Welcome.
I'm Teresa,
And I'm so glad you're here.
Today's practice is for anyone who has been carrying a lot.
Perhaps you've been carrying responsibilities.
Or other people's emotions.
Worry.
Or expectations.
The invisible weight that often comes with loving someone deeply.
If that's where you find yourself today,
I want to begin with a gentle reminder.
Caring about someone doesn't mean you have to carry everything for them.
Sometimes the kindest thing we can do for ourselves and for those we love.
Is to notice what is truly ours to hold,
And what can be gently set down.
Let's begin.
Take a slow,
Comfortable breath.
No need to breathe deeply.
Just allow your breath to be noticed.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Notice that it is already supporting your body.
You don't have to hold yourself up today.
Allow your shoulders to soften just a little.
Allow your jaw to loosen.
Your hands to rest.
For these next few minutes,
Nothing is required of you.
There is nowhere else you need to be.
No one you need to help.
No problem you need to solve.
This moment belongs to you.
Now,
Very gently,
Bring your awareness inward.
If it feels okay,
Softening your gaze or closing your eyes.
Without searching too hard,
Simply notice what feels heavy today.
Maybe it's emotional.
Maybe it's practical.
Maybe you can't even put words to it.
You don't need to understand it completely.
Just acknowledging,
This feels heavy.
Notice where your body carries that feeling.
Perhaps your shoulders.
Your chest.
Your stomach.
Your jaw.
Simply noticing,
Without trying to change anything.
Now I'd like to offer you two gentle questions.
Not to answer with your mind.
Or to analyze.
But to let your body respond to.
The first question is.
.
.
What am I caring about?
Take your time and just notice what you feel.
When you hear,
What am I caring about?
Now,
A second question.
What am I carrying that may not actually belong to me?
What am I carrying that may not actually belong to me?
Notice if anything shifts.
Sometimes we carry other people's choices.
Other people's healing.
Other people's happiness.
Other people's disappointment.
The belief that if we just try a little harder.
.
.
Love a little better.
Hold on a little tighter.
Everything will be okay.
And while those hopes come from love,
They can quietly become very heavy.
Imagine now that beside you there is a beautiful woven basket.
The basket isn't here to throw anything away.
It is simply a place to set things down.
Temporarily.
Lovingly.
And without guilt.
One by one,
Imagine placing into that basket.
Anything that isn't yours to carry right now.
Perhaps it's someone else's reaction.
Someone else's timeline.
Someone else's choices.
Someone else's healing.
Perhaps it's the expectation that you have to keep everything together.
With each breath,
Imagine placing one thing down.
Not because it no longer matters.
But because it does matter,
And you matter too.
Notice how your body responds.
Perhaps your shoulders soften.
Perhaps your breath changes.
Perhaps nothing changes yet.
All of it is welcome.
Now,
Looking gently into the basket.
Notice that setting something down has not made you less loving.
It hasn't made you less compassionate.
Instead,
Notice what remains with you.
Your kindness,
Your love.
Your presence.
Your willingness to care.
Those things were never in the basket.
They've always belonged to you.
The basket only received what was weighing you down.
Not who you are.
If it feels okay,
Bring one hand to your heart or somewhere that feels comforting to you.
Take a slow,
Steady breath.
And if it feels okay and the words feel true to you,
Silently repeat after me.
I can care deeply without carrying everything.
I can love someone without losing myself.
My compassion does not require my depletion.
I am allowed to set things down.
I am allowed to rest.
Take one final gentle breath together.
As you prepare to return to your day,
Remember this.
The people you love do not need a version of you who has carried so much that there is nothing left.
They need you.
Present,
Connected,
Included in your own life.
There will always be things that deserve your care.
But not everything deserves your burden.
So today,
Perhaps choose one thing,
Just one,
To set down.
Even if only for a little while.
If this practice resonated with you,
You may also enjoy my course,
The Sustainable Caregiver,
Where we explore sustainable caregiving through nervous system support,
Receiving,
Boundaries,
And gentle self-inclusion.
Until next time,
May you remember that love grows lighter when you stop confusing caring with carrying.
And remember as always,
You are loved.
You are whole.
You are enough.
