So if you haven't already,
Make sure you found a place where you can be comfortable,
Be undisturbed for the next few minutes.
Do your best to release whatever thoughts you're having in your mind or anything that you're worried about or that you're holding on to.
Even if you just have to set it aside for these next few minutes,
You can always pick it up again at the end.
But give yourself permission to release that,
To place it somewhere else just for this little bit of time.
And we'll begin by bringing our awareness to our bodies.
Just checking in with your body,
Noticing how it's feeling.
I'm beginning to soften the body by starting at the feet,
Letting go of tension at the feet and the toes,
Moving your awareness up to your ankles,
Your shins,
Your calves,
Up further still past the knees,
Softening the muscles of the thighs,
The hips and glutes,
The belly,
The low back,
The sides of the body and the ribs,
Releasing the chest,
The shoulders,
The shoulder blades,
The mid back and the upper back and softening down through the arms all the way past the wrists to the fingertips and opening the throat,
Softening the neck,
Letting go of clenching at the jaw,
The cheeks,
Allowing the upper eyelid to rest on the lower eyelid,
Letting go of clenching in the forehead,
The top of the head and the back of the head.
Just allow the muscles to fall away from the bones,
This gentle softening of every part of your body and bringing all of your awareness right to the tip of the nose,
Noticing your breath,
Feeling the cool air move in and the warm air move out,
Smooth steady effortless breaths in and out of the body,
Giving yourself that little mini break to just be and breathe.
As you're breathing notice something that you feel with your body,
Maybe it's the weight of your hands resting on your lap or the feeling of the clothes on your skin.
Name something that you feel in this moment.
Now notice something that you hear and back again to something that you feel,
Allowing the sensation to anchor you in the moment,
Taking time now for 10 mindful breaths,
Knowing there is nothing you need to do,
There is nowhere you need to be.
This is your time to just be and breathe,
Exhaling all the air out of your lungs and inhaling completely,
Exhaling naturally.
One,
Inhaling fully,
Exhaling completely.
Two,
Inhaling again and exhaling.
Three,
Continue with this,
Finishing at your pace your 10 mindful breaths,
Finishing up those last few breaths and telling yourself three times,
I give myself permission to simply be.
I'm taking a big deep breath in through the nose and open mouth exhale sigh it out letting go,
Opening up the eyes and closing your meditation practice.
Thank you so much for being here and thank you for taking this time to honor your needs.