Welcome.
Settle yourself into a comfortable yet upright position.
Keeping your back,
Neck,
And head held straight,
Without any tightness or straining.
Slightly tuck in your chin.
Roll back your shoulders,
Expanding the chest.
Welcoming this practice with openness and love.
And when you are ready.
Close your eyes.
Take a moment now to realize that you are here.
Present in this moment.
Taking in the things around you.
Just a simple awareness of where you are.
As you maintain this soft awareness.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Gently inhaling through the nose.
Feeling the air move into your body,
Filling you with life.
Slowly exhaling.
Feeling your body relax.
As you let go of the air.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Inhale one last time the deepest breath you have taken today so far,
And release.
Release all that no longer serves you.
Release any burden,
Worry,
Stress,
Or fatigue.
You are becoming more and more energized with all the beautiful things that life has to offer.
Now,
Ensure that your spine is still tall and proud,
Head held straight.
Allow your breath to gently return to its natural rhythm.
We will focus on our abdomen and practice mindful breathing,
Giving attention to the rise and fall of the belly.
This is a simple method for taking care of our emotions that sometimes may become too overpowering or intense.
As you breathe in,
Note rise,
And as you breathe out,
Note fall.
This will help you to ground yourself by bringing our attention downward.
Just like a strong tree weathering a storm.
Our bodies too will remain stable at their trunk despite the intensity of our emotions surrounding us.
The branches and leaves on the tree are swaying back and forth.
Practice breathing through the movement.
The rise and fall of your belly a few more times.
Shift your focus down to your navel.
That is the most solid part of your body.
And practice breathing mindfully here.
Simply inhaling.
And exhaling.
Strong emotions are inevitable.
We must accept that they will come and they will go.
I encourage you to embrace them,
To calm them.
So that we can examine further into the depths of their nature.
By looking deeper within.
Even amid difficulties.
You will realize that you still have many things to be grateful for.
You are able to find something special in every moment.
Emotions contain deep roots.
Sometimes they may appear so strong that we think we won't be able to handle them.
But emotions are simply emotions.
They are just like waves in the ocean.
They rise and they fall.
Rather than suppressing your emotions.
Work to be a mindful observer of them.
Notice them.
Accept them.
Cultivate.
A curious and non-judgmental stance.
Our emotions are often messengers that signal something important that we need to pay attention to.
We are so much more than just our feelings.
If we examine an emotion closely.
It is bound to change.
Just like the worry you felt in the morning.
It may well be gone in the afternoon.
We may sometimes blame ourselves for having strong emotions such as worry or anger.
Their presence and absence are very little within our control.
An integral component of being able to cope with emotions.
Is simply to let yourself feel.
Acknowledge your safe island.
And where to take refuge.
Whenever you are caught in a strong emotion,
You can always return to the safe place of your own mindfulness to get out of any difficult situation.
We can allow ourselves to get in touch with the witnessing capacity.
To step back and rest in our awareness of what is happening.
Just simply return to your breath.
To the constant rise and fall of the abdomen.
This is your safe island within.
Before you continue your day.
Congratulate yourself for taking the time to relax your busy mind.
To nourish your body in such a beautiful way.
Whenever you are ready,
Slowly begin to wiggle your toes.
Move your head from side to side.
Stretch in any way that feels right to you.
And open your eyes.
Welcoming the world around you.
Believing that today you will be open to every opportunity of peace and joy within and outside of you.
