Welcome and Merry Christmas!
I'm really glad you're here today.
This session is a gentle holiday meditation for you to create a moment of stillness in your life,
A bit more presence,
In the middle of this busyness of the seasons and holidays and gifts and all that.
This time of the year often comes with many layers,
Even when we like it,
Even when it's beautiful.
There can be pressure to be present,
To feel in a certain way and to show up in the right mood and with the right energy.
So this practice is an invitation to step slightly outside of that.
So for the next few minutes you do not need to prepare anything,
You do not need to be joyful or grateful or calm.
You are allowed to arrive exactly as you are.
But before we get into it,
Let's take a moment to center.
I invite you to find a comfortable seat,
Close down your eyes and take a slow deep breath in through the nose and release it through the mouth.
Two more times,
Inhale in and out.
One last deep inhale from the belly up into the chest and this time sigh it all out.
Notice the weight of your body being supported by the ground,
By the chair beneath you.
Let your shoulders drop and your belly soften.
On the next breath bring your awareness to your hands and your feet.
Feel them resting and slowly grounding.
Breathe in while you exhale any tension out of your body and feel yourself settling into the space exactly as you are.
Today's breathing is inspired by the Christmas tree.
We will go with some counting starting from the bottom of the tree,
Inhaling for a count of 10,
Exhaling for a count of 10 and then going up,
Nine in and nine out,
Then eight,
Then seven,
Then six and so we go all the way to in for one and out for one a little bit faster and then we were gonna go all the way down again.
So the exhale and the inhale are always the same length.
So find a little bit more space in your front of your body,
Lengthen your spine,
Elongate your neck and take a preparation breath in and exhale out.
Mm-hmm and we start inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Out for ten,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
In for nine,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine and out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
In for nine,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Exhale out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
In for eight,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Out for eight,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Again in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight and out,
Seven,
Eight,
Last time,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight and out,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
In,
Two,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Out,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
In for six,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And out,
Two,
Five,
Six,
And in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Four,
Five,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And in,
Two,
Four,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
In for three,
Two,
Three,
And out,
No breaks,
In,
Two,
Three,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Fully out,
Two,
Three,
Fully in,
Two,
Three,
Two,
One,
Take a deep breath in,
Hold here,
Hold your breath,
Relax your shoulders,
And bring a contraction to your pelvic muscles,
To your glute,
Into your abdomen,
Bringing energy all the way up into your head,
Into the star of the Christmas tree,
Letting it shine,
Letting it expand all this energy that you've been generating,
Keep holding,
Keep squeezing,
Inhale a bit more,
And with an open mouth,
Releasing,
Three,
Two,
One,
Take a breath in,
With the nose,
Gently exhale out,
Pause your breath here,
And let the stillness be for a moment,
Remain present,
With attention to your root,
As well as to the top of the head,
Finding a little bit more length,
Just let it be,
We're going to finish with some counting,
Where the exhale this time is double the inhale,
So when you're ready,
Inhale through the nose,
For one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And now for ten,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
In for six,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And now for twelve,
Ten,
Two,
One,
In for seven,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Seven,
Now for fourteen,
Thirteen,
Twelve,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Now for sixteen,
Fifteen,
Fourteen,
Thirteen,
Eight,
Nine,
And now for eighteen,
Seventeen,
Sixteen,
Fifteen,
Fourteen,
Two,
One,
Last one,
In for ten,
Nine,
Three,
Two,
One,
Out for twenty,
Nineteen,
And the slow and long breath in,
And the softest and longest exhale out through the mouth,
Letting go of the counting,
Let the breath to return to its natural rhythm,
You notice what it's here when there is nothing to do,
Even if the mind is not fully silent,
There might be a sense of steadiness underneath,
So during this holiday,
During this day,
Remember the presence does not mean doing more,
Sometimes it means stepping back,
Sometimes it means staying with your one conscious breath,
With one special person,
Or with one magic moment,
For me this time of the year is a reminder to come back to what really matters,
To the moment of connections with myself and the people I love,
So before we finish,
I'd like you to sit with one question,
What will it mean for you to be truly present this Christmas,
Without trying to make it look or feel a certain way,
Take one last gentle breath,
And when you're ready,
Come back,
Carrying this sense of presence with you.
