Hi,
Welcome.
Today's meditation is an offering to help you prepare or get into the mindset or the space for a therapy session.
Full transparency,
I often run around doing last minute chores and who knows what else before my own therapy.
So,
Let's welcome that too and not paint any of us as perfect people,
We've got it all together.
It doesn't exist as far as I know.
That being said,
If you're able to put aside some time,
Get yourself into a clear headspace and tune in to what it is that you want to work on or what is asking you for its attention,
That can be very useful.
Here we go.
It's always a good idea to begin with a deep breath.
It can happen naturally after hearing that bell.
Just allowing yourself to inhale as long or as short as feels right.
And to exhale deeply,
Giving a little push at the end if it's available to you.
Excuse me while I clear my throat.
And if yours is asking for the same,
By all means feel free.
Breathing again and seeing if there's anything that your body is asking for as we settle into a more internal contemplative space.
You might want to raise your arms up on your next inhalation.
Above your head,
Seeing if you can keep your shoulders dropped even as your fingers lift.
Slight arch in your chest and back.
And then I took two inhalations with that,
But at some point as you exhale,
Just allowing your hands to float down.
You might explore a flex in your wrist,
Turning your palms outward,
Giving a little stretch to that forearm.
Just letting them settle down by your sides.
See if your neck wants to rock or roll a little bit.
Letting some air release with that popping sound or just loosening things up.
Grounding through your hips,
Lifting through your chest and shoulders,
Heart center.
Grounded the head,
And then just allowing your attention to settle,
Keeping in mind that you're on your way to therapy.
And just notice if you feel like you need a little bit more of a stretch or a little bit more of a keeping in mind that you're on your way to therapy.
And just notice,
As I remind you of that,
Say the word what comes in for you.
Maybe it's your therapist themselves,
Or maybe it's a group of friends in which case might be an opportunity to imagine what it is you'd like to say to them as your session starts.
Or maybe you've done what's called internalized to the therapist and you can imagine their expression,
Their words,
Their posture,
And if you're meeting virtually their background,
Which you probably know very well by now.
Or perhaps you're just beginning to know it if your relationship is newer.
And inviting all the topics,
Events,
Feelings,
Insights,
Wins,
Pain points,
Avenues of exploration that are available to you in therapy can be anything.
Avenues of exploration that are available to you in therapy can be anything.
And while that can feel like an opportunity,
Welcoming,
It can also be overwhelming.
So allow room for that.
And I'll tell you what I say to clients of mine all the time and remind myself when I'm on the other side of the equation.
It often doesn't matter exactly what you talk about because it all comes back to the same.
If I could encourage anything,
It would be the level of depth or intensity that you can approach your therapy session with.
And if you notice the little buzz buzz of the fly in the background as I do this recording,
Just let that be a teacher of medicine.
And if you notice the little buzz buzz of the fly in the background as I do this recording,
Just let that be a teacher of meditation.
And a representative of all the things that invite our attention away from what it is that we're really wanting to lean into.
The many pulls,
Tugs,
And distractions of life.
The external world and of our minds.
Getting back to this idea of intensity or depth,
It's not some therapy milestone or height or peak or it's not something to strive for or achieve.
It's just that if we find the tender places,
It's often where the healing will be most productive.
And by tender,
I don't even mean vulnerable or painful necessarily.
It's more we're looking for a pliability.
Sometimes you hear therapists or people in this type of work use the word juicy.
It's a place where there is opportunity for movement.
And when we're going to therapy,
That's what we're looking for,
Right?
Is something to shift,
Change,
Grow,
Be different.
And still paying attention to your breath as you let my words and what I'm saying flow in and out and also allowing room for your own topics,
Feelings,
Thoughts.
With this acknowledgement of the desire for movement,
It's an opportunity for us to be able to move in a different direction.
With this acknowledgement of the desire for movement,
It's an opportunity to reflect on how emotion includes the word motion.
And again,
Many teachers in this field,
Myself included,
Will assert that by allowing our emotions to move by feeling them,
That is one of the most profound ways that we can affect personal,
Internal,
Individual change and therefore change in our worlds,
In our communities,
In our habits,
In our minds.
All of your feelings are welcome.
Irritation,
Sadness,
Fear,
Stronger variations of anger like rage.
Emotions are never destructive.
It's the actions that we take with them.
The feelings themselves are just energy.
With that,
I'll invite you into a moment of silence except for our friend,
Miss Fly.
If you can't hear him,
You can imagine.
I'll invite you into a moment of pause for you to let the most interesting topic,
Feeling,
Story bubble up.
Perhaps still holding that image of your therapist.
Allowing yourself to reflect on where it is you'd like to begin.
And if possible,
Leaving room for what might follow knowing that it may not be predicted.
Give yourself that space.
As a final offering,
I'll recommend sometimes that clients begin with headlines.
As though your internal experience is a newspaper.
It's an old reference but we still know what they look like,
Feel like,
Smell like.
You're holding a newspaper full of the stories about you and you've got the front page with the big headlines and the invitation to go deeper into each of those stories.
But you don't have to read them all.
You might just share the highlights.
And as you do so,
That might be the moment in which you know,
This is the story that I want to explore,
The feeling,
The event.
This is the place where I want to focus my attention.
Thank you for sharing your attention with me here today.
I wish you well on your therapy journey and in life.
