Welcome,
My name's Ben,
I will be your guide for this meditation.
And this meditation is designed for moments when you feel overwhelmed,
Depleted or stretched too thin.
Burnout can make even simple things feel heavy.
Rather than trying to fix or force anything,
This practice invites you to pause,
Reconnect with your body and allow space for restoration.
There's nothing to achieve here,
Just a gentle returning to yourself.
So just beginning by finding a comfortable position.
You might be sitting,
Lying down or even resting your head on a desk,
Allowing your body to be supported.
If it feels okay,
Gently closing your eyes or if softening your gaze feels more comfortable,
You can also do that.
And take a slow,
Deep breath in and a long,
Easy breath out.
No need to change your breathing,
Just noticing it.
That natural rhythm,
That rise and that fall.
And as you settle here,
Acknowledge that you've been carrying a lot.
Without needing to go into the details,
Just recognizing this is hard.
Let that be enough.
Bring your awareness to your body as best you can,
Noticing where you might be holding tension.
Tension perhaps it's in your shoulders,
Perhaps around your jaw,
Maybe in your chest.
Without forcing anything to relax,
Just gently noticing.
Now as best you can,
Just taking a slow breath in and as you exhale,
Imagine sending a soft wave of ease to one area of tension.
Not fixing,
Just offering a little space.
Continue breathing like this,
Each exhale a quiet invitation for softening.
If your mind feels busy or scattered,
That's completely okay,
There's nothing wrong with you.
You might silently say to yourself,
This is a moment of pause,
I am allowed to rest.
Now bring in the attention as best you can to your breath again.
Feeling the air as it enters and leaves.
If it helps,
You can count softly,
Inhale one,
Exhale two,
All the way up to a count of ten and then restarting again.
Just a simple anchor.
If your mind wanders,
Which it will,
Gently guide it back without judgement to where you last counted.
Each return is part of the practice.
Now as best you can,
Shifting awareness,
Noticing the contact your body makes with the surface beneath you,
The weight of your body being held.
You don't have to hold everything up right now,
For this moment you can let yourself be supported.
If it feels comfortable now,
Bring one hand to your chest or to your abdomen,
Feel the warmth of your hand,
The subtle movement of breath beneath it.
As best you can offering yourself a small gesture of care.
You might silently repeat,
I'm doing the best I can.
It's okay to slow down.
Let the words be simple,
No need to believe them fully,
Just allowing the possibility and resting here for a few breaths.
As best you can now,
Gently expanding that awareness again,
Noticing any sounds around you,
Noticing the space that you're in,
Taking this opportunity to bring some gentle movement into the body,
Maybe wiggling your fingers,
Moving your toes slightly and when you're ready,
Take a deeper breath in and a slow breath out.
When you're ready and when it feels comfortable,
If you've had your eyes closed,
Gently opening them,
If you've softened your gaze,
Gently bringing that back into focus to take in the room around you.
As you move on with your day,
See if you can carry even a small sense of this pause with you.
Burnout doesn't resolve all at once,
But moments like this can help you reconnect little by little.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself.
