Please go ahead and get comfortable.
And gently close your eyes.
Let's take one deep breath through the nose.
And exhale slowly through the mouth.
Once again in through the nose expanding the ribs,
Feeling the chest open.
And an exhale slowly through the mouth.
Making the out-breath twice as long as the in-breath,
Let's do it one more time,
Inhale.
And an exhale.
Now simply return to your natural breath.
And feel the full weight of your body.
Wherever you sit in.
Let everything be held.
You do not need to hold yourself up right now.
Now bring your awareness to the breath in the nostrils.
The slight coolness of the inhale.
The warmth of the exhale.
You don't need to change it.
Simply observe it.
Without judgment.
Simply notice whether the day is still living in your body.
Is it the jaw?
The throat.
Perhaps your shoulders are tight.
Or is it living in the stomach?
With curiosity.
Simply noticing.
Now I want you to step gently outside of this moment.
And imagine your future self.
10 years from now,
Perhaps.
Sitting quietly.
Looking back at the life you're living right now.
In this exact season.
Notice the facial expression.
What will they want you to know?
We warn you to answer those emails at 9pm.
Or would it warn you to be fully present?
With your family and friends.
In your own body.
Your healthiest years.
Let that wisdom settle somewhere in the chest.
And simply return to the breath.
Back to the body.
Feeling your feet on the floor.
Completely reset.
And then just follow the dance.
Off your breath,
Going in and out.
Absolutely no effort from your part.
You make no changes from time to time,
Then the mind pulls you away from this moment.
The driven doing mode takes over and start to close the gap between where you are and what you need to be doing.
Without judgment,
Simply notice it.
And return to the breath.
There is nothing wrong with the mind doing its thing.
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Feelings.
Planning.
Practice is not to erase this.
Practice is the returning.
We might have to do this a thousand times over and over.
But every time we come back.
We strengthen our capacity to be fully present.
To enjoy life just as it is.
To approach it with reverence and kindness.
Are my wonders.
Simply return it.
From doing to being.
Over and over again.
We raise the cells.
And we come back.
Now draw your attention to the heart space.
Feel the warmth there.
The quiet aliveness beneath everything that happened this week.
The loop is closing now.
Not because everything is resolved.
But because you have given the nervous system permission to complete its cycle.
Cortisol is dropping.
Prefrontal cortex is coming back online.
The body is remembering what safety feels like.
To close our practice tonight,
I want to leave you with the words of Mary Oliver.
To live in this world.
You must be able to do three things.
To love what is mortal.
To hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it.
And when the time comes to let it go to let it go.
The shutdown sequence is not a technique.
It is a returning,
My friend.
To this,
To now.
To the only moment that has ever actually existed.
When you are ready,
Slowly deepen the breath.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
And gently open your eyes.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Until next time.
