This practice is for the moments when everything feels like too much.
When your mind is full,
Your body is tight,
And it feels hard to find space to breathe.
So before anything else,
Just acknowledging where you are right now.
And you don't need to be anywhere else.
Gently allowing your eyes to close if that feels okay,
Or softening your gaze.
Taking a slow breath in,
And a long steady breath out.
Again,
Breathing in,
And exhaling just a little longer.
Letting the exhale be a release.
And as you continue breathing like this,
Noticing the support beneath you.
The chair,
The floor,
Letting yourself be held.
You don't have to hold everything on your own right now.
And just for a moment,
Imagining that everything you're carrying,
All the thoughts,
The responsibilities,
The emotions,
Could be placed down beside you.
Not forever,
Just for now.
You can come back to them later.
But for this moment,
You don't need to carry it all.
Bringing your awareness to your body.
Where do you feel the overwhelm?
Is it in your chest,
Your stomach,
Your shoulders?
Just gently noticing.
And instead of trying to change it,
Just bring your breath there.
Breathing into that space,
And exhaling softly.
Letting your breath create a little more room,
A little more space around the feeling.
You don't need to get rid of it.
Just allowing it to be here,
With a little more space.
And reminding yourself,
You don't have to do everything right now.
You don't have to solve everything right now.
You don't have to hold everything right now.
Just this breath.
Just this moment.
Letting your shoulders soften.
Your jaw unclench.
Your belly relax.
And with each exhale,
Letting your body settle,
Just a little more.
You might start to notice,
Even just a small shift.
A little more space.
A little more steadiness.
And staying here for a few more breaths.
Not needing to force anything.
Just breathing.
And when you're ready,
Gently beginning to come back to the space around you.
Knowing that you can return to this whenever things feel like too much.
Taking a deep breath.
Deeper breath in.
And exhaling slowly.
Wiggling your fingers and toes.
And softly opening your eyes.
Thank you for joining me today.