Welcome to today's short practice.
If you're here you might be feeling overwhelmed right now.
Too much to do,
Too much to think about,
Too many demands,
Too many feelings.
And when we're overwhelmed everything feels compressed and crowded,
Like there's no room to breathe.
So this practice is about creating space,
Not solving anything,
Not fixing anything,
Just making a little room.
So find a place where you can be for the next few minutes,
Seated or lying down.
If you feel safe to do so,
You can close your eyes.
If not,
Maybe just soften your gaze and take three intentional breaths,
However they come.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
You're here and that's enough.
So first let's just acknowledge what's true.
You may feel overwhelmed.
You don't need to explain why.
You don't need to justify it.
You don't need to minimize it.
Just acknowledge,
I feel overwhelmed.
And say it silently to yourself,
I feel overwhelmed.
Taking a breath.
Overwhelm is not weakness or failure,
It's a signal that your system is at capacity.
Your nervous system is doing exactly what it's designed to do when there's too much input.
It's trying to manage everything at once.
But here's the thing,
You can't manage everything at once.
No one can.
So we're going to practice something different.
We're going to practice being with our body.
One thing at a time.
So starting with this breath.
Take a breath and focus just on this one breath right now.
And again,
Placing all focus on this one breath right now.
And this breath.
And that's all you need to do right now.
When we're overwhelmed,
Our bodies often contract.
We tighten,
We brace,
We compress.
So let's create some space in your body.
Take a nice deep breath in,
Filling your lungs completely.
Hold it for a moment at the top,
And then release it through your mouth with an audible sigh.
A couple more like that.
Allow the sigh to be loud if you can.
Let it be messy,
Let it out.
Big breath in,
Hold.
And sigh.
And one more,
Filling up.
Holding briefly.
And releasing with a sound,
Letting it go.
And now just breathe naturally.
But as you breathe,
Imagine you're creating space inside your body.
So with each inhale,
Your body expanding,
Your ribcage spreading,
Your belly rounding.
And with each exhale,
Instead of collapsing,
Imagine you're softening whilst maintaining that space.
So breathing in,
Expanding.
Breathing out,
Softening,
But staying spacious.
Your body doesn't have to be tight right now.
Even if your life feels tight,
Your body can have some space.
So keep breathing.
Keep softening,
Keep creating some room.
When you're overwhelmed,
Your mind is trying to hold too many things at once.
So let's practice putting things down for a moment.
Imagine you're carrying a heavy load.
You're holding 10 different things and your arms are shaking from the weight.
And what if,
Just for a moment now,
You could set them down?
Not forever,
Just for a few minutes.
Visualize yourself settling down each thing you've been carrying.
So setting down your to-do list.
Setting down your worries about the future.
Setting down what you didn't finish yesterday.
Setting down what people need from you.
Setting down your expectations of yourself.
Just set them down on the ground in front of you.
They're not going anywhere.
They'll be there if you need to pick them back up.
But right now,
Your hands are empty.
Feel what it's like to hold nothing,
Even just for a moment.
Your breath doesn't require your hands.
It happens on its own.
So breathe with empty hands.
Feel how it is to have nothing to carry right now.
And your mind is probably still busy.
Maybe thoughts still coming,
And that's okay.
But notice between thoughts,
There's space.
Between one thought ending and the next thought beginning,
There's a tiny gap.
So we're going to become interested in those gaps.
Don't try to stop your thoughts.
Just watch the space between them.
Like watching cars pass on a highway.
Between one car and the next car,
There's road.
Between one thought and the next thought,
There's space.
When you notice a gap or a space,
Even a tiny one between the thoughts,
Rest there for a moment.
And that space is always there,
Always available,
Even in the middle of overwhelm.
You don't have to create it.
You just have to notice it.
Overwhelm is a feeling.
It's a big feeling,
But still just a feeling.
And you're larger than any feeling you have.
So take a breath and feel yourself as the container for this feeling.
Overwhelm may be happening inside you,
But you are not overwhelmed.
You're the space in which overwhelm sometimes occurs.
And that might be hard to grasp,
And that's okay,
But just consider it.
You are the sky.
Overwhelm is a storm just passing through.
And storms are real.
And they're intense,
But they do pass,
And the sky remains.
So breathe into this sense of spaciousness.
You're larger than this moment.
Even if overwhelm is still here,
You've created some space around it,
Some breathing room.
And that's what this practice is for,
Not to make the overwhelm disappear.
But to create enough space that you're not crushed by it.
Take a deep breath in.
And let it out.
In a moment,
You'll return to your day.
The things you set down are still there,
But maybe you can pick them up one at a time now.
Maybe you can move a little slower.
You don't have to do everything.
Just do one thing,
Then another,
Then another.
And between each thing,
You can breathe.
You can find those gaps,
Those spaces.
You're not what you're holding.
You're the space in which things are held.
One more breath in.
And out.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
You have space.
You have breath.
You have this moment.
That's enough to start from.
And thank you for practicing today.
