When the mind becomes incredibly busy,
Thoughts crowd in,
It may feel like all those thoughts that are swirling through your head become ever tighter,
Ever closer.
So for the next few minutes,
We're going to soften into the mind to help reclaim a little space.
So take a moment to settle yourself,
Finding a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down,
And allow your body to be supported.
There's nowhere else that you need to be right now,
Nothing that you need to achieve.
Just allow yourself to gently sink with gravity.
Take a slow breath in and gently sigh it out.
Let it feel comfortable and natural,
Whether through the nose or the mouth is fine.
Just gently following the breath in and out.
Letting the shoulders drop,
Allowing your jaw to soften.
Allowing every breath out to be a small release.
Before we turn to the mind,
Let's begin by grounding into the body.
Notice the points where your body touches the floor,
The chair,
Or maybe the bed.
And feel that steadiness supporting you.
There's nothing that you need to hold.
Gravity is already doing that for you.
So with each exhalation,
Let yourself rest a little more deeply into that support,
Into gravity.
You might quietly say to yourself,
I'm here,
I'm safe.
Now bring your awareness to your mind and notice what it's doing right now.
It might be busy.
It might feel quite frazzled.
Thinking,
Planning,
Remembering,
Worrying,
Hypothesizing.
And that's okay.
The mind is designed to move.
It's natural.
We're not trying to stop that movement.
But just become the observer in your head as you begin to notice the movement.
You watch your thoughts as they come and go.
Like little ripples across the surface of a lake.
Begin to notice the tiny pauses between your thoughts.
Those quiet spaces where just for a moment the mind rests.
With each gentle exhalation,
You might invite those spaces to widen just a little.
There's no effort here,
Only a gentle softening.
You might like to use a quiet phrase as guidance with your breath.
Breathing in,
I find space.
Breathing out,
I let go.
Inhaling,
Space.
Exhaling,
Release.
And if your mind begins to wander,
And it will,
That's okay.
Simply notice it when it happens and come back to what's here and now.
You might reconnect with the feeling of support beneath your body.
You might notice the temperature of the air against your skin.
You might draw your awareness into the feeling of movement in your body as the breath takes its gentle journey in and out.
Rounding down through the sensations of your body,
The feeling of your breath.
Whilst above your mind may continue to move,
Your body remains grounded and steady.
Notice if your mind feels ever so slightly slower now.
Maybe the space between your thoughts is a little wider.
You don't have to chase calm.
Here you're simply allowing it to unfold on its own.
Rest with this for just a few moments,
In this gentle grounded awareness.
And now take a deeper breath in and a long easy breath out.
Feel your connection to the support beneath you.
Steady.
Steady.
And when you're ready to come back,
Start to move again.
Beginning small as you gently wiggle your fingers,
Your toes.
Roll your shoulders.
Move into a stretch if that feels welcome.
And allow your eyes to blink open.
Take a moment to notice how you feel.
Maybe a little easier.
A little calmer.
Maybe a little clearer.
Carry this grounded calm with you as you move into the rest of your day or your evening.
