Allow your eyes to comfortably close.
And let the support beneath you take your weight.
As you breathe out,
Allow your body to soften into its support.
Sit back into where the weight of your body rests.
And breathe out again,
In a sigh,
Through your open mouth,
If you like.
Soften the way you are engaging with this moment.
If there's a sense of watching and waiting,
Let that soften.
Breathe it out.
If there's any needing things to be a certain way,
Let that soften.
Breathe it out.
If there's any readiness to do the next thing,
Let that soften.
Breathe it out.
Turn that inner intensity dial down.
Step down from the watchtower of your mind.
And sit back some more.
In your own time,
Become aware of the steady support beneath you.
And the movements of your body as you breathe.
Calm down to meet the steadiness.
Notice it's somewhere to rest.
As you sit back on steadiness,
Give your body and mind the space they need to move towards balance.
And gently bring your awareness to the sensation of the air as it enters your nostril.
Fills them,
Goes deeper,
And leaves again.
Notice the expansion of the in-breath.
The inner stretch as the chest and shoulders open to receive air.
Notice the softening and letting go of the out-breath.
In your own time,
Notice your breathing in from somewhere and out again into somewhere.
Become aware of the touch of the air on your face.
Let it be there.
Notice the gentle play of light and shade filtering through your closed eyelids.
Let it be there.
Notice the sounds around you,
Near and far.
Let them be there.
Sense the height of sky above and horizons stretching around you.
Notice the spaciousness.
Let it all be there.
You can breathe from the spaciousness if you like.
You can breathe from the farthest horizons.
Sitting back on steadiness,
Your breath ebbing and flowing.
Let everything just be as it is.
No need to change anything.
In your own time,
Become aware of your attitude to yourself.
Notice how you are being with yourself in this moment.
Perhaps a part of you would like you to be different in some way.
Perhaps this internal voice is familiar to you.
An inner critic you carry inside.
You may have got used to it being there in the background.
Perhaps this voice is there now.
Allow yourself to sit back from it.
Notice it's just a pattern of thinking.
A habit.
It's not all of who you are.
Notice you can sit back and notice the habit.
As you exhale,
Let the thoughts go.
And breathe out any discomfort caused by thinking in that way.
Imagine you are putting a warm,
Comforting arm around yourself.
Just as you would a good friend.
Allow the warmth to unfold and surround you.
Take in the warmth.
Let it calm and reassure you.
In your own time.
Allow yourself to see what running that inner critic way of thinking has cost you over the years.
What it's cost this very human you that's here in this moment.
Your breath ebbing and flowing.
See yourself with compassion.
With kindness.
Allow the compassion and kindness to surround you.
Let its healing energy comfort and restore you.
Know that the inner critic you've carried within you learned to be that way probably a long while ago.
And hasn't known any other way.
This part of you hasn't felt okay within itself.
You can help to heal this part of you if you wish.
With compassion and kindness.
Imagine you are surrounding this part of you that believed it needed to think in that way with the warmth of compassion and loving kindness.
Allow the whole of you to be surrounded by loving kindness.
Breathe its warmth into the very cells of your body.
Breathe it deep into you.
In this moment here.
And say silently or out loud.
I am enough just as I am.
I am more than enough.
I value and appreciate myself.
In your own time.
Become aware of the air entering your nostrils,
Going deeper and leaving again.
Notice the steady support beneath and behind you.
The tapestry of light and shade and sounds around you.
Give yourself an appreciation in your own words.
Take the appreciation in deep.
And when you are ready,
You can draw this meditation to a close.
Thank you.
Thank you.
