Go ahead and shut your eyes.
Find a comfortable seat.
Plant your feet flat on the floor.
Press your hands gently in your lap.
Just start to notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
Notice the sensation of your belly rising with each inhale.
Pressing the belly button moving back towards your spine on the exhale.
Begin to deepen your breath a little bit.
Allowing your belly to fill with air.
At the top of your inhale,
Take just another sip of breath.
Filling your chest into your shoulders.
And let the breath out with a sigh.
Just do that three more times at your own pace.
Feeling fully an extra sip of air at the top.
And releasing with an audible sigh on the exhale.
Breathing deeply and exhaling audibly.
Really releasing any tension that you're holding in your body.
And welcome back the natural rhythm of the breath.
Noticing if any new space has been opened in your body.
Where may you still be holding some tension?
Maybe in your feet.
Maybe in your belly.
Maybe in your shoulders.
Just notice and send your inhales to those spots in your body.
Sending breath and space into the tension.
See if we can just shake it loose a little bit.
The urgency of being in survival mode can create immense amount of tension in our bodies.
So part of our work is to notice and work with that tension to release it.
To remember that each moment there's an opportunity to get more present.
To slow down just a little bit.
To notice the breath.
To find deep compassion for ourselves.
I invite you to place your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your lower belly.
Just notice what it feels like to hold yourself.
And as you hold yourself and breathe,
Invite the question,
What do I need right now to move through survival?
Does my body need?
Does my heart need?
Does my mind need?
Whatever answers,
Words or images arise,
Release any pressure to make sense of them and just let them be.
Take a few more deep breaths here,
Allowing whatever came up to just be with you.
Notice your feet on the ground.
Notice what it's like to sit still and present as everything continues to move around you.
And on your next exhale,
Send your breath down through your body,
Down through your legs,
Down to your feet,
Through your feet all the way down into the earth,
Anchoring yourself to something so much greater than you.
It's always there to hold you when things feel hard and fast and scary.
And where your hands are resting on your body,
I want you to just send deep compassion for yourself through your hands,
Into your heart,
Into your gut,
Honoring all that you are,
All that you bring.
And on your next deep breath,
Let the compassion stay inside of you and release your hands down to your lap.
Roll your shoulders a few times up and back.
Start to wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes.
And staying deeply present in your body,
Just allow yourself to move in any way that your body wants to.
Lead your arms up to the sky,
Roll your neck,
Stretch your back,
Your feet.
Really and gently welcoming yourself back into this present moment.
Come back.
