Welcome.
I feel so fortunate to be here together.
Thank you for being here.
With all that life is asking of all of us,
I'm celebrating the time you're taking to be here.
What would you like to take away as a result of being here?
Is there something that you would like to invite into your day?
Something that you'd like to leave here?
And if nothing bubbled up,
Just know that it will find its way.
Sharing this practice not only for ourselves,
But all beings everywhere.
Filling our resilience pockets and sharing repeatable practices to take a purposeful pause with our hearts.
My invitation is always to be here exactly as you are with whatever's present in your life,
In your body,
In your mind.
Notice sensations without having to attach to them.
Nothing to get right because you're already doing it right.
Nothing you need to change or fix.
And as you land and arrive,
It's said that our brain is hardware and our mind is the software.
So as we drop into our bodies and our breath and our shared time together,
It feels like we're hardwiring our brain with feel good chemicals.
To experience this nourishing stillness and to drop into a state of rest,
What is the kindest thing you can do for yourself right now?
Are there any external conditions that you can shift or create to support a deeper internal experience?
I'll offer three letting go breaths.
They can be loud and audible.
The body can open and close.
They can be soft and quiet.
Tune into what your body might need right now.
And in whatever way that best supports you.
Breathing in and out.
Mine sound like this.
A big breath in and then a big letting go breath.
Another big breath in and a big breath out.
One more breath in and breath out.
Allowing those exhales to ripple through my body.
Immune system and nervous system being massaged,
Brightened,
Alerted.
And then find a posture that works best for you while you're listening to this practice.
Standing seated,
Laying down,
Moving or still.
And at any time,
Fine tune your posture to what may be best for you.
Recognize this moment of pause,
This precious moment of choosing to be here on purpose.
The eyes can remain open or gently close.
Allowing the muscles around the eyes to take a rest from straining and focusing.
Drop into your senses of hearing something,
Smelling something,
Feeling something,
Tasting something or even if behind closed eyes,
Seeing something.
Orienting into the space that we're in together with your senses.
The smell of tea or coffee or a fragrant flower.
The ticking of a clock or the hum of an appliance.
Anything that you're aware of to bring you here.
And if you notice your mind wanders,
That's its job and you can gently invite it back.
And if you notice that your body is moving,
Allow it to move in whatever ways it needs.
Surrender into the field of gravity.
Sinking and dropping deeper into here.
Allow your breath to be natural and to find its own rhythm.
You may notice and feel the breath coming in and tickling your nostrils,
The back of the throat,
The inside of the mouth or not.
There may be an awareness of your chest or your belly rising and falling.
A soft awareness that oxygen is going into your lungs and your bloodstream,
Nourishing all the cells and tissues and organs in your body.
Releasing any air that you no longer need when your body informs you to let the breath go.
The whole world right now is breathing in.
Feel your outward attention moving inward,
Being held here in absolute stillness.
A deep sense of stillness expanding everywhere.
If you have any issues that you would like clarity or resolution on,
Bring something into your awareness now.
And if nothing bubbled up,
There may be something that wants or needs your attention without you having clarity on it right now.
Trust that whatever needs to happen will happen.
Let go of any effort to make anything happen.
Resolution,
Clarity happening effortlessly on its own during this practice.
Time to allow your body and your mind to rest deeply.
If there's something that you came into this practice with,
Something in your physical body or your thinking mind,
Imagine that there's a box or a bin or an envelope or a folder next to you.
Placing whatever this is,
This issue,
This physical sensation,
The thoughts in the mind,
Putting them aside just for now.
And then bringing awareness to the physical body resting here.
The right leg,
The left leg,
Both legs resting together.
The right hip and the left hip,
Both hips left resting together.
The right arm and the left arm,
Both arms resting together.
The front of the body and the back of the body,
The whole body resting together.
Resting in stillness.
Allow whatever thoughts or feelings are present to float by like clouds in the sky.
Body leaving an imprint on the surface with the feet or the seat or the back of the body.
Wherever you are,
The surface rose up to meet you.
There's nothing that you have to do.
Allow yourself here to be held.
Bring to mind someone you like to spend time with.
Someone that when you're with them,
Whether you're talking with them,
Playing with them,
Working with them,
Resting with them,
That you have a really good time.
It may be someone imaginary,
A character on TV or from a movie or a book or someone in your life.
Someone you can be yourself with and that you feel comfortable with.
Someone that you feel safe with.
Think of a golden light going from your heart to this other person's heart.
Sending them positive energy,
Kindness and care.
Gratitude,
Respect and love.
As if their heart had a little door and this golden light of yours opened the door of their heart.
Feel that sense of friendliness and ease that you feel for them and with them.
You really like being with them and it may be that after you leave being with them,
That feeling still lingers.
When your light meets their heart,
It brings them ease and joy.
It brings a smile to their face.
A warm smile inside of them and you feel that smile.
Think about that golden light now extending to your family.
When it reaches them,
It also brings a smile to their face or inside of them.
Love,
Care,
Kindness,
Friendliness coming from your heart into theirs.
It supports them to feel calm and safe.
Like this amazing superpower that you have.
It feels so nice for them to receive it and it feels wonderful for you to share it.
Now imagine it spreading to the people in your town.
Like on Google Maps,
You can zoom out and spread it across your town,
Your city,
Your state,
Your country,
Your province.
This beautiful extension from your heart spreading all over the world.
To the oceans where the fish and the sea creatures live.
To the sky,
The birds receive it.
To rainforests where the plants and the animals receive this golden light of yours.
Animals,
Creatures,
The trees and the flowers,
All the parts of nature receiving your love.
Your heart sending and spreading it everywhere.
This quality of kindness and care.
Now imagine there's a little door to your heart and it's open to receive golden light.
Kindness,
Care,
Love,
A sense of comfort and safety coming back to your heart.
If you'd like,
You can place a hand on your heart.
Feeling the love and warmth.
Connecting with the care that you're spreading outside of yourself.
Making its way to inside of you.
Remembering that any time you want,
You can send this to others and imagine the door to their heart opening.
Or imagine it being sent to you,
Allowing the door to your heart to open.
Lingering in this feeling with a sense of a smile inside of your heart,
An internal smile of ease and warmth and safety.
And begin to gently call yourself back into this space.
But take your time,
Don't hurry.
Breath is natural.
Breath may be tickling your nostrils or the back of the throat or the inside of your mouth.
The belly or chest may gently be rising and falling.
Noticing any sounds that you may hear.
Sounds around you and sounds within you.
The quality of the air as it touches your skin and any blankets or clothing on your skin boundary.
As you feel ready,
Gently begin to move.
You may wiggle fingers and toes or take a body stretch like a body yawn.
Notice how the body may feel,
How the mind or heartbeat may have slowed down.
Thank yourself for taking the time to be here today.
And then as you feel ready in your own time,
Gently opening your eyes if they were closed and coming back into your body and back into your day.
