There are moments where I can feel so overwhelmed by everything.
As if every sense in my body is on alert.
Join me for this practice.
Let's drop deep into ourself.
Let's let go of every layer of whatever we are feeling.
Letting go of all of that high buzzing,
Anxious or intense sensation that is just completely overwhelming.
It's important that you make time to feel comfortable with your body.
So maybe lying down,
Getting a blanket,
A pillow,
Maybe even three pillows.
Two for underneath your legs,
One for underneath your head.
Or maybe it's sitting on the floor with your back against a wall.
Again,
Go for props,
Go for comfort,
Throw a blanket over.
If you can turn off the lights,
Turn off the lights.
When you feel you've got a comfortable position for this practice,
Know that you can move at any time and you can change position at any time.
There is no wrong way or right way to meditate.
If it feels comfortable for you to do so,
Close your eyes or just soften your gaze.
Take three deep breaths and if available to you,
Audibly exhale,
Audibly sigh out for each of the exhales.
The louder,
The better,
But even a subtle sigh is good for you right now.
Allowing your body to feel heavy.
Feel the touch points between your body and the supports that you are resting on.
Perhaps invite on the exhale your body to feel heavier each time.
Yielding,
Surrendering to the supports that are holding you right now.
Your body feeling heavy and your exhale supporting you to feel heavy.
Your out-breath supporting you to feel held.
Knowing that there is nowhere to be right now,
Nothing to do.
Notice your breath.
Notice the intensity of it.
Notice if there's a level of needing to consciously control the breath so that you can feel the breath.
See if you can invite some ease,
Knowing that your body will breathe.
The breath knows how to breathe.
Just as we have done with allowing the body to feel heavy,
Can we allow the breath to feel heavy?
To do the breathing.
Can we allow the breath to guide us to calm?
Extending the exhale,
Making it slightly longer than the inhale,
Can be a way that we can support the parasympathetic nervous system to slow down.
It can be a way for us to tell our bodies that right now we don't need to run from anything.
We're safe.
So noting the next inhale,
And noting the exhale,
And if it's available to you,
See if you can extend the exhale for just another moment.
Perhaps breathing in for 4,
3,
2,
1,
And exhaling for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
In,
4,
3,
2,
1,
2,
1,
Out,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Breathing at your own pace but perhaps using the count of 4 for the inhale,
5 for the exhale.
Your body's feeling heavy,
Your body's feeling held.
We can rest in this moment.
We can experience some stillness,
Letting go of the breath,
Coming back to the body.
Inviting softness,
Inviting relaxation to the forehead,
To the left eyebrow,
The right eyebrow,
The left eye and eyelids,
The right eye and eyelids,
The left cheek,
The right cheek,
The left side of the jaw,
The right side of the jaw,
The left ear,
The right ear,
The space between the eyebrows,
The bridge of the nose,
The tip of the nose,
The space between the nostrils and the top lip,
The muscles around the mouth,
The top lip,
The bottom lip,
The chin,
Inviting softening to the back of the head,
The left side of the head,
The right side of the head,
The neck,
The throat,
The left shoulder,
The right shoulder,
The left shoulder,
The right shoulder,
And allow the body to feel heavy and to feel supported by the surface you are resting on.
Again,
Connecting with your breath and this time noting the breath.
I am breathing in,
Perhaps whispering this to yourself as you inhale and as you exhale,
Whispering softly,
Kindly to yourself,
I am breathing out,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out,
Breathing at your own pace and using the words to bring awareness to your breath,
To bring you into this moment right now and to invite some ease into your experience.
Of this moment,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out,
Perhaps placing one hand on the chest and one on the belly and feeling the breath move in your body,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out,
Using the words almost as a mantra,
Connecting you to you,
Existing in this moment with some ease,
With some gentleness,
With some kindness to yourself,
For yourself,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out,
Continue to rest here for as long as you like,
When you're ready,
Bringing some movement to your body to close the practice,
Perhaps wiggling the toes,
The fingers,
Maybe stretching the body,
The arms up over the head,
The feet pushing away from the torso,
Opening your eyes,
Orienting yourself to the breath,
Connecting yourself with the space that you're in,
Knowing that you can always come back to this practice,
You can always come back to the breath,
If you ever need a moment of just being.
Thank you for meditating with me,
This practice is now complete.
