Hello,
I'm Kate and I'm so glad that you found this practice this morning.
If you're listening to this,
It's likely you've woken up much earlier than you'd hoped and these moments can feel really tough.
I know I've been there many times in my life.
You might notice feelings of frustration,
Perhaps a little anxiety and worry about the day ahead and how you're going to perform when you're feeling tired.
And somewhere inside you might be experiencing a longing to be different,
To wish that you could sleep more easily and that's okay.
It's completely human to feel this way.
We all want to sleep well,
But sometimes it just doesn't come.
So rather than fighting it or trying to force sleep,
Which can stir up so much more tension in our bodies,
For now see if you can soften the struggle a little and allow this moment to be just as it is.
We're going to start by just focusing on the breath.
So just seeing where you find the breath this morning most naturally.
It might be in your throat,
Your chest,
Your belly and just start to explore how the breath is feeling in this moment.
You might start by taking a slow breath in and then taking a breath all the way out.
And just repeating that a few times at your own pace,
Just breathing in and breathing out.
And as you bring your attention to the breath,
You're allowing your body to release any tension and to stop focusing on the difficult thoughts that wish to sleep in your mind.
So just really sensing into the breath,
Allowing it to be just as it is.
And you might just take one hand and place it on your belly and notice the gentle rising and falling of the breath.
There's no need to change it,
Fix it.
Just noticing the natural rise and fall of the breath as it moves against your hand.
Noticing that your body knows just what to do,
Just like a little baby sleeping,
Its belly rising and falling.
And every time your mind wanders perhaps off to that wish to sleep or thoughts about the day,
Just gently guiding the attention back to your hand resting on your belly.
And sometimes when we wake early,
It's because there's some unfinished business,
Perhaps a worry and anxiety,
A strong feeling that needs to be processed.
So we're waking early because something needs to be felt.
So gently see if you can allow yourself to feel what you're feeling.
Feel what's here in this moment.
Is there an emotion that needs to be felt?
Did something happen yesterday,
Last night or even in your dreams that's caused you to feel a strong emotion?
And if that's the case,
Just really leaning into what's here for you in this moment.
And seeing if you can notice where those feelings show up in your body.
You might notice a tightness in the chest.
Or maybe a slight feeling of sickness in the belly.
Maybe tension in the head.
Or maybe just a sense of dis-ease,
Discomfort.
So just sitting with this for a little while while I hold the space.
Just seeing if you can feel into what you're feeling right now.
And as you notice any areas of tension or strong feelings come up,
Seeing if you're able to soften around them a little,
Holding a little space around them.
And you might find it easier to do this by just letting go of the tension.
By just breathing deeply into any areas that feel tense.
And with every breath into an area of discomfort,
You're just allowing that pain,
That tension,
That stress to ease a little,
To release a little.
So just feeling what you feel.
Allowing everything to be just as it is.
It's by resisting what needs to be heard,
What needs to be felt,
That we experience so much stress.
And so often that's what wakes us in the middle of the night.
So using this early morning to hear,
To feel,
To sense,
To allow things to be just as they are.
And again,
As you're moving through these feelings,
Softening this tension,
Bringing that hand back onto the belly again,
And holding yourself for a few moments.
Allowing every rise of the belly,
Every breath to soothe you,
Almost to rock you back into a state of calm,
Ready to rest.
And knowing that even if you don't fall back to sleep,
The body,
The mind will be so grateful for this time in the wee small hours.
This time to rest,
This time to release tension.
So just being with the breath in the belly now,
And just allowing that gentle rhythm of the breath to rock you into a place of real grounding and calm.
And sleep may come,
Or it may not,
But just know that you've given yourself a peaceful place this morning,
A soft place to land before the day begins.
So stay here for as long as you need,
Just resting,
Just breathing,
Just allowing the body to be just as it is.
And just staying here as long as you need with your hand on your belly,
Just really sensing in to the rhythm of the breath,
Using it as your anchor,
Allowing it to be your place of safety,
Your place of calm.
And I wish you a really peaceful and grounded day ahead.
Thank you so much for joining me.
