I invite you to find a tall and comfortable seat.
And if sitting is not working for you,
You can lay down.
You can even stand up and walk slowly.
But wherever you are,
Make sure your pelvis and your legs are as even as possible.
And lift the back of your body up so that you have space for your spine,
For your lungs to breathe.
Widen across your collarbones,
So it just means bringing your shoulders slightly back.
And once you kind of find your center line structurally,
You can let your eyes slowly close from top to bottom,
Or you can keep them very gently cracked.
And just start to notice any areas of obvious tension,
Physical tension in the body and the shoulders or the neck,
The jaw,
Those are often stress-related places.
And just with each exhalation,
Allow the breath to soften and create space wherever you're feeling tight or gripped.
You might notice the sensations shifting throughout the body or shifting with the breath.
Just letting the breath be natural,
It doesn't need to be anything special.
It might start to be a little bit slower and deeper,
Just naturally by sitting still and paying more attention.
Just letting it do its thing.
And remind yourself that you can always guide your attention back to the breath or to the body if the attention wanders,
If you start thinking or planning.
So the breath and the body can be a gentle anchor for your attention.
You might notice where in the body you feel the breath move.
It might be the belly or the ribs or the chest.
And continuing to let the breath do its thing,
Let it breathe.
We'll do a very gentle breath work pranayama exercise called samavritti or same breath to continue to maintain our attention on the breath.
And of course you can always stop if necessary.
So let your exhalation come out naturally.
And then inhale for three,
Two,
One.
And exhale for three,
Two,
One.
Again,
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
You might even pause at the top for a moment before you exhale out the nose.
Three,
Two,
One.
You might even pause after you exhale.
We'll do that one more time.
Inhaling three,
Two,
One.
Maybe you pause at the top and exhale three,
Two,
One.
And maybe you pause at the bottom and just breathe normally.
Just letting yourself be fully absorbed in this moment,
In this body,
In this breath.
And there might be external noises.
There might be internal noises or disturbances.
There might be a lot of internal noise,
Thoughts or sensations or emotions.
A lot of internal you might be worried about that haven't happened yet,
That you anticipate.
Just remembering and knowing that these things might not have happened yet.
They might never happen.
Maybe something might be remembering it differently.
But whatever it is you're feeling in this moment,
Knowing that you have the opportunity to hold it with this sense of kindness,
Of acceptance.
Just letting it exist,
Not trying to be anything else.
Letting it breathe just like your breath breathes.
Just letting each moment be an invitation for your experience,
Whatever that may be.
If your experience feels especially challenging,
Doing your best to hold that feeling,
That thought,
That sensation with kindness and gentleness.
Whether if you feel like you can't do that,
Maybe envisioning someone who could do that for you.
Someone who makes you feel safe and at ease.
Whether or passed on,
Whether you know them or not.
Letting your attention anchor itself to the breath or the body.
Or going as deep as you feel safe going today with your experience.
Holding everything with a sense of love.
Or letting someone hold that for you.
So that it no longer clouds your own experience.
So that it no longer feels like a burden or a problem.
Even just for a moment.
Just letting it breathe.
Reminding yourself that you're worthy of this space,
Of this relief.
And for these last few moments,
We'll repeat a phrase inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh.
You can say this silently to yourself.
Breathing in,
I am calm.
Breathing out,
I am happy.
Breathing in,
I am calm.
Breathing out,
I am happy.
You can change the words if you need to.
Perhaps maybe even curl the corners of your mouth up gently.
Breathing in,
I am calm.
Breathing out,
I am happy.
Even if you don't feel perfectly calm or happy in these moments,
Just knowing that these qualities exist within you,
They're available to you.
You might invite them into the experience.
And as you're ready,
You can gently let those words go.
Let the breath breathe normally.
Letting yourself land back in your body in this moment,
Just as it is,
Just as you are.
Held in this space of loving kindness.
And if it feels natural for you to do so,
To seal your practice,
To honor this time that you took for yourself,
You can place the hands together gently.
And continuing,
You can let the head drop gently into the chest where the mind and the heart meet each other.
And thank yourselves for taking this time for yourself today,
For being here,
For being present.
And as you're ready,
You can let your eyes open slowly.
