Welcome to this moment of quiet.
A few minutes just for you.
Let's gently step away from whatever you may be feeling right now.
Something that might be hard to describe.
Perhaps like a kind of sensory overload or the opposite,
A shutdown after difficult or overwhelming news or an experience that's simply been too much.
My name is Elizabeth and I'm sharing this with you from my own healing journey through complex grief.
Not as an expert but as someone who understands and simply wants to sit beside you for a moment and share a little love,
A little healing and gentle support.
Most of all I want to share this with you even if it doesn't feel like it right now.
Even if it feels like there's no way through.
There is.
Not all at once,
Not perfectly but step by step,
Breath by breath.
So for the next few minutes I invite you to join me on this short gentle journey.
We'll just explore a small way through this moment and if nothing else perhaps this time will simply offer you a little space,
A small pause or even just a soft distraction from what feels heavy and that is more than enough.
If you're here you may be carrying something that changed everything in a moment.
The kind of moment where the world keeps moving but something in you stops.
Where nothing quite makes sense anymore and even though you're still here it can feel like you're no longer fully part of things.
There is a response our body has when something overwhelming happens.
It's shock and it's not something we choose and it's something that happens for us.
A kind of protection slowing everything down so that we can survive what feels impossible to take in all at once.
You might recognize it as numbness or feeling far away or like you're moving through something unreal.
You might feel it in your body,
A tightness in your chest,
A racing or heavy heartbeat,
Shallow breath or a kind of stillness that feels hard to move through however it shows up for you.
There is no right way just your way.
If you like,
Gently bring your attention to your breath.
Not to change it,
Just to notice it.
The inhale and the exhale.
When something overwhelming happens our mind often tries to catch up,
To understand,
To replay,
To make sense of what doesn't yet make sense and sometimes images or moments can return to unexpectedly and if that happens let's gently give your mind somewhere soft to land.
You might imagine yourself wrapped up under a warm duvet,
Held,
Safe.
Maybe there's soft beautiful music playing in the background,
A quiet stillness around you.
Perhaps there's a gentle familiar presence too,
Something or someone that brings comfort.
For me it's that feeling of being warm and tucked in and even my cats coming to settle beside me.
Simple,
Calm,
Safe or if it feels right we can walk somewhere together.
A warm day,
A quiet beach,
Your feet in the sand feeling it softly between your toes.
The light catching the water like tiny diamonds dancing across the surface.
The gentle rhythm of waves coming in and out.
Each wave softly washing over what feels heavy,
Not forcing it away but slowly,
Steadily softening the edges allowing what needs to be felt to be there without rushing it.
There's also something else that can come with moments like this.
A sense of responsibility or questioning what you could have done or should have seen.
If that's present for you just notice it without needing to follow it all the way.
You don't have to carry everything all at once.
And now if it feels okay we'll take a couple of minutes just to breathe together.
A gentle steady rhythm breathing in for four,
Holding for four,
Breathing out for four and holding again for four.
I'll guide you.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Last one,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Let your breath stay gentle,
No forcing,
Carry on if you wish.
Just a rhythm your body can rest into.
And when you're ready let your breath return to its natural pace.
Right now nothing needs to be resolved.
You don't have to understand it all.
You don't have to hold it all.
You can simply be here breathing moment by moment.
And if it feels right for you,
You might gently remind yourself I am here.
Not everything is okay but I am here.
You can relax your shoulders,
Your jaw and stay with that moment.
And when you're ready gently come back or carry on and in the meantime I wish you lots of love and I'm so happy you're here.
Lots of love.
