Body as home,
A trauma informed meditation for calm and relaxation.
Please find a comfortable position for this meditation.
It's fine to lean back against support or to lie down if you prefer.
Take a moment to shift around and find a place where you feel supported by the earth.
Take a couple of deep breaths.
Come into your body.
Notice how you're feeling in your body.
As you let your breath relax into a natural rhythm,
Notice what it does.
Is it fast or slow?
Deep or shallow?
Do you feel it in your chest,
Your belly,
Or a bit of both?
There's no wrong thing here.
Just notice what's happening for you.
Can you feel any emotions on the surface right now?
Notice if there's some anxiety,
Some fear,
Some worry.
Maybe there's sadness or anger or even just contentment.
Whatever may be there or not there is just fine.
Just notice what you're feeling.
You don't have to fix or change anything right now.
Please place your palms somewhere on your body,
Perhaps somewhere where you're feeling sensations the most.
It might feel good to place your palms over your heart or down on your low belly or perhaps palms down on your lap.
Whichever feels the most natural and comfortable is just fine.
This is a small gesture of holding yourself in space.
Now imagine letting the dust settle.
Whatever is going on inside you spinning around and kicking up dust,
Slowing down a little bit.
Imagine yourself like a snow globe,
All shaken up.
Now in stillness,
The snow is settling to the earth,
Slowing down,
Calming.
Feel the earth below you,
Rising up to meet the parts of your body touching the chair or floor or bed.
Feel the way gravity rises to support you.
Allow your body to settle into that support to receive it.
Imagine your breath slowing down a little bit as you feel the ground below you.
Feel your belly softening to receive the breath down low in your body.
Soften your jaw a little bit and allow your shoulders to release further toward the earth.
Breath is easy.
The earth has got you.
Feel your body heavy and rooted,
Deeply connected to this moment,
To your body as it is,
To your breath as it is.
There's space for whatever thoughts and emotions may be kicking up the snow in the snow globe.
You're safe here in your body,
Leaning into stillness,
Continually allowing the dust to settle,
Always leaning toward the earth,
Always receiving the gift of gravity.
Wherever you may be in the world right now,
Your body is your first,
Your last,
Your only home.
This is the place where you feel and grow and learn and heal and celebrate.
This is the place where all your thoughts and emotions and physical sensations live and thrive.
This is the place that you come home to when you can simply allow a little bit of stillness.
Let's take a little bit more time here to enjoy the relative stillness in the body,
Continually imagining settling into the support of earth.
Stay here for as much or as little time as you'd like.
Whenever it feels right for you to end this meditation,
You may simply open your eyes and have a wonderful,
Calm and grounded day.
