Today you're going to sit with grief,
Simply feeling whatever there is to feel.
So many emotions can be experienced when grieving a loss and all are welcome in this space.
Give yourself permission to trust whatever you feel is the right thing for you to feel.
Embrace a sense of compassion for your grief journey.
So take a few moments to find a comfortable position.
You might wish to sit or lie down.
You may wish to grab an extra cushion or blanket.
Whatever posture you adopt,
Have the intention for your spine to be straight and your body to feel symmetrical.
Feel your body anchored to the earth through the contract it has with the floor.
You might like to particularly focus on your feet and where they're connected to the floor.
Through this meditation you might remain still or you might like to move in a rhythmic way,
Allowing emotions and body to flow together.
If your eyes are still open,
Take in the colours and shapes of any nearby objects.
If it's comfortable for you,
Gently close your eyes.
Otherwise allow your gaze to be soft.
With the closing of your eyes or softening of your gaze,
Perhaps there's a heightening of your awareness of sound.
Allow any sounds to come to you.
There may be steady,
Monotonous sounds.
There may be sudden,
Sharp sounds.
Take a few moments to be with whatever sounds are in your environment.
Notice the rise and fall of your breath.
Notice where in your body you feel it the most.
And then with your attention on that part of your body,
Observe different qualities of your breath right now as it is,
Without changing anything.
See if you can gently accept anything you might find.
You might like to tune into whether your breath feels fast or slow or somewhere in between.
You might notice whether it feels like it's flowing smoothly or if it's jagged.
If it feels comfortable observing your breath like this,
You might return to your breath throughout the meditation if you feel overwhelmed at all.
You can also use your breath as an anchor.
If your attention wanders when you notice,
Gently bring it back to your breath and then continue with the meditation.
For now,
Take a long,
Slow breath.
With an even longer,
Slower exhale.
Notice where the breath is entering your body.
If it's through your nose,
Notice any smells or fragrances that might be riding on your breath.
See if you can simply accept any that may be present.
Can you feel the breath as it is?
Can you feel the breath in the back of your throat?
Does your attention here in the back of your throat raise any awareness of tastes in your mouth?
Returning your awareness to the movement of your breath in your body.
How does this movement affect what you can feel through your skin?
As you inhale and your torso expands,
Does it make your clothing shift on your skin?
As you exhale,
Can you feel a sense of deeper connection with the support beneath you?
Bring your awareness now to your whole head.
Do you notice any sensations?
Air touching your face?
A sense of coolness or warmth?
Is there any tension in your face,
Your scalp or your jaw?
What happens when you bring awareness to any tension?
Does the tension remain the same?
Does it intensify?
Does it release?
Perhaps you notice other sensations around your head.
Can you be present to them for a few moments and notice what happens when you bring awareness to them?
Shift your awareness down into your shoulders now and again,
Tune into any sensation here.
Especially tuning into whether attention is present and what happens when you simply pay attention to it.
Allow your attention to flow down into your belly.
Feel any movement here connected with your breath.
Notice the shifting and changing of sensation as your body gently breathes in and out.
Then allow your awareness to come all the way back down to your feet.
What do you feel here in your feet?
Just be present with sensation in your feet for a few breaths.
Gently ask yourself,
How are you feeling?
And allow emotion in your body to be your answer.
You might be able to immediately label an emotion like anger or sadness.
Or you might be more present to a physical manifestation of emotion like tightness,
Heaviness or numbness.
However your body answers is absolutely fine.
Tears are fine.
Movement is fine.
If it feels too much to be with the emotion,
Return to the sensations of your breath.
And when you feel ready,
Return to be with the emotion for just a short time again.
Moving between the emotion and your breath.
Alternatively you might stay present with the emotion.
Or stay present with your breath.
Feeling into which one is right for you in this moment.
This simple act of honouring where you need to place your attention is an act of self-compassion.
If you choose to stay with your emotions or dip in and out of them,
Notice if they change as you watch.
Just like sensation elsewhere in your body,
Notice if your feelings stay the same as you bring awareness to them,
Or if they change.
There is no right or wrong.
Either is fine.
Emotions can be like waves.
They crest.
Break.
And recede.
Does any particular part of the wave cycle fit what you're feeling?
Or perhaps you can feel whole wave cycles of emotion.
You may like to sit in silence for a few minutes,
Simply watching and being present.
Or you may like to bring more compassion to yourself by introducing some words of affirmation.
Perhaps it's okay to feel what I feel.
It's okay to feel what I feel.
You may choose to stay with your emotions or your breath for as long as you like.
But if it is time now for you to step away,
Gently move your awareness from what you are feeling to what you can sense around you.
Starting by once again feeling the solidity of the floor beneath you,
And where your body is in contact with it.
Feel the points of connection.
Feel the support.
Allow surrounding sounds to filter into your consciousness once more.
Noticing sounds new to you.
More distant sounds.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes or bring your surrounds into sharper focus.
Allow yourself to connect with the outside world.
Ground yourself through your senses.
Allow your body to move and stretch in any way that feels good.
You might lift your arms overhead and point your toes away.
You might move your head from side to side or roll your shoulders.
And take a moment to thank yourself for taking the time to be with and honor your grief today.
I also thank you and send you the very best of wishes.
