Thank you for being here.
My name is Rianna and today we're going to do a short meditation.
So find somewhere comfortable where you can sit or lay down.
At whatever your body wants today,
And there's no correct posture for this.
And if you're somewhere that you can close your eyes,
I invite you to do that now.
And if not,
Just see if you can soften your gaze and just let it rest somewhere neutral.
Now let's start by letting the body settle down.
So take a deep breath in through your nose.
And let it go.
We're gonna do another one.
Deep breath in through your nose and a little slower this time.
And out.
You don't need to control the bread,
Just let it find its own rhythm now.
I want you to notice something before we go any further.
Notice whether you're already trying to do this exercise well.
Whether some part of you is checking,
Am I doing this right?
Am I relaxed enough yet?
Should I be feeling something by now?
So that's the thing we're here to put down today.
Not forever,
Just for the next few minutes.
And there's nothing to get right here.
There's no version of this that you're supposed to be doing better.
So let's begin with the body.
Bring your attention to your face.
And just notice if you're holding anything there.
Your jaw,
Space between the eyebrows.
The small muscles around the eyes.
A lot of us hold our face in a particular arrangement all day,
Ready to be looked at,
Ready to respond.
And you can let that go now.
Nobody is looking.
Gonna move down to your shoulders.
Notice where they are,
Which position they are in,
Don't correct them,
Just notice.
And if they're up somewhere near your ears,
See if you can let them drop.
Maybe on the next outbread,
Just let them come down.
You know,
There's often something held in the shoulders that's been there so long that it feels normal.
So see if there's a little more that you can release.
Your chest.
Bring your attention there,
To the front of your body,
The place where you feel things.
And notice how it feels to have a tension there without doing anything about it.
Without trying to fix or explain or soften whatever is there.
And down through the belly.
So many of us hold the stomach in all day without ever really deciding to.
So if you're doing that,
Let it go now.
And all the way down through the hips.
The legs.
Into the feet.
Let your whole body be heavy.
And let the surface underneath you hold you completely.
Now I want to say something to you while you're here.
Because you have spent a lot of energy today being the right amount.
Adjusting,
Reading the room,
Softening things before you say them,
Making yourself easier to be around.
You've been running a calculation all day.
Am I too much?
Am I enough?
Is this okay?
And I want you to know that I see that.
And that it's generally tiring.
And that you are allowed to be tired from it.
And right now,
In this moment,
You're not required to be any particular amount of anything.
Not smaller,
Not bigger,
Not more contained,
Not more impressive.
Just this,
Just breathing,
Just here.
I want to invite you to try something.
Bring to mind the version of yourself you are when nobody is watching.
So I'm not talking about the version that you present,
The one underneath that.
Maybe she is louder.
Maybe she's quieter.
Maybe she wants things she doesn't say out loud.
Just let her be here for a moment,
Without editing her.
I know there's nothing bad is happening.
She's here and the world is still fine.
If it feels okay,
You can say something to yourself internally.
Maybe you say I'm not too much.
Or I'm not too little.
Or I'm just a person.
You don't have to believe it.
You don't have to feel a rush of anything.
Just let the words be there.
Let's come back to the bread now.
In,
And out.
And again,
In,
Out.
And let the breath get a little fuller,
A little bit more away.
And out.
Start to notice the room around you,
The sounds,
The temperature,
The surface under your body.
Wiggle your fingers if you like.
Your toes.
And when you are ready,
There is no rush,
Let your eyes open.
And before you go back into your day,
I want to give you one thing.
The next time you catch yourself adjusting,
So softening something,
Holding something back,
Making yourself a little bit smaller before you speak,
Just notice it.
You don't have to change it.
Just know this.
You know,
Noticing is where everything starts.
Thank you so much for being with me today.
If you'd like to go further into this,
My course is called Too Much and Not Enough,
Breaking Free from the Impossible Standard.
And if you click on my profile,
You can find it there.
Take care of yourself today.
