Hey mama,
Thank you for choosing a time that feels of service to practice together.
Now take your time to find a comfortable and supportive way to stand,
Sit,
Or lie down for this guided practice.
Feel free to use any props like blankets,
Holsters,
Pillows,
Or blocks to support your practice today.
Let's begin.
Let's start in a comfortable seated posture and just bringing palms right to baby.
Maybe just moving the palms around a bit.
Noticing what you feel in this moment,
Whether it's just the touch of your palms to your belly or maybe it's movements from baby.
Allowing the palms to rest down wherever they feel most comfortable.
Go ahead and take a slow breath in through your nose and exhale out through the mouth.
Let's do that again.
Breathing in through your nose.
Exhale out through your mouth.
What would it feel like to settle?
And settle doesn't have to mean complacency.
Settle doesn't have to mean not moving.
For you,
What would it mean to settle?
There's so much beyond our control.
So let's just start with something simple.
Let's start with the body.
A little bit so amazing and so complex.
Go ahead and take your shoulders up by the ears.
Feel that sense of perhaps tension.
And then sliding the shoulders down and away from the ears.
Let the shoulders relax.
Allow them to be heavy.
What would it feel like to open your eyes if they were closed?
Just for a moment.
Open the eyes.
And then soften the gaze.
And maybe closing the eyes once again.
What is it to feel tension in the jaw?
Maybe just kind of clenching the teeth gently together.
And then gently allowing the lower jaw to relax.
What about the fist?
Maybe making fist with your hands and kind of clenching them,
Feeling that tension.
And then gently releasing them.
Opening up the palms,
Letting them rest down.
What does it feel like to settle into this vessel that houses baby,
That nourishes a healthy baby and healthy mother?
What is it to settle?
What is it to honor this space?
As this body shifts and changes every day to support both you and baby,
It might not always be easy or feel easy to navigate this new now of the body.
It might not even feel like yours at times.
Can we drop back into ourselves?
And just notice how sacred this space is,
Even at times it feels clumsy or wobbly or not glamorous.
Go ahead and see if you can ball up your right fist once again.
Feel that sense of tension.
And then with your left hand,
Go ahead and try to peel that fist open.
There's resistance,
I'm sure.
Maybe you're not able to peel it open if you're really using that fist tightly.
Go ahead and let that go for a moment.
Stretch the hands out.
And then again,
Try balling up the right fist,
Really tense it.
And gently this time,
Your left hand is there for support,
Safety,
Encouragement,
And love.
Go ahead and kind of hold your right fist with your left palm,
Not trying to pry it open,
Just holding it.
Notice how that feels.
Notice if the right palm softens,
Even just a little.
And see if you can allow the right palm to settle and release the fist.
Letting the palms rest down wherever it feels good.
So how can we bring that sense of being held and supported and encouraged to ourself every day?
How can we settle in moments of uncertainty,
In moments of chaos?
Let's just start with the breath.
Take a breath in through the nose,
And this time out through the nose.
Let's do that again.
Breathing in through the nose,
And out through the nose.
And through the nose,
And out through the nose.
Place one palm,
Maybe touch the earth,
And one palm on baby or belly.
And the mantra I offer you today is,
Here I settle.
Here I settle.
Try this with your breath.
Breathing in here,
Breathing out,
I settle.
Breathing in here,
Breathing out,
I settle.
Breathing in here,
Breathing out,
I settle.
See if you can stick with this for just a few more breaths at your own pace.
If the mantra doesn't feel grounding for you,
Maybe you replace it with something else.
Breathing in through the nose,
And out through the nose.
Breathing in through the nose.
There's so much around us that can teach us this mantra.
We look outside and we see a bird flying and gently landing on a branch.
Here he settles,
Where we see a leaf falling down from that tree.
Here it settles as it lands softly on the ground.
As we look up in the sky and see perhaps a rain cloud pouring down rain.
Here it settles,
Perhaps only for a few moments.
It's encouraging you to find moments where you can experience settling in.
Go ahead and take another nourishing breath in through your nose and exhale out through the mouth.
And bringing both palms to heart center.
From my heart to yours.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
