This meditation is called.
.
.
Still here meditation.
So wherever you are.
Giving you permission now just to stop for a moment.
You don't have to fix anything in here,
Nothing to solve,
Nothing to get right.
Just let your eyes close.
And if that doesn't feel right,
Then just have a soften your gaze and let it rest somewhere ordinary,
Maybe a patch on the floor or the edge of a table.
Whatever it is,
Just do what feels right for you in this moment.
I'll take one breath that's a little longer on the way out than what it was on the way in.
Thus it just won.
And again,
No effort,
Just let the body do the work.
It already knows how to do it.
And just follow your natural breathing pattern.
.
.
I want you to let your attention just drop out of your head,
Drop into the weight of you.
The places you'll be in hell,
The feet on the floor.
The back against the chair,
The parts of you that are being carried right now without you having to do a single thing.
Notice what you notice.
Not what you think you should be noticing.
And if your shoulders,
You feel a little bit up towards your ears,
Well,
Let them come down.
If your jaw is set,
Then let it go loose.
And if it doesn't shift,
Well that's fine too.
Some days the body holds on.
And it usually has a reason for this.
And here's the thing that nobody says out loud.
You can be tired and still be doing well.
You can be worn thin and still be exactly where you're meant to be.
But we've been sold this idea that if you were doing it right,
It would feel light,
It wouldn't ache,
You'd be calm the whole way through.
This isn't true.
In fact.
Has never been true.
The people I trust more.
Are the ones who are tired and turn up anyway.
So I'm not going to ask you to feel better over the next few minutes.
I'm going to ask you to notice something simpler than that.
That you're still here.
And whatever this year has taken out of you.
You're still here.
Breathing.
Setting.
And listening.
And this is nothing.
This is the whole thing.
So let's put a few things down.
Bring to mind one thing you've been carrying that isn't actually yours.
Somebody else's worry,
Somebody else's disappointment.
A job you picked up because nobody else was going to.
You don't have to analyse it.
Just let it show up.
And now for the length of this meditation only,
Set it down beside you,
Not gone,
Not solved,
Just not in your hands for the next few minutes.
You can pick it up afterwards by all means,
You probably will and that's alright.
When you put it to one side,
I just want you to breathe into that space where it was.
And in a few moments you're going to go back to your day,
The emails,
The school run,
Wherever's sitting there waiting for you.
So here's the only thing I'd like you to take with you.
At some point today,
Probably when it's least convenient,
You'll feel the weight come back onto your shoulders.
And when it does.
.
.
You don't need to sit down and meditate.
You need one longer breath out.
That's it.
That's the whole practice,
One breath.
That's the door back in.
And it's always open.
And guess what?
It cost you nothing.
Just sit here now for a little while.
Just notice it.
Just be it.
Breathing in through your body,
Your whole body.
And out through your whole body.
Feel the energy just calming and relaxing.
Just be in this moment,
Be here,
Still here.
And then we can start bringing a bit of movement back,
Your fingers,
Your toes,
A deeper breath if you want one.
To start to come back and feel the awareness around the room.
And when you're ready you can let your eyes open.
I want to thank you for giving me these 6,
7,
8,
9 minutes,
Whatever it is.
I know what they cost you.
You were tired when you sat down,
You're probably still tired now.
But you turned up anyway.
And maybe you can come back to this tomorrow at the same time if you can.
I'll be here.
Take care of yourself.
Really,
Take care of yourself.
