So as we begin deciding whether you want to be seated or lying down,
Supported by props,
Making yourself as comfortable as possible.
So as comfortable as we can make ourselves,
It is a little bit easier to turn inward.
We don't want to be fidgeting and worrying about the blanket if it's just right.
We also don't want to be worrying about if we feel uncomfortable.
So make yourself really comfortable.
But with that also being said,
Don't feel like you need to be frozen,
Or stuck,
Or hold a position entirely.
If you need to move or even shake at one point,
Even if you start crying,
Then go ahead and let that happen.
I'm just giving you a moment or so just to find a position that feels just right in this present moment.
And that might mean in five minutes in that present moment,
The position's different.
So I threw a lot at you.
It could have had your mind going somewhere.
And so as we're beginning,
I really want to bring our awareness into the body,
Being really mindful of how the space that you're taking up,
How your bodies feel in this moment.
We're going to kind of just start outside the body,
Maybe perhaps noticing sounds that you might be hearing,
Being mindful of them.
Noticing the temperature of the room that you occupy.
Noticing the body supported by perhaps a bed,
Or a chair,
Or the floor.
Maybe you have pillows underneath the body.
Maybe you have blankets on top of the body.
Feeling all of that support around you.
Noticing that as you're either lying or seated here,
Parts of the body are going to feel heavier.
Parts of the body are going to be more connected with the surface below you.
If you're seated,
Perhaps it's the back,
The glutes,
The thighs,
The feet.
If you're lying down,
It's the head,
The upper portion of the back,
The glutes,
The heels.
And then from the outside,
Let's start to move inside.
Getting a sense of how you're doing in this present moment.
And maybe when I even asked you that,
You said an emotional word.
Anxious,
Tired,
Excited,
Joyful.
How do you know you're joyful?
How do you know you're tired?
As you turn inward,
How does the body feel?
What are the sensations?
If you're tired,
Does the body feel heavier?
If you're anxious,
Does the breath feel shorter?
If you're joyful,
Does it feel like almost as if the heart center is open,
The face is bright?
And things that I'm describing might not be how you're feeling.
So how do you know?
Or what are your sensations?
Maybe they're not even tied to emotion.
Maybe you're just feeling neutral.
And the more that you stay within the body,
The more you'll start to notice those underlying physical sensations.
There's those obvious ones that begin to pop up first.
But then underneath,
There might be some more subtle ones that were not as obvious.
And I want to also call out that the descriptive words that I use,
Heavy,
Bright,
They may not be in your vocabulary.
You may describe them completely differently.
But I will say that if you start to describe an emotion,
I do want you to feel that.
What are the physical sensations with that?
Now I'm going to ask you to call to mind a situation that has happened recently that has caused you to feel a negative type of emotion.
Worry,
Anger,
Sadness,
Grief.
We're not going to get too caught up in the story,
But I do want you to think about it a bit.
Maybe go a little bit into the story.
Maybe go a little bit into the situation.
Perhaps it's even a situation where you feel like you're almost on a hamster wheel.
You're just trapped and you have no idea how to handle it.
I'm just going to ask you and then give you a moment of silence or so to just come to that situation.
Maybe it's even involving a specific person.
And then I'm going to pause you right there.
We're going to let the brain take a moment to pause as well.
And we're going to come into our physical bodies.
What are you feeling now?
Is there a shift in the chest,
In the breath?
Is there a shift in the hands,
The arms,
The jaw?
Did a point of pain begin to pop up?
And as I ask you to sit with these sensations,
Knowing that we won't be able to do it,
And knowing that you are safe,
Be really exploratory with them.
If there's a pain point,
How much surface area does it take up?
Is it throbbing?
Is it heaviness?
How would you describe it?
Is there a color?
And if there is a wave of an emotion that might come up,
Crying,
Or if you feel heaviness on your chest,
Knowing that there will be an end to it.
I'm going to ask you,
Would it be okay to just be here with this?
Be here in this place.
And I promise you,
We will end it very soon.
And I promise you,
I will take you to a more joyful place.
But can you just stay here for just a moment or so?
And if the body needs to shift the position or move,
Please let it do that.
Don't hold it back.
You're getting a visualization that your body just wants to stand up or do something different.
Please do.
Now we're going to end this part here.
And I want you to think of something that perhaps happened today or very recently that brought you a lot of joy.
I'm going to let you just be with that story for a bit.
Really immersing yourself in it,
Remembering what happened,
The people involved.
Maybe it was just yourself.
Are you standing?
What was your position?
And then we're going to pause there.
Come back inward.
What's happening inside?
When you think about that joyful situation,
What do you do to the physical body?
Can you physically feel in this present moment?
And just like when we were on the other side,
If you want to move and shift and change your position,
Feel free.
And I'm going to say we're going to go back to the other side one more time,
But we're going to come back here too.
So let's go back to that other situation.
The one that brought up more unfavorable emotions.
Think about it a bit.
Maybe perhaps you go a little bit further into the story.
Maybe when I paused you,
You had more to think about.
There was more of the story to go through.
And then pause here.
Come back inward.
What's happening now?
Are the sensations the same?
This is a new moment.
In this present moment,
Being as mindful as you possibly can with your body,
What's happening now?
Is there a pain point or a pressure point?
Does it feel the same?
Is something different pop up?
Is something lessened?
Is something intensified?
I want you to pick one of the areas that you're noticing.
Maybe it's the jaw.
Maybe you feel something in the heart center,
Shoulders.
Just pick one place.
As you explore that area,
How much area is it taking up?
What does it feel like?
How would it feel to ask that part of the area,
That part of the body,
How do you feel?
Is there something that I can do to help?
What do you mean right now?
And speak to it almost as if you're speaking to a person.
Ask that part of the body.
You never know.
Maybe something comes up.
Maybe it doesn't.
Maybe something comes up later.
And with zero expectation.
Maybe just stay with that point of the body.
Almost as if you are just loving and supporting it.
Bring acknowledgement.
And then let's go back.
This is where we're going to conclude with this joyful part.
This joyful situation.
Perhaps this moment with a specific person.
Think about it again.
And just like on the other side,
Maybe you go a little bit further into the story.
Maybe there's a little bit more to think about.
What were you doing?
Who was there?
Where were you?
And now what do you feel inside the body?
And I'm going to give you a moment of silence.
To just be here.
To be here with you and yourself and the physical sensations.
Can you almost even imagine that as if this joy,
These physical sensations,
Wherever you feel them,
Let them act as if they're just these little sparks,
These little starting points for your body.
And just allow that joy to exude,
To fill the entire space of the body.
There are energy,
There is energy that is attached to words.
And so really just allow that word joy,
The energy of it,
To just fill your entire being.
And remind yourself,
Is this a type of practice that you could actually do on your own?
You could just titrate between both of these sides.
And even just seeing what may come up,
Answers or clarity.
Or even if you are on one side,
Can you just bring yourself to the other side?
Maybe a more joyful or calm place.
And we'll conclude as we always conclude,
Bringing awareness to your heart center,
The place where we connect to ourselves,
The place where we show ourselves love.
Whether it's a physical placing of the hands on this area,
Whether it's just bringing the mind to that space,
Whether it's bringing Anjali Mudra for your hands right in front of the heart.
And again,
Your words are powerful,
They hold energy,
They make the body physically feel different.
And so as you connect to your heart center,
Fill it with love,
Gratitude,
Acknowledgement,
Kind words to yourself.
Allow those words to just fill your being and mean them.
You can even notice a little bit how you're feeling physically when you just say something kind to yourself.
And from my heart center to yours,
I send you love and gratitude and acknowledgement for all the hard work that you've done,
All the moments that have led you to this exact moment,
Or your life lessons,
Or your experiences that have led you here,
From my heart center to yours,
Namaste.
