Hello and welcome to our practice today.
I'm grateful that you're here to share this time.
As we're getting started,
I invite you to explore a position that will help you feel supported and to have access to relaxation.
If you haven't done this already,
I recommend turning off any notifications and allowing yourself to take a real break.
And as we settle in.
Maybe take a moment to notice.
Notice what your body is experiencing from a sensation perspective right now You feel cold or warm?
Heavy or gentle.
Now that you're paying attention to the body,
Is it asking for any particular type of attention?
Sometimes that shows up in pain or maybe even just the initiation to change your body position or to shift.
Sometimes we might even notice that we have a dull headache or some other type of message that our body is offering us in the moment.
If your body is asking for a particular type of attention,
Maybe draw your mind inward.
To give that attention.
Even to just recognize it and tell your body that you're there,
You're there for it.
And now if it feels comfortable to you,
Go ahead and close your eyes or just soften your gaze.
And one of the beautiful.
Symbiotic pieces of the relationship that we have with our body is that we can choose how we'd like to breathe.
But our body can also decide for us on how we're going to breathe.
So working together now with the body.
Maybe choose a deeper breath.
Or maybe just observe the breathing exactly as it is.
Or maybe your body has asked for a sigh of relief.
A nice big inhale and then a sigh on your exhale to let go.
Take the next few moments to breathe however you're being asked to breathe.
By your body.
And then allow yourself to begin to notice your thoughts.
Just observe them at this point.
Maybe you're fortunate enough to have truly given yourself permission to just be.
Maybe your thoughts are already nice and slow.
I'd like to offer the reminder.
That you are not your thoughts.
In fact,
You get to choose.
If you want to think of thoughts.
Or if you'd like to ask it to leave.
Maybe as your thoughts are visiting you now,
You can make some of those decisions.
And another great fact about our thoughts is that we don't have to believe them.
Oh,
They love to come up with all kinds of interpretations of what's happening,
What our circumstances are.
What we think about others,
Maybe even judgment.
You don't have to believe a word.
Unless you choose to.
An especially helpful place to apply this.
Is when our thoughts can be considered self-taught.
How are we treating ourselves with our thoughts?
Self-talk can be.
A tool of empowerment.
And it can also be detrimental.
Self-talk often becomes a story in our heads.
And that story can color the lens we see our reality through.
There's nothing you need to do differently.
Just remember that you can ask some of those thoughts to quietly leave.
Some don't even need to be let in the door.
And no matter what.
No matter which ones show up.
You also don't have to believe them.
Check in with your breath now.
Maybe even draw your attention to experiencing the act of breathing.
How your body moves.
And expands and contracts.
Even though we may be considering ourselves at stillness.
To breathe,
Our body also continues.
To embrace small movement.
Reassuring us that we are here.
In the next few moments,
Perhaps as your thoughts come to visit you.
You may gently ask the ones that you're not interested in.
To float away maybe by placing them in a bubble.
Or imagining placing the thought on a leaf and sending it down the creek.
Maybe there's an image that works for you even better to send your thoughts away from you.
And then remember there are also some thoughts that we'd like to keep close.
Maybe you invite them in and offer a cup of coffee.
Practicing choosing our thoughts empowers us.
To make choices.
In our responses.
Our responses to our self-perception and also to our circumstances.
Maybe continue to visualize whatever imagery works for you in choosing and dismissing different thoughts.
And maybe now.
We deeply breathe.
Embracing this imagery.
And marrying it to the breath.
Breathing in through the nose,
Deeply and fully expanding.
Drawing what we want in our minds towards us.
And then exhaling,
Allowing the thoughts that we've dismissed float away.
Whether it's in a bubble or down the creek or in some other method as you exhale.
Drawing in once again.
Bringing in those that are invited.
And then exhaling,
Releasing any that don't serve a purpose that's in your best interests.
Just send them on their way.
And one more deep breath.
At your own pace And release.
Will slowly emerge from our practice now.
Maybe by shifting your body weight or your position.
Or if your eyes are closed,
Maybe you'd like to open them.
And take in the information around you or even listen to your environment.
And now maybe awaken the body with a stretch or some little wiggles of your toes or fingers.
Sometimes it's nice to enjoy a yawn,
Even if you might not feel like one.
If you go through the act of having a yawn,
It'll arrive.
As we ready ourselves to move back into the pace of our day.
It's my wish for you that you continue to empower yourself.
With a choice of thoughts.
Thank you for trusting me with your practice today.
Be well and thrive.
