Please settle in,
Get comfortable.
Find a posture that symbolizes to you a strong back and soft front.
Whether you're physically leaning against something or lying on something,
Or just having that sense of your inner strength,
Your integrity supporting you,
Those who have your back there for you,
You have this strong back and can allow a soft belly,
Soft open chest and heart,
Soft front.
You can breathe in to the full length of yourself down into the lower part of your belly,
Expanding three-dimensionally,
Big sigh.
Ah.
Do this again.
Notice how your body feels.
Notice the sensations through your five senses or through your interoception,
Organ senses,
Your gut awareness.
Make any adjustments for your body so you have softness and strength.
Integrity and receptivity.
Connection and choice in how you engage.
So when you feel that softness in your belly,
Do you notice any other places that have become softer or places that feel stronger and more supportive?
And is there any place that is curling up or contracted that would benefit from release?
And if so,
How would you best do that?
Self-empathy.
Consider how am I really feeling?
What do I most need right now?
If you're not used to this self-empathy practice,
Keep repeating a few times,
How am I really feeling?
What do I most need right now?
Anything you're looking forward to and also any bumps you anticipate,
Especially relational bumps.
Noticing your body.
I feel a squeezing or twisting feeling in my gut when I anticipate those triggers,
Discover those roadblocks or opportunities.
Keep checking back in with your body,
With your feelings and needs.
What is this telling me?
What can I learn from this?
Asking yourself,
How can I best support you in this moment?
Identify one complicated relationship,
Whether it's something really minor,
Like a five pound weight or something more intense if you're up for it.
Someone used the word bait,
Right?
A invitation to connect in some way.
Maybe it's not the most graceful invitation to connect.
It might be bringing up discomfort.
If there's zero desire to connect,
That's not what I'm talking about.
What I'm inviting you to do is find a relationship that is worth it,
That you wanna remain in.
What I'm really curious about is the relationship between the two.
Find relationships that are worthwhile,
But they're uncomfortable.
And you're interested in exploring that discomfort.
Sitting with our discomfort while staying present,
We're gonna simply take three deep breaths,
Staying with ourselves during those three deep breaths.
And I'm curious at the end of those three breaths,
What you notice.
And we don't have to practice in the moment when we're baited,
When we're challenged,
When we're feeling that discomfort.
But I would invite you to notice if you observe yourself abandoning yourself after the fact,
How can you repair with yourself?
Can you give yourself those three breaths?
Give yourself the gift of listening to yourself.
Whatever your commitment is,
If you can turn it into a word or a phrase,
Please do.
And record it somehow.
We have all these opportunities to observe,
To notice,
Touch points for presence.
And that sacred pause,
That's what I hope that you will take with you from this practice.
Whether you're comfortable in your silence or someone who reacts,
The voice is coming first and then the mind is catching up.
Either way,
Give yourself this gift of this sacred pause to listen to yourself,
To touch in with self-empathy.
I'll be quiet for a minute now and then we'll end.
Thank you.
