Let your eyes slowly close.
Let the face to soften.
Hand is reeling and that's okay.
Take a breath with me.
All the way up as much as you can and gently dropping down.
And another one,
Maybe through the mouth this time.
All the way up.
Feel as much as you can,
As gently as you can.
And drop through the mouth.
One more deep inhale.
Through the mouth this time.
But as you fill the body up,
Hold for a count of three and then drop.
One more inhale.
Feel the belly.
Feel the chest.
Feel the neck.
Holding for three,
Two,
One.
And exhaling completely through the mouth.
Inhaling one more three,
Two,
One and drop.
Bring your attention to the feeling in your palms.
Where are they resting right now?
Are they clenched open?
Are they smooth,
Soft,
Calm,
Moist,
Sweaty,
Clammy?
Doesn't matter.
Just noticing.
How do my palms feel?
Really bringing awareness.
Maybe you can open both palms out in front of your heart as if you were going to come into a prayer position but without touching them.
Feel the energy,
The warmth of each palm emanating towards the other.
Maybe you want to bring your palms really close to each other.
Just half an inch apart and slowly move them apart.
Maybe two or three inches and slowly bringing them closer but not touch.
Closer but not touch but moving them back again.
The entire time our awareness is on what we may notice at the palm.
Remembering both palms to touch each other as if you were in a prayer position.
Take a deep inhale one more time.
Feeling the entire body all the way up and dropping completely.
Allowing the awareness to rest at the fingertips.
Inhaling one more time.
Feel the body fully and drop completely.
Now bring your awareness to the base of your spine as you keep your palms together.
Start inhaling from the spine through the vertebrae,
Disc by disc,
Rising to the crown of the head.
And when you feel your body as comfortably as you can,
Slowly start exhaling crown down,
Back of the neck,
Shoulder blades,
Through the spine,
Mid back,
Lower back and then the base.
One more inhale through the spine,
Rising to the crown,
Bringing the awareness into the sensations of the spine.
And exhaling back down through the spine into the base.
Perhaps noticing our seat,
What's underneath our sitting bones.
Support against the lower back if we are seated.
The weight of the body on the hips if we are lying down.
Notice what is available at the base of the spine.
Deep inhale.
Now gently bring your left palm to rest on your heart and the right to rest on your belly.
Can you feel the gentle rise and fall of the belly?
On the right palm as you slowly breathe,
Filling the body up and release the breath,
Allowing it to empty.
Go deep in there,
Feel as much as you can.
Drop at the exhale completely.
One more time,
All the way up.
Drop at the exhale.
Slowly bring the awareness onto the left palm this time.
Can you feel the gentle beating of your own heart?
That little miracle that keeps you alive.
Sometimes goes a bit faster,
Sometimes becomes a little bit slower and calmer,
Depending on how we feel.
For this moment,
Be present with what you notice at your heart.
Without judging,
Without criticizing,
But just being compassionate.
Listening,
Receiving.
Maybe it's slower than what we want it to be.
Maybe it's faster than what we want it to be.
Still,
Can we just listen with loving kindness to this beautiful heart that keeps us alive.
Let your breath slowly settle as you keep listening to the heartbeat.
Maybe you can't hear it properly yet.
Maybe you hear it very clearly.
Or maybe there's nothing.
And that's okay.
Just keep listening.
Listening to what is available.
One more deep breath,
Filling the entirety of the body.
Imagine filling up the cavities inside the heart.
And gently dropping a slow deep release.
Another one of those.
Gently remind ourselves that it is possible to have deep gratitude and kindness for ourselves.
For all the work we do within to keep us going,
To keep us alive.
Even when things get really heavy outside,
The work within continues to go on.
Trusting this support,
This consistency.
That whatever we are experiencing right now,
This too shall pass.
All we've got to do is trust the rhythm of the universe and lean back into the waves.
Letting go of the falling,
Connecting to our breath through every wave we go through.
One last deep breath together.
Gently releasing your palms down to your lap.
Slowly opening your eyes,
Looking around.
If there is a mirror,
Smile at yourself.
Remind yourself that regardless of what happens,
That you will always be there for you.
And maybe that you love yourself too.
Thank you for trusting me.
Sending you a lot of kindness for the rest of the day.
Take care of yourself,
My friend.
