Let's begin by finding a comfortable seat.
If sitting upright does not feel relaxing to you,
Please feel free to recline or lean back against a cushion.
Start with a few deep breaths,
Inhaling and exhaling.
As you breathe,
Focus on the quality of your breath.
Is it rapid,
Gentle,
Shallow?
Simply observe the sensation of your breath without attaching meaning to it.
Instead of judging yourself for the quality of your breath,
Just breathe and observe.
Resist the temptation to manipulate or change the quality of your breath.
Allow yourself to inhale and exhale in the most natural way for this very moment.
Allow yourself to be just as you are right now.
As concerns arise,
Practice allowing them instead of resisting them.
Just like we allowed our breath to be natural for this moment,
Allow your worries to come and go without labeling them.
Allow your worries to come and go without judging yourself.
Sometimes you may find that a certain concern is nagging and persistent.
When this happens,
Scan your body to see if you can observe the physical sensations of the worry.
Do you feel tightness or pain in your shoulders,
Your throat or chest,
Perhaps your back?
If so,
Gently place your hands along with your awareness on this part of your body.
Silently repeat,
May I be free of danger?
May I be safe?
May I accept this moment?
Does the tightness or pain change with awareness of it?
Simply observe the sensations of your body,
Again without judgment.
As we travel deeper into the acknowledgement of our worries,
We may begin to feel fear or panic.
Again,
We may avoid resisting the present moment and instead simply observe what is happening,
As difficult as that may be.
What would happen if we allowed the panic,
The rapid breathing that we sometimes feel with fear?
Can you be gentle with yourself instead of forcing a change?
Continue to use the placement of your hands to help calm your nervous system,
Breathing naturally and without force.
Continue to sit,
Breathing naturally,
Resting your hands on the tense parts of your body and repeating,
May I be free of danger?
May I be safe?
May I accept this moment?
Breathing naturally,
In and out,
May I be free of danger?
May I be safe?
May I accept this moment?
Gradually begin to intentionally deepen your breath.
If it feels good,
Slowly raise your arms overhead with a deep inhalation and then lower them with an exhalation.
Raise your arms,
Inhale.
Lower your arms,
Exhale.
Take five rounds of deep breaths if possible,
Either stretching your arms overhead or resting your hands in your lap.
May you feel peace in the present moment.
May you be free.
May you feel loved.
