To begin today,
Let's start with a deep breath in,
And breathe out,
And let it all settle.
And then go ahead and close down your eyes,
Or just stay here with me.
And from here,
Begin to bring all of your attention and awareness to the breath.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Aware of how the air enters into the chest.
Aware of the air entering into the belly,
Feeling a full expansion and release.
And as you allow for that breath through the anchor into the present moment,
Start to become aware of the body.
Noticing any places of tension or tightness.
Anywhere that might be calling out for your attention today.
Begin to draw the awareness to the belly.
Noticing if there's a fluttering or a sinking.
Draw the awareness into the hands.
Noticing if there's a clenching of the fist.
Draw the awareness to the shoulders.
Noticing if you feel a tightness,
If they happen to be rising towards your ears.
Draw the awareness to the lower half of the body.
Noticing if there's a heaviness.
And then draw the awareness to the chest.
And as you note these places,
Begin to scan the body and decide which needs the most of you.
Which part of you is calling out for attention.
And without judgment or shame,
Draw all of your attention to that spot.
As you connect with that part that needs you right now,
Begin to bring the breath to that part of you.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And letting the air expand into that part of you and release.
Noticing how the body changes when the air enters and exits.
And now begin to draw your hand to that part of you.
Just allowing for yourself to nurture yourself.
To bring in a sense of calm,
Of care.
Noticing how your body responds to the touch.
And as you connect and nurture this part of you,
Begin to turn inward.
Asking yourself,
What am I feeling right now?
In connection to this part of me that is aching.
Longing for touch,
For care.
What is the emotion beneath that?
Maybe it's fear,
Or sadness.
Maybe it's a feeling of loneliness.
Or perhaps a sense of joy.
Just take a moment to tune into what is there.
And as the answer becomes clear,
Without judgment or shame or trying to fix it or make it go away,
Begin to say to yourself a declaration,
An acknowledgement,
A welcoming of that emotion,
Whatever it is.
And as you do that,
Saying to yourself,
I'm sad.
I'm scared.
I'm joyful.
I'm happy.
Let yourself be with that.
And being in a place of acceptance,
There's no good or bad or right or wrong here.
It's just how you are feeling today.
And as you allow for yourself to acknowledge that feeling,
To welcome it,
Begin to once again feel into the body,
Noticing how that feeling manifests,
Feeling in that initial place that was calling out for your attention,
But also scanning through the body and feeling how that feeling connects to the body.
Right now,
Cultivating awareness without trying to fix,
Begin to scan through the entire body,
Just noticing,
Letting that feeling show up however it needs to,
Beginning to check in with the balls of the feet,
The soles,
The heels,
The toes.
Notice how that feeling affects the ankles,
The shins,
Noticing how it impacts the knees,
The thighs,
The hips,
Through the upper legs into your seat.
Feel it in your hips,
Your pelvis,
Draw that awareness to the lower back,
Around into the stomach,
All the way up through the back.
And noticing how that feeling connects to the shoulders,
To the upper arms,
The elbows,
The forearms,
The wrists.
Begin to feel into the hands,
Through each finger.
Begin to note how that feeling impacts the neck,
Through the roof of the mouth,
The tongue.
Aware of how that feeling impacts the jaw,
The muscles of the face,
The eyes.
Draw that awareness to the forehead,
Through the crown of the head,
And then finally to the chest.
Noticing the physical manifestation of this feeling in your chest,
And then notice the heart.
Noting if there's a heaviness,
And just let it be there.
However this feeling is showing up for you right now,
Just let it be.
Or the urge may be to fix things,
To change them.
Just let it be.
And in that allowance,
There may be a discomfort,
An urge to move away from the discomfort of this feeling.
But give yourself permission to just be here,
To feel it.
And as you sit with that feeling,
Start to invite in what you need.
In response to this feeling,
What is it that you need right now?
Does the body need to move?
Do you need to sigh?
The tears need to fall.
Does there need to be a shaking of the hands?
Just listen to the wisdom of the body and the soul,
And give yourself the gift of responding,
Letting this feeling express itself in this moment.
As you feel that expression,
Feel into the release,
That conscious awareness of this feeling,
The acceptance of it,
The naming of it,
The connection to the body,
And the need to let it be.
And as you feel that settling into it,
Begin to let the mind decide what lesson can be learned.
What is this feeling signaling?
Is it a need for connection?
Is it a need for connection?
Is it drawing your awareness to an unspoken word?
Is it calling out for a change in your life?
Without judging the answer,
Start to embrace it.
And as you feel into that wave of emotion,
You start to ask yourself,
What is the next step?
How do I move forward?
Without running for the door,
How do I stay in motion?
That's all you need today,
Just that one small step to move you forward.
And as that answer becomes clear,
Give yourself a promise that you'll take that step.
You'll care for yourself.
You'll meet your needs.
You'll listen to the signals of this feeling.
And you'll take the next step.
Now begin to return back to this space,
Noticing the sounds within the room.
With a deep breath in through the nose,
Noticing the smells.
With a gentle swallow,
Noticing the sounds.
Noticing taste.
With your hands drawn in front of you,
Rubbing together,
Begin to feel touch.
And when it feels right and safe to do so,
Go ahead and flutter your eyes open.
Take in the space around you.
And enter back.
Connected and calm.
As you move forward this week,
Continue to come back to this moment.
Back to that feeling,
That embracing of your emotions.
And find the next step forward.
We'll end today as we began.
With a deep breath in.
And breathe out.
Let it all settle.
Now,
Go take good care of yourself.
And I will see you next week.
