Welcome.
If you're here,
There's a good chance you might be feeling overwhelmed,
Maybe anxious,
Or just not quite settled or connected in your body.
Before we do anything,
I just want you to know,
You don't need to fix anything right now.
Nothing is wrong with you.
Your nervous system might just be holding on to a lot.
And for the next few minutes,
We're simply going to give your body a chance to soften and slow down.
If it feels comfortable,
You can gently close your eyes or just lower your gaze.
Relax the shoulders,
Allow them to drop away from the ears.
Take a moment to notice the surface beneath you,
Whether you're sitting or lying down.
We're going to start by taking a slow breath in through the nose and a long,
Gentle exhale through the mouth.
No force,
No effort,
Just allowing the exhale to be slightly longer than the inhale.
Let's do that one more time.
Breathing in through the nose and sighing it out through the mouth.
Now allowing your breath to settle into a natural rhythm.
I'd like you to bring one hand to your chest and one hand to your lower belly.
No need to change or control anything.
Just noticing.
Where do you feel the breath the most?
Where do you feel the breath originate?
Where do you feel it end?
Does it feel stuck or stagnant in any parts of the body?
And if it feels okay,
Begin to gently guide the breath down into the hand that's on your lower belly.
So as you breathe in,
The belly softly rises,
And as you breathe out,
The belly falls.
There's no need to force a big breath.
Small,
Gentle breaths are just fine.
And as you continue breathing here,
See if you can allow your jaw to soften,
Allow the tongue to relax on the base of the mouth,
And feel the space between your eyebrows widen.
If your mind starts to wander,
That's fine,
Just gently bring your attention back to the feeling of the breath moving in and out of the body.
Now we're going to add a slightly longer exhale.
Breathing in through the nose for a count of four,
And out through the mouth for a count of six.
Making the exhale longer than the inhale signals to the nervous system that we're not under threat,
And that it's safe for us to slow down and rest.
I'll guide you.
Inhale,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Again,
Inhale,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Keep going at your own pace,
Just ensuring that the exhale is longer than the inhale,
Allowing the jaw to fall open and the exhale to come naturally.
And after your next exhale,
Just let go of the count and allow the breath to return to normal.
Tune in again.
Where can you feel the breath?
Does the breath feel lower in the body than it did before?
Does it feel less stagnant?
Is it moving more easily through the body?
Even if it's subtle,
Even if you just feel 1% more calm,
That's good enough.
You don't have to carry everything all at once.
You're allowed to pause.
You're allowed to soften.
And you don't permission to slow down and rest.
When you feel ready,
Gently bring some movement back into the body.
You can wiggle your fingers or toes gently,
And then slowly open your eyes.
Take a moment to thank yourself for taking this time to slow down.
