Hello and welcome.
If you are here,
You may be seeking encouragement and support as you soak in the benefits of finding time to care for yourself.
In today's practice,
You will begin to set any expectations that strip you from being human down beside you.
You will begin to release them from your being and you will begin to give yourself permission to care for yourself.
Finding a position that encourages comfort,
Ease,
And relaxation.
Whatever position feels most comfortable and most effortless.
Closing your eyes now or,
If you choose to leave them open,
Softening your gaze.
I invite you to hold these words from Audre Lorde in your heart.
Caring for myself is not a self-indulgence,
It is self-preservation.
Noticing any thoughts or feelings that may be stirring within you,
That may be against you caring for yourself.
Allowing yourself to release these thoughts with love,
With every natural exhale moving through your body and past your lips.
Positioning your breath as a wave of comfort,
Relief,
And release.
Touching all of the areas of your being that may be trying to convince you that caring for yourself is selfish or overindulgent.
Again,
Allowing yourself to release these thoughts with every out-breath.
As you allow this tension to rise from your being,
Direct your focus to your breath.
Noticing as it fills up in your lungs and softly pushes out through your nose or through pursed lips.
Self-care is a crucial and necessary practice for us.
Learning and honoring the importance of caring for yourself allows you to put yourself first.
It allows you to put your health first,
And it allows you to put your needs first.
When you neglect making yourself a priority,
You pour from an empty cup,
From a place of lack.
And doing so only depletes energy that you deserve.
It takes away from you.
Give yourself permission to find ways to fill your cup up,
To return to the things that bring you joy,
The things that make your heart smile.
Caring for yourself can look like speaking to yourself in ways that feel good,
Reminding yourself of how worthy you are or how enough and loved you are.
Caring for yourself can look like setting boundaries and releasing the things,
People or relationships that don't serve you in the best way.
Or caring for yourself looks exactly like what you're doing now.
Taking time to be with yourself and your breath,
Allowing yourself a moment to be present.
When you make caring for yourself a habit,
You begin to learn to pour from an overflow of abundance.
Checking in with your body here,
How does it feel to be here with yourself and your breath?
How does it feel to have been intentional about carving out time for yourself?
How does it feel extending this permission to care for yourself?
