave will tumble your castle down to the sand,
Returning it back to the ocean.
Though you know that it is possible,
For right now it hasn't happened yet.
So you sit with the joy,
The experience of building what it is you've always wanted.
Others begin to see your castle and congratulate you on its beauty,
On its structure,
On its strength.
Rather than worrying about what would and what could happen,
You sit with the joy.
The waves come in and out like your breath now,
The rising and falling of your belly,
The rising and falling of the shoreline.
And eventually,
A wave does come in all the way to your castle.
The shore is flat,
The water has glided over your toes,
Feel the pull back into the ocean,
And you sit with what once was.
People around you begin to notice that your castle has returned back to the ocean,
And you're fine with that.
You feel at ease knowing that you lived that moment to its fullest.
You appreciated the time that you had with the castle.
The day is coming to a close,
And you're packing up what you brought with you.
One thing that didn't come with you to the beach but you'll leave with is the joy of being alive,
Of experiencing the beauty.
You begin to realize that every day has little opportunities to build your own sandcastle.
With this realization,
You begin to deepen your breath,
Listen to the waves crashing,
Listen to your body.
You can invite movement back in,
Open your eyes,
Experience the environment in a new way.
Take your time as you leave this space to return home,
Giving yourself a little more patience,
A little more care to experience.
