This is Justin Michael Williams and welcome to your practice.
Work-life balance is a lot less about how much you're working and more about your ability or your inability to put your work down when you're done with it.
So the goal of this practice is to train your in-the-moment muscle so that work doesn't keep bleeding into your relationships in your life and especially your sleep.
And as with all of our practices,
I want you to start by getting comfortable.
And then once you're feeling like you're in a good position,
Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth and allow the eyes to gently close.
And in a moment we're going to begin a breathing technique called the double down breathing technique.
And in this technique your exhales are double the length of your inhales,
Hence the name double down.
So for example,
You'll inhale for one count and then exhale for two counts.
And then you'll inhale for two counts and then double it and exhale for four counts.
Now as we go up through this process you may notice that you don't have enough breath to last you through the entire count and that's totally fine.
Over time you'll get better at this and your breath will get stronger and stronger.
But either way don't worry at all,
I'll be guiding you through and walking you through this entire process with the sound of something called a metronome.
And the metronome is a little clicking sound that's going to keep us moving together at a steady pace.
You're going to start to hear the sound of that light rhythm.
Now if you're ready let's begin.
Inhale one,
Exhale one,
Two.
Inhale one,
Two.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Sixteen.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Five,
Six.
Inhale one,
Two.
Exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale one,
Exhale one,
Two.
Inhale deeply and exhale all the way out.
And now just breathe normally and notice how you feel.
And for a moment I'd actually like you to open your eyes just gently.
Keep a soft gaze and with your eyes open focus your vision on any spot in front of you.
And it doesn't have to be any special spot,
Just pick the easiest thing that's right in front of you.
And now keeping your eyes on this point,
Try not to move them much at all.
Start to let your peripheral vision expand.
Notice how far to the left of you you can see while keeping your eyes centered and how far to the right of you you can see while keeping your eyes centered.
You may notice that you can see far above and below you while keeping your eyes centered.
You may even notice that you can almost see behind you a little bit.
And as you expand your vision into this spaciousness,
Begin to take in all the colors and all the textures and the light that surrounds you,
Savoring even the mundane things that you normally wouldn't even pay attention to like the brightness of the light or the texture of the floor or the random objects lying around or even the texture of the ceiling.
Just for another couple moments,
Allow your peripheral vision to continue to expand.
This is a beautiful way to bring yourself into a deep state of presence with wherever you are,
Taking in more light,
More shapes,
Savoring every color that you see.
And when you feel ready,
Just allow your eyelids to meet,
Gently surrendering and closing your eyes again.
You deserve this moment.
You deserve this moment right now.
I want you to repeat to yourself right now.
I deserve this moment.
I deserve this moment.
Repeat it.
Tell it to yourself.
You deserve it.
I deserve this moment.
I do.
I deserve.
I deserve this moment.
Your presence,
Your full presence is what matters most.
It's what you deserve.
It's what those you love deserve from you.
And it's what this moment deserves from you.
What level of presence do you want to bring to your life?
Decide.
Commit.
Because you deserve this moment.
You deserve this moment.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
And whenever you're ready,
Open your eyes.
This is your moment to re-engage,
To re-engage deeply with your life,
Savoring every moment with all that you are and all that you have to give.
That's what you deserve.
It is a great honor to practice with you today.
I send you love,
Presence,
And the biggest blessings.
Namaste.
