Let's begin by taking a deep breath,
Breathing in through your nose,
Letting the belly rise,
Holding at the top and exhaling.
And again in through the nose,
Holding at the top and letting it out.
And once more in through the nose,
A deep,
Deep breath,
Letting your belly expand and letting out.
Let's relax your shoulders,
Relax your fingers and your toes.
Make sure your shoulders are down and back and you are completely in a state of relaxation.
Gentle rhythmic breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth throughout our practice.
Let's begin by scanning the body at the top of the head,
Relaxing your brow,
Letting your eyes just hang heavy,
Letting your tongue be relaxed,
Jaw relaxed,
Chest is open,
Heart is up,
Feel the warmth in your belly and your solar plexus,
The area where our power lives.
And let's take a deep breath here and let's fan the flame within as we take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Fanning our inner light,
Letting our inner light grow from within and expanding outside of our vessel.
And as we continue down our scan,
We are at the root,
Our sacred root,
Which keeps us grounded,
Balanced,
Stable,
Firm.
We honor our stability,
Our strength,
Continuing through our leg muscles and knees,
Our ankles,
Maybe wiggling the ankles a bit,
Lifting the knees in a butterfly type position,
Completely relaxed and coming back to our hearts.
Let's lift our heart open,
Extending our love to ourselves,
Our surroundings,
Our communities.
All that peace and warmth and gratitude,
Empowerment,
The process of becoming stronger and more confident,
Especially in controlling one's life and creating one's rights.
The process of giving a group of people more freedom or rights.
It's a process.
It's a journey.
It's nonlinear.
And in fact,
We can even experience setbacks,
Issues around discrimination,
Underrepresentation,
Sexual and physical violence,
Inequality.
Those are just to name a few.
We've all felt and experienced those things in one way or another as women.
But as women,
We are deserving.
We are creators.
We are nurturers.
We are providers.
We are community builders.
We're healers.
We're artists.
We're teachers.
We're leaders.
This journey that we are all on starts with ourselves,
But it ends with everyone that surrounds you.
Think about what empowers you.
What empowers you?
Is it a friend?
Is it a cause?
Is it knowing that you have the right to your rights?
Who all empowers you?
We have mentors,
Sisters,
Teachers,
Mothers,
Allies.
They're all alongside us,
Lifting us up,
Holding us up,
And believing in one another.
And how do you empower yourself?
What do we do to stay centered and grounded and committed to our truth,
Our values,
Our journey,
Our shared journeys?
How are we honoring ourselves?
Take a deep breath in.
Let's take a moment to reflect on why we're here today,
What brought you here in this moment.
What are you doing for yourself?
What do you want to take away from this moment?
Do you need healing?
Do you need inspiration?
Do you need to be energized?
And in thinking about what you need,
Also consider what you're bringing.
We've all had powerful experiences throughout our lives.
We've persevered.
We've gotten stronger.
Maybe we've gotten louder.
Maybe we've gotten quieter.
In learning,
Maybe we've gotten wiser.
We've learned to be more accepting,
Not competing with one another,
But banding together and rising up so we can support and honor one another on this journey.
Hold on to the flame,
Your inner flame that is always ignited.
And sometimes the flame needs a little bit more fanning,
And that's okay.
Just having that inner knowing that our source is always there.
It's always with us to continue on to be strong.
Be gentle with yourself.
Be gentle with yourself.
One step at a time.
Acknowledge how far you've come and know that your strength and your feet will carry you forward to where you need to go.
Aum,
Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti.
Peace.
Peace.
Pearl,
We achieved it.
