So today we'll do a little personal inventory and we'll start by sitting nice and tall,
Relaxing down,
Watching our breath.
And just be with your natural breath.
No manipulation.
Letting your hands be either face up in your lap or resting on your thighs.
And feel the spine extending a little bit.
And if you can't physically do this,
Just imagine it extending.
The crown of the head reaching up.
As you root down,
Sits bones connecting to the earth.
Allow this lightness to come into your body.
Feeling the connection upward,
The connection downward.
Feeling the air on your skin all around.
Noticing any sensations.
And let's do a quick check-in with our energy.
Do you feel exuberance and vitality?
Do you feel sluggish,
Tired,
Wanting to cocoon away from the world?
Or is it something in between?
No matter what you think you should be feeling,
Feel into what you truly feel right now and honor it.
As you breathe here.
Just recognize that this moment in time is part of a cycle,
Many cycles.
And while the natural cycles are foundational,
Whatever season it is,
Wherever you are,
Whatever season it is in your body,
In your lifetime.
All of these things can contribute to the ever-changing complex formula that is your personal cycle.
Age,
Hormonal changes,
Emotional changes,
Past experiences,
Ambitions,
Things that feed you and things that deplete you.
But no matter what is happening,
No matter the chaos of the world,
No matter the pain and anguish,
The joy and exuberance.
There is something here in this experience no matter what you're feeling.
Very steady.
And I want you to sit with this steadiness for a moment,
However you choose to define it.
The essence that is with you.
Whether you feel on top of the world or feel like curling up into a ball in the corner,
Tune in to the little place.
Tune in.
To the steadiness,
The inner guide.
And as you do,
I want you to acknowledge that there is a lot changing in our world.
There is a lot,
A lot of worry,
A lot of healthy and unhealthy changes.
And rather than shying away,
I want you to take this moment to return to the steadiness that you feel.
Even when your mind is whirling,
Even when you are in pain or tired.
Tune into the steadiness that has kept you going throughout your life that has been with you,
Your constant companion.
And as we move through chaotic times and we're told to celebrate,
It's okay to say,
I don't feel like it.
If we're told that it is the time of year that we need to enjoy,
That we need to laugh and run and dance.
If we can,
We can.
If this feels good,
It does.
But if it doesn't feel authentic,
Honor yourself.
Whether we are thrilled or upset,
There is a steadiness.
And I want you to imagine.
That you can completely embody this piece of you right now.
Embody all of the love of the world,
Every teaching moment,
Every moment in which you had a realization that yes,
This life has so much to offer.
And sit with every time that you felt that you were truly embodied in the feeling of the delicious sensations available to your body.
Feeling vitality,
Feeling connection to others.
And then fell back into the steady place.
Feel into the pain and the anger and the anguish and all of the things you observe that you don't understand,
That you want to change and can't,
And come back to the steady place.
And as you sit here,
I want you to stay steady,
But imagine in your mind's eye that you are standing up.
And you are beginning to take steps forward.
And as you take steps forward,
A path emerges in front of you.
It is whatever it needs to be for you.
It may be a beautiful grassy field,
Cobblestones.
It might be the street that you live on.
It might be a winding path.
Simply take one step and then the other.
And as you move,
Imagine all these joys,
All these pains,
All these heartbreaks,
All the love.
Imagine it all swirling around you and you are simply taking one step.
And then one step.
Walking through steady,
Steady and completely in alignment.
And as you walk forward,
Find that the steps.
.
.
Take you to a place.
That you would like to sit down.
It could be a bench.
Again,
A little grassy place in the field.
On a patch of sand,
Looking out at the ocean.
Or at the edge of a lake with your feet dipped in the cool water.
Sit in this space.
Filling into the steadiness.
And allow a gentle smile now to cross your face,
But not a smile that is only honoring joy,
A smile that is honoring it all,
A sense of not elation,
But true contentment with what is.
Sit and feel the same posture that you are in now in the visualization.
The same tall spine,
The crown lifting up,
The sits bones rooted down.
Embodying the steadiness,
No matter what is happening around you and even within you.
We can find a steady trust in the patterns of life and our ability to be off center and to keep moving forward.
I want you to feel the power of sitting.
With this steadiness in a world in which we are supposed to chase after what we think we're supposed to have.
You,
My friend,
Do not have to chase anything.
And in fact,
When you trace a thing?
It runs.
So instead,
Sit here.
Sit in your potential.
Sit in your past.
Sit in the chaos.
Sit with your breath.
With your body.
With the whole of this existence.
And the myriad cycles that you are in the midst of all at once.
Find the steady place.
And take a deep breath in,
Really deep.
And as you exhale,
Just release.
Allow the breath to go back to its normal cadence.
And take your time,
But when you do,
Open your eyes again.
I invite you to just look around.
And look up,
Look down,
Look right,
Look left.
Allow that contentment.
A lot of steadiness.
And eventually look straight ahead,
Being exactly where you are,
Trusting that whatever you do next is perfect.
Thank you for practicing with me.
