Welcome,
This meditation is about covering you in grace,
It's about holding space for you to let go of all the shoulds,
Should do more,
Should do better.
I want to let you know that,
All things being equal,
You're doing a great job right now.
That's enough,
In this moment there's nothing more you need to do,
And in this moment there's nothing more you need to be.
Settling now into a comfy position,
Ideally where you feel relaxed and alert,
Perhaps a strong back,
Soft belly,
Where's your breath?
It's always there,
Letting your breath bring you in with each inhale,
Letting go a little with each exhale,
Perhaps taking a couple of deep breaths to help you settle,
Long slow deep breaths in through the nose,
Gently exhaling through the mouth,
Letting go,
Letting go with each exhale,
Perhaps three deep breaths,
Allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm,
Checking in with the body,
How does it feel,
Not seeking to change anything,
Connecting with the life that's in you,
Always changing,
Always changing,
Settling into your body's rhythm,
Allowing it to soothe you,
Allowing it to calm you,
And allowing it to slow you down,
Connecting with your body's rhythm,
With the aliveness in your body,
Allowing it to gently help you let go,
Let go,
Relax the brow,
Release the knot in your stomach that's ready for action,
Relax the hands,
And let the legs be heavy,
Allowing yourself to be here,
With this body,
With this breath,
In this moment,
The noise in your head might have been telling you off recently,
It might have been saying you should do more,
It might have been saying you're not doing well enough,
You might have been able to minimize it,
But it might have persisted,
You might have been thinking I really should be doing this,
And I really should be doing that,
This noise,
As you know,
Can leave you feeling anxious,
Guilty,
And deeply judgmental,
And when we compare ourselves to others,
It just gets louder,
The exhaustion of expecting perfection from ourselves,
The exhaustion of forgetting that perfect isn't human,
Human isn't perfect,
And perfect really doesn't exist,
If you take the time to regularly tune into yourself,
Away from the distractions,
From the stimuli,
From the marketing,
From the pressures and expectations,
You'll hear something else,
And you'll feel something else,
In the most subtle ways,
In the shower,
While walking in nature,
Just before you fall asleep,
After a conversation with a loved one,
You will hear,
You'll feel,
Your true voice,
Your inner voice,
You're doing a great job,
You don't need to do anything more,
You don't need to be anything more,
You're doing your best,
And when there is an opening for more,
When there is scope for improvement,
Or doing things differently,
I will guide you there,
With tenderness,
I will guide you there,
With ease,
I will guide you there,
With flutters and gentle butterflies in your stomach,
And I will guide you there,
With the energy and wisdom you need,
No shoulds,
No anxiety,
No undue pressure,
Because you're incredible,
And right now you're doing a great job,
Breathing in calm,
Acceptance and ease,
Letting go of something with every outbreath,
Letting go of something you don't need,
Shame,
Guilt,
Perfectionism,
In goes love,
Out goes guilt,
In goes acceptance,
And out goes shame,
In goes grace,
And out goes perfection,
My friend,
This is a long old road,
You are where you are right now,
And you're doing your best,
You're enough,
I know it sounds trite,
But you are enough,
And where there is scope to do things differently,
Where there is scope to change direction,
Or explore ways of doing things which might lead to more positive outcomes,
Trust yourself,
Trust yourself,
Wise people and positive influences,
And try as far as possible to stop and pause when your inner voice is filling your head with shame and criticism and guilt,
Quiet your mind,
Connect with your body and your breath,
And ask your inner self who loves you,
To show you the way to go,
The shame,
Guilt,
Perfectionism,
They're not the ones,
You know that,
You've been around the block for long enough to know that that's not the way,
So when you do find yourself caught in those cycles,
Spend some time with yourself and connect,
Be open to ease,
Be open to love,
Be open to acceptance,
And above all,
Give yourself grace,
Gently coming back to the space around you when you're ready,
And thank you so,
So much for practicing with me today.
