Welcome to this take a break practice.
And as we start I'll read some words from the poet Jane O'Shea.
Worrying makes holes in my head and the useful bits keep falling out.
My mind gets holes in it and the wind blows my thoughts into disarray.
The more I anxiously scramble to keep my thoughts in order the more my brain leaks and the goodness leeches out and is lost.
I want to mend my mind,
Plug up the holes with faith and passion.
And then my mind can find solutions that my fretting thoughts would never have found.
And I might even think of something that I haven't thought of before.
So for this practice the invitation is to get truly comfortable.
So lying down if possible.
Allowing yourself to take a break and rest.
So either gently closing your eyes or simply softening your gaze.
And bringing your attention inwards,
Feeling into your body.
Aware of where your body is in contact with whatever you're lying on.
Whatever's supporting you right now.
So really taking a moment to feel the weight of you firmly connected.
Thanks to gravity.
Encouraging your body to soften and relax into being supported.
Just as best you can.
Checking in with those notorious parts of the body that we hold tension in our neck and our shoulders.
Just giving them a bit of extra encouragement to relax into being held in this lying down posture.
And noticing the thinking mind also.
There will be thoughts,
Maybe reflections of the day that you've had and the day to come.
Different feelings.
You may be aware of sensations in the body and sounds that are in the room right now.
So allowing them all to be there too.
That sense of nothing to change and nothing to get rid of.
Just lying here taking a break.
And in feeling into the body,
Finding your breath.
So it's often easier if you take three deeper than normal breaths.
So really filling your lungs up to their capacity and feeling into a slow conscious exhalation.
The inward breath really bringing nourishment to the body.
And the outward breath,
That sense of settling,
Bringing balance to the body.
And then just letting the breath find its own natural rhythm again.
It's kind of neat because the body knows how to breathe.
No special way to breathe.
You don't even have to do anything.
The body knows how to breathe.
So resting,
Feeling your body being breathed.
And like your attention is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.
So can you zoom into feeling the body breathing?
Where you feel it most obvious.
Maybe it's the chest or the belly zooming into this part of the body.
And just feeling the in breath,
Feeling the out breath.
And allowing everything else to fade into the background.
And just like with a camera,
You need to hold it steady to get a clear picture.
Allowing your attention,
Your focus to be quite steady,
Staying with the breath.
Perhaps hanging out with the breath for a while.
So the breath can be a bit of an anchor.
That anchors you and holds you steady just into this present moment.
Rather than drifting off into the future or leaning back into the things that have happened in the past.
Perhaps the breath can hold you steady like an anchor.
Just to this moment now.
Lying here,
Taking a break.
Feeling the expansion of the in breath and the releasing of the out breath.
And the mind may still be pretty chatty.
This is really normal.
But feeling the steady anchor of the breath that's present there also.
Nothing to get rid of.
The breath is simply present there also.
And any one of your senses can anchor you to this present moment as well.
So it may be your sense of hearing that is your anchor.
It may be your here and now stone holding that in your hand or on your belly.
It may be your visual sense that's holding you steady.
So any one of your senses can be your anchor into this moment also.
Assisting you to truly take a break.
And being here is enough.
Giving yourself this break is enough.
And when your mind wanders off taking you away from being here.
Choosing to come back to your anchor.
Choosing to rest.
Inviting the busy mind to come back to rest with your anchor.
With the same tenderness that you'd encourage a puppy or a small kitten you love who's wandered off.
With the same kindness inviting your mind to come back to rest with your anchor.
Resting.
Breathing.
Resting.
Taking a break.
Allowing things to be just as they are.
Allowing you to be just as you are.
Nothing to change,
Improve or fix.
Being with your steady anchor.
Taking a break.
