Hello my friend.
So good to be with you today.
I hope you are doing well.
You're feeling stressed.
You've come to the right place.
Today we're going to work on relaxing our body,
Which will in turn help us relax our mind.
Go ahead and find yourself a comfortable seat.
If an upright position is not comfortable for you today,
Find a reclined position.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Starting to find equanimity in your inhale and exhale.
Maybe counting the inhale and the exhale.
As you are breathing,
Begin to visualize a serene place in your memory.
Maybe this is a place that you would visit for a picnic or a family outing.
Somewhere where you found yourself to be really calm.
In your mind,
Picturing this place to the tiniest details.
The sounds,
The smells,
The sensations.
Really feel that peace come over you,
Helping to deepen your breath more and more.
There is something here though in this visualization that you have created.
Something that embodies your stress.
You can feel it.
It has a firmness to it.
It has a shape and a size and a color.
This will be unique to you and your situations that you are dealing with.
Maybe it's as large as a boulder covered in moss as it's been sitting in your mind state for a very long time.
Or maybe it's smaller but very firm and unforgiving.
On your next inhale,
Fill up with strength and confidence.
On your exhale,
Begin to chip away at this stress.
See pieces falling away.
These smaller pieces are a more manageable size.
On your inhales,
Keep filling up with strength.
As you exhale,
Chip away more at your stress.
Letting it fall away from you.
Let it be carted away or swept away or blown away.
Keep breathing in this way,
Filling up with strength and confidence.
You can do this.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Let it go.
Keep breathing in,
Filling up those negative spaces with lightness.
On the exhale,
Let go of any dark spots that remain.
Keep moving your breath in this way,
Working with this visualization until you have chipped away your stress into completely manageable sizes.
Maybe counting your inhales to the count of 4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale,
1,
2,
3,
4.
Maybe it's a count of 3 or maybe a count of 5.
Finding what works for your breath today.
You keep finding your stress trying to reform itself.
Fill up on your inhales with confidence and strength.
And exhale out the stress,
The burdens.
Let it go.
You can stay in this space,
Observing now the memory without the stress that was embodied before.
Feel the happiness of this place.
Feel the serenity here that you created.
Feel the confidence in facing your stress,
Breaking it apart and dealing with it.
Maybe you've noticed that the small bits that you chipped away have transformed.
Maybe there's now a walking path through a beautiful garden.
Maybe there are small stones on the bottom of a koi pond.
Imagine our stress is always a lesson or even a silver lining.
Notice that you are stronger now than when you began.
As you're ready,
Begin to come back to your present space.
Letting your body breathe you,
Not trying to control the pace of your breath.
Begin to wiggle your fingers or toes,
Your wrists or ankles,
Just finding a little movement in the body once again.
If you are reclined,
Sit up and bring your hands to meet at heart center.
Taking a moment to reflect and acknowledge the hard work that you did here today.
Acknowledging the power of your breath,
Its ability to create a peace within you.
My friends,
I am so honored to have been here to help you today.
I hope you continue to do well.
Namaste.
