Find a comfortable seat or lie down.
Let your hands rest softly.
If it feels good close your eyes or lower your gaze.
This is a seven-minute meditation just for you.
Take a slow breath in through your nose and a long easy breath out through your mouth like you're fogging a mirror.
Again in and out.
One more time.
In and out.
Let your shoulders melt away from your ears.
Unclench your jaw.
Smooth the space between your eyebrows and release your scalp.
Now bring your attention to the crown of your head.
Imagine a warm wave of relaxation moving down from your scalp,
Softening your forehead,
Your eyes,
And your cheeks.
Let it flow through your neck and throat like a warm sunlight loosening a knot.
Let it flow across your shoulders.
Drop them another millimeter.
Down your arms to your hands.
Your palms are heavy and your fingers are soft.
Now open up your chest and your upper back to create space.
Now through your belly allow it to be easy and natural.
No bracing it or sucking it in.
Now down through your hips,
Your thighs,
And your knees.
Release what you've been holding on to.
Now down through your calves,
Ankles,
And feet.
Let them settle like sand at the bottom of a jar.
Now meet your breath where it is.
There's no need to fix it.
Count the inhale for four,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold gently for two.
Exhale for six,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Six.
Again inhale for four and exhale for six.
If counting feels like work,
Simply notice the coolness of the inhale at the nostrils and the warmth of your exhale.
Each exhale is a tiny release valve.
Imagine the stress leaving it like steam.
And if your mind wanders,
Which it will,
Gently bring it back to your breath.
You don't need to wrestle the mind here.
Just invite it to have some quiet time when it wanders.
Now quietly meet what you're feeling here.
Is it tension,
Bracing thoughts,
A tight chest,
Or overwhelm?
Say inwardly,
This is stress.
Stress is present and I am present with it.
Feel the difference between the stress and the one who notices it.
Now on your next inhale,
Gather the stress wherever it lives in your body.
And on your next exhale,
Imagine placing it on a small leaf and letting that leaf float down a slow steady stream.
Inhale and gather.
Exhale and set the leaf on the water.
Watch the current carry the leaf a little bit further each time.
Don't rush it.
And if a stubborn bit of stress clings on,
Thank it for trying to protect you and let it ride the next leaf down the stream.
Now silently repeat with the rhythm of your next breath.
Inhaling,
I soften.
Exhaling,
I release.
I am safe.
Exhale,
I let go.
Inhale,
I am okay.
Exhaling,
I am free.
Now bring to mind one thing you're grateful for.
Something simple like a warm cup of coffee,
The sunset,
Or your dog wagging his tail.
Let that gratitude fill your chest like a soft glow.
And now tell yourself you are more capable than this moment of stress suggests.
Now start to deepen your breath.
Wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Slowly roll your shoulders a few times.
And if your eyes are closed,
Slowly blink them open when you're ready.
Notice the colors that are around you,
The temperature of the air,
The support beneath you.
Take one last intentional breath in through the nose and a long complete exhale through your mouth.
Say quietly to yourself,
I am ready to meet today with steadiness and care.
Carry this one closing thought with you today.
One thing at a time,
One breath at a time,
And I am okay.
Until next time,
Keep evolving,
Keep growing,
And most of all,
Keep showing up as you.
