So I want you to sit really comfortably.
There's no need for you to try to sit like a yogi or like do anything special for this meditation.
We often think that we have to sit or be in a particular posture in order to be really meditating and sometimes we get caught up in the story that we're not good enough at meditating or we can't meditate or we're a bad meditator or we don't sit like a meditator.
So if any of those stories feel true for you today my invitation is for you to just notice,
Oh that's a story that I have,
And let it go.
Let it go and come back into what's real.
What's real?
What's comfortable for you?
How does your body need or want to be in order for you to really feel a sense of presence?
So if you'd like you can close your eyes.
I invite you as you have this comfortable meditative posture whether you're sitting or lying down for you to see what happens if you place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest being really curious about this moment,
This breath,
Feeling the breath in your body.
Is it down in your belly?
Is it up in your chest?
Simply noticing and as you notice give your body permission to slow down from your day letting your breath deepen,
Letting your exhale slow.
So slowing and deepening your breath,
Noticing it,
And letting it be an anchor for you,
A place that you can come back to if your mind wanders.
Now I'd like for you to call to mind a time recently where you have had something that you would consider bad happen,
Something that made you upset,
Something that was painful,
Can be physical,
It can be emotional,
And you don't have to go too far into it and please don't do anything traumatic just maybe something that's like a four out of ten in intensity.
But just notice as you think back what was the fact of what actually happened,
What would a camera see?
So see if you can identify the fact and now listen to see if you can identify this story.
Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional and what's the optional suffering that you have invited to yourself?
Maybe it's that your hip has throbbing and the story is regret that you should have never picked up that heavy weight.
Whatever it is just taking this moment to parse out the fact,
The first arrow,
The pain,
The things that life just gives us that we have no control over,
The facts,
From the second arrow,
From the suffering,
From the story.
Now I invite you to find where that story lives in your body.
You can check in a few places.
Often when we tense or tighten we can find it in our belly,
Chest,
Throat,
Jaw,
Or hands.
Or if it's physical pain you're working with it's wherever you hurt in your body.
Let's see if you can find where you've been holding this tension,
Where there's tightness or pain and noticing wherever it is,
Seeing what happens if you take your hand and you put your hand there.
And for the next five breaths I invite you to just breathe in and out to this place that feels tight or heavy or painful.
Breathing in and out,
Letting the breath soften,
Giving permission for what you've been holding on to,
The story you've been clinging to to soften.
And then inviting in loving kindness into the part of your body or parts of your body where you have been clinging,
Holding,
Staying tense,
Staying tight,
Inviting in a loving and a letting go.
As you breathe in and out sending compassion,
Sending kindness to the parts of your physical body that have been really trying to protect you and sending compassion to your mind and to the thoughts that have been doing the best they can to keep you safe.
Seeing what happens if you breathe in and out from your heart into the place where you've been holding this suffering.
Breathing the compassion from your heart,
The kindness from your heart,
The love from your heart out into the world as it goes through these cells in your body and through your energetic body where there's been tension.
See what it feels like to release it out into the world and letting it flow naturally again,
Inviting in a sense of ease,
A sense of kindness.
So bringing both hands up to your heart for a moment and just sending some gratitude,
Some appreciation to yourself for your willingness to befriend your mind and transform your life by seeing clearly the difference between the facts that you can't control and the stories that you put on top that you can shift,
That you can let go of.
Sending gratitude to your body that it is willing to let things shift and move,
That it's here with you now in this moment doing its best to protect you and keep you safe and well.
And we'll end the practice by simply wrapping yourself up in a big hug and then when you're ready you can open your eyes.
