During mindfulness practices and during meditation,
Especially when we're just starting out,
The body can actually grow anxious.
It can feel restless or agitated because it can be uncomfortable to stop and to be still and to sit with our own thoughts and to sit with the sensations in our own body.
We can learn to respond to ourselves with compassion and with gentleness.
We can take it slow,
Only do as much as is comfortable for you.
With things like breathing practices,
I always recommend to people,
Practice them when you're feeling good.
Practice them when you're already in a state of relaxation.
Learn how to do them,
Get good at it,
And then that way when a really stressful situation comes up,
When you have been triggered,
Then you can lean into those practices in a way so that it's not making it feel worse.
For today's practice,
We are going to create a safety hole and then we're going to offer kindness and compassion to our body,
To ourselves.
This is something that you can then use in your daily life.
It doesn't have to be a big long practice.
You can use it whenever you notice difficulties and anxiety arising as one more tool to help calm the body down.
Find a comfortable seated position.
If it's comfortable for you,
Go ahead and take a moment just to allow the eyes to close,
Just to bring your attention into the body.
See if you can just consciously relax any extra tension that you might be holding.
Perhaps let the shoulders soften down,
Allow the jaws to relax and the eyes to soften.
Then I want you to take your right hand and put it in your left armpit so that you are just holding the side of your chest.
You're just going to cross your left arm over top,
Just resting your left hand over top of your right arm so that you're just creating this nice hold for yourself.
You're just creating this gentle hold and with your eyes closed,
I just want you to notice for a moment,
Can you feel the warmth of your own body?
What does the fabric of your shirt feel like beneath your hands?
Do you experience maybe a little bit of a sense of containment from your hands and arms?
Is it pleasant?
Is it unpleasant?
There's no right or wrong.
How does the rest of your body feel in response to this containing touch,
This safety hold that you're giving yourself?
What do you notice about your overall experience?
So just see if you can begin to consciously relax into the present moment and just connect with your own intention to create a sense of calm,
To feel safe in your own body.
I know how hard it can be at times to feel safe in our own skin especially when we've been experiencing panic attacks and anxiety attacks because it feels like our own body is working against us at times and that can be really hard.
So just connect with your intention to create this sense of calm,
This sense of safety and even though there might still be tension,
Anxiety or discomfort in your body right now,
Recognize your own natural wish for your body to feel safe and comfortable and just start to offer some phrases of loving kindness to your body.
These phrases serve as a way of connecting with your own intentions to care for yourself,
For your body.
So saying to yourself,
May my body be at ease.
May I be safe and at home in my body.
May my body be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be at ease with my body.
So just as we,
You know,
Have these same kinds of wishes for the people that we love the most,
You know,
For our loved ones to be safe and healthy,
We can send those same wishes of loving kindness and care to ourselves.
May I be safe in my body.
May my body be at ease.
May I be at home in my body.
May my body be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be at ease and may my body be at ease.
Just allow yourself to open your awareness to any part of the body that is experiencing discomfort and offer your compassion to yourself.
May my mind and body be free from discomfort.
May I be safe and at home in my body.
May my body and mind be healthy.
May they experience ease.
So this is a practice that you can take with you anytime.
I sometimes wake up,
You know,
In the night or in the morning,
And I start out with thinking these kinds of thoughts to myself and sending these out to my loved ones,
To the larger circle of life on our planet.
And it can be very comforting.
So when you're ready,
You can relax your arms.
You can open your eyes if you haven't already.
It's such a simple practice and I hope you enjoy it.
It feels really nourishing and I feel like it does help me to feel more at ease.
So I hope that you experience that some for yourself.
Bye-bye.
