Welcome.
So to begin today,
I invite you to find a comfortable position that might be seated or lying down,
Whatever feels best for you.
And if it's comfortable,
Let your eyes gently close.
And feel the weight of your body resting into the surface beneath you.
Take three slow breaths with me,
Inhaling deeply.
And as you exhale,
Releasing the weight of the day.
Inhaling into the belly.
And as you exhale,
Softening the shoulders,
The chest and the jaw.
Inhaling with openness.
And exhaling into stillness,
Arriving fully here.
Bring gentle awareness through the body.
Noticing the crown of the head,
The face,
The neck,
Allowing them to soften.
Feel the shoulders fall away from the ears.
Allow the arms to be heavy,
The hands to rest.
Allow the chest,
The belly and the hips to release.
Allow the legs to sink into gravity.
Steady through the knees,
Ankles and feet.
And with each breath,
Sense roots growing from your body into the earth.
Steady,
Grounded,
Connected.
Now bring awareness to the fact that your life is part of a long story.
Many have come before you.
Their lives,
Their struggles,
Their joys,
All have carried you here.
You may not see their faces,
But you can feel their presence supporting you.
Rest with the breath and silently whisper,
Thank you for my life.
And feel their strength flowing quietly into you.
And now return awareness to this moment.
This body,
This breath,
This life.
Notice yourself as both a receiver of all that has been given,
And a giver of what will ripple outward.
Your choices,
Your presence,
Your care,
They matter.
With every breath you participate in this circle of life,
Sense your own place as sacred,
As meaningful,
As part of something larger than yourself.
And bring to mind now those who will come after,
Future generations near or far.
They may be family,
Community,
Or simply the lives who inherit the world.
Feel them as an open horizon ahead,
Touched by the way you live now.
With each inhale,
Sense their hope.
With each exhale,
Offer blessings forward.
Love,
Courage,
Wisdom,
Kindness.
Let your breath carry these blessings onward like light flowing into the lives yet to come.
And now expand your awareness to hold it all.
Behind you,
All those who came before.
Around you,
This present life.
Ahead of you,
The ones yet to come.
And sense yourself as one link in this unbroken circle.
Giving,
Receiving,
Belonging.
There is humility here and there is power.
Let the words rest within you.
I belong to the circle of life.
I belong to the circle of life.
Bring a hand now to your heart or belly.
Feeling the aliveness here.
Breath moving.
Pulse steady.
Body present.
Whisper inwardly.
I honor those who came before.
I honor those who will come after.
I honor this life here and now.
And take a few breaths letting this truth settle deeply.
And begin to return gently.
Wiggling fingers and toes,
Taking a deeper breath.
And on the count of three,
We'll come back together.
One.
Awareness of body and breath.
Two.
Energy returning,
Present and steady.
Three.
Softly opening the eyes.
And carry with you a felt sense of belonging woven into the vast,
Beautiful circle of life.
