Take a moment to draw the breath in,
Slowly exhale,
Settling into your body being here today.
We will spend a few minutes anchoring ourselves in the breath,
So begin to notice where you feel its presence the strongest,
I invite you to become curious to how you notice the rise and fall of your chest or the expansion of your lungs.
Notice how it enters your nostrils,
The quality of the breath on your upper lip or in your mouth.
Now gently turn your mind to a situation that arose perhaps this week or something that you've been dwelling on,
A concern,
A conversation.
Bring those thoughts and concerns back to your mind now,
Notice any emotions that you're holding about that situation,
About that conversation.
See if you could put a label to the emotion that you're holding by framing it in the sentence I am anxious,
I am angry,
I am upset.
Hold space for that phrase and the statements and the feelings that arise when you state that and now view that same experience or concern and thought that you're holding most strongly as an experience by stating the phrase I am experiencing anxiety,
I am experiencing guilt,
I am experiencing anger.
See how that experience feels in your body,
Where does it show up,
What is the physical manifestation of shame in your body,
How does anger appear,
What is the felt experience of anxiety.
Notice the thoughts and the stories you're telling when you use the phrase I am experiencing anger,
I am experiencing anxiety.
Now change the phrase to this is anxiety,
This is the experience of guilt,
This is the experience of anger.
Separate the I,
The ego from the experience and now notice how the experience feels.
Hold energy for this space that this experience is requiring,
Breathe into this space,
This is anxiety,
This is shame,
This is anger.
Notice if your mind takes you back to the story of the concern and examine the difference when you recognize that you are not the emotion itself,
That this is an experience and when you label that experience for what it is.
Now breathe into that experience,
Notice if there is a tightening,
Perhaps the muscles of your face or your eyes,
Perhaps in your jaw or your throat and draw the breath into these areas,
Relaxing your muscles,
Allowing yourself to separate from any experience that you felt.
Relaxing out the energy of that experience into the space around you,
Letting go of the experience of anger or anxiety,
Guilt or shame,
With each inhalation relaxing those areas that held those emotions the strongest and with each exhalation allowing that emotion to spread out into the air and space around you,
Letting go of all that you are holding onto,
Experiencing breathing together in this space,
Now putting out energy for our community,
Opening up some warmth and compassion with each exhalation,
Holding each other in a circle of warmth,
Offering some gratitude to yourself and to the universe for having us here in this community of practice,
Knowing that we have enough energy amongst ourselves to hold this anxiety,
To hold our anger,
To hold our shame and to separate ourselves from it.
Now when you hear the bell,
Take a few minutes or a few moments just to breathe before returning to your calm.
