This meditation is about holding a boundary or standing up for yourself in a healthy way.
It is best used once you have already established a boundary and have done some work on your priorities so that you have a clear view of what you are willing to let go of or engage in or fight for.
This is a practice of centering your values amidst pushback,
Tension,
Or misunderstandings.
So check your space,
Even behind you.
Notice all the ways that you are protected and comforted.
Make sure that you feel safe enough to close your eyes and let go.
Take a deep breath in and on the exhale close your eyes and settle in.
Feel your body held by the ground or the bed or the chair.
Feel your lungs expand and contract.
Send some beautiful roots down through your spine,
Through your feet,
Down,
Down,
Deeper and deeper.
Growing and rooting all the way to the center of the earth.
And then beginning to use your roots like a strong old tree to draw up this energy.
Lighting up,
Up,
Moving it up your spine.
Each vertebrae lighting up.
It continues through your neck and out the top of your head,
Through the clouds,
Past the sky,
Until you reach the very heavens themselves.
Pure creation,
The start of everything available to you.
And this expansive cosmic energy swirls with the grounding earth energy inside your heart,
Like a cauldron.
Breathe,
Settle deeper.
And now think of a time when you did take a stand.
Now because this is our first time and I'm not live with you right now,
Let's not pick the hardest thing.
Maybe the wrong order came out at a restaurant and instead of eating what you didn't want,
You asked for what you did want.
Or maybe you pushed back on a grade or a test score and the teacher was receptive.
Something at that level.
Something a little awkward,
But manageable and ultimately successful.
So once you have the situation,
Just allow the facts to sift right through your mind.
We're not worried about the facts right now.
Focus on the feeling.
When you take a stand,
What are your hands doing?
What's happening in your belly?
When you take a stand,
How is your heart beating?
What's going on in your jaw and your face?
How does your body feel when you take a stand that you know to be right?
The more detail you can notice here,
The better.
One more scan of your body,
Top to bottom.
What information can you gather?
And now spend some time in that space just before you say what needs to be said.
How do you know that this is a stand worth taking?
What are you saying to yourself to prepare?
And what do you feel in your body?
And now skipping ahead,
You have just made your stand.
You have succeeded.
Take in that moment.
Are you seeing your new perfectly prepared dish on your table?
Can you hear your boss's voice extending a deadline so you can complete the project?
Can you smell the new classroom your kid got into because you spoke up about what wasn't working?
How does your body tell you that you survived,
That the risk you took paid off,
That you were worth standing up for?
What emotions are present and what physical sensations?
Again,
The more detail you can capture here,
The better it will serve you later.
Now think of something you are absolutely confident about.
There is no room for legitimate argument.
What's your name?
How many fingers do you have?
Something not controversial and very clear.
Imagine someone asking you.
You answer,
And they aren't convinced.
See the skepticism on their face.
Hear them trying to convince you of a different answer.
And notice.
Give your answer again,
And just notice what this level of certainty and confidence feels like in your body.
Check your hands,
Jaws,
Belly.
Are you sure that's your name?
You will not be swayed.
How does your body tell you that it is sure?
Now we're going to turn up the dial just a bit,
Keeping those sensations alive.
Think of something you need to say,
But haven't said yet.
Or a stand that you took,
But it could have gone better.
Again,
Nothing dire,
Just a little more complicated than when we started.
When you've got it,
See the person you need to speak to,
Or the email you need to write,
Whatever it is.
And just notice how your heart responds.
No need to change anything.
And mindfully return to the state of certainty and confidence.
If that presented itself as a steadiness in your belly,
Or warm hands,
However you experienced it before,
Activate that now.
See the stand that you know you need to take.
And then feel your resolve,
Your success,
Your worthiness.
Not from your brain,
From your body.
Shift back and forth a few times.
Bring up that situation that needs addressing.
And then return to the ways that your body expresses safety and confidence.
Back and forth.
See the situation.
Allow your body to experience success.
Consider what it feels like to navigate that situation.
Create that experience as you look at the situation.
Back and forth.
Eventually when you evoke the stand that you need to make,
You will be able to maintain those physical sensations you experienced after successfully navigating a similar situation.
Both at the same time.
Keep coming back to this journey.
It can take some practice,
But you will be able to embody the calm certainty that you will survive this,
And that you are worth making the stand.
And then whenever you're ready,
Go do it.
In real life,
Steady yourself,
Create and intensify those sensations,
And then go take your stand.
As you begin to come back,
Just be open to a symbol or a word or an image that wants to represent your fierce ability to stand up for yourself in a healthy way.
Maybe put that reminder somewhere where you can see it every day.
Even if you just spend 10 seconds recalling these physical sensations,
It will help you.
It will give you that practice.
It will train your body to expect,
To navigate these situations calmly and with certainty.
Just reorienting to the room,
To your surroundings,
Maybe giving yourself a hug,
Taking another deep breath,
Feeling that you are worth taking the stand,
And knowing that with practice it will get easier and easier.
I wish you every success.
