Hey,
I'm glad you're here.
Whatever you're feeling right now,
Whatever is moving through you,
You're safe.
And I'm right here with you.
You don't need to fight what you're feeling.
You don't need to make it stop.
All you need to do right now is stay with me.
This feeling,
As intense as it may be,
It's temporary.
It will pass,
It always does.
And together,
We are going to move through it,
Gently.
Start by finding somewhere to sit or lie down if you can.
If you're already there,
That's perfect.
Let your body be supported by whatever is beneath you.
You don't need to close your eyes yet.
If that doesn't feel safe,
Just soften your gaze.
Let your eyes rest somewhere,
Low and still.
Let's start with just one breath together.
Just one.
Take a slow breath in through your nose,
As deep as feels comfortable right now,
Feeling your lungs gently.
And now a long slow breath out through your mouth,
Letting it all go,
Longer than the breath in.
Just that.
Beautiful.
You did that.
Let's do it one more.
In through your nose,
Slowly filling up,
And a long breath out,
Releasing,
Good.
With every breath out,
Your nervous system is beginning to settle.
Your body knows exactly how to do this.
It just needs a little reminder.
One more time.
Breathing in,
Out,
Slowly and completely.
That's it.
You're already doing it.
You're already coming back to yourself.
Now I'm going to guide you through something simple that will bring you fully to your body and to this present moment.
It's called grounding.
And all you need to do is look,
Listen and feel.
Nothing more than that.
Start by looking around you,
Wherever you are right now,
And find 5 things you can see.
They can be anything at all,
A wall,
A window,
A piece of furniture,
A color,
A shadow,
Anything.
Anything your eyes can rest on.
Find the first thing,
Look at it gently,
Notice its shape,
Its color,
Its edges.
Find a second thing and take a moment to really see it.
A third thing,
Somewhere else in the room or outside if you can see out.
A fourth,
Perhaps something smaller this time,
Something you might usually overlook.
And a fifth.
Five things you can see.
You are here.
You are present.
This room is real.
This moment is real.
Now bring your awareness to your sense of touch.
Find 4 things you can feel right now.
Perhaps the texture of the surface beneath your hands,
Rough or smooth,
Warm or cool.
The weight of your clothes against your skin,
The fabric against your arms or legs.
The feeling of your feet on a floor or your back against a chair or mattress.
And something else,
Perhaps the air on your face or your fingers touching each other.
Imagine 4 points of contact,
4 reminders that you are here in your body,
In this moment.
Close your eyes now if that feels comfortable.
And just listen.
Find 3 things you can hear.
They might be close or far away.
Perhaps sound inside the room,
Hum,
Creak,
Your own breath.
A sound from further away,
Outside or in the other room.
And a third sound,
Perhaps the quietest,
One you can find,
Really listen for it.
Three sounds.
The world around you is calm and ordinary.
You are safe within it.
Now,
Gently,
2 things you can smell.
Take a soft breath in through your nose.
It might be something very subtle,
The air,
Fabric,
Something familiar in the room.
And perhaps second or simply stay with the first,
There is no wrong answer here.
Your senses are working perfectly,
Your body is here,
You are grounded.
And finally,
One thing you can taste,
Even just the inside of your mouth,
The lingering taste of a drink or simply your own breath.
One thing.
Just one.
And that's enough.
Take a moment to notice how you feel right now,
Compared to when we started.
You are here,
Fully here,
In this room,
In this body,
In this moment.
The wave has begun to pass.
This is what your body knows how to do.
It knows how to come back.
It knows how to find stillness.
And you just helped it do exactly that.
Take another slow breath in and a long breath out.
Feel your body a little heavier,
A little softer,
A little more at ease.
You are not broken.
You are not weak.
What you experienced or what you were afraid of experiencing is simply your nervous system asking for care.
And you gave it exactly that.
You showed up for yourself today.
Allow yourself to simply rest here for a moment,
Eyes closed,
Body soft,
Breathing easy.
You are safe.
You are loved.
And you are so much stronger than you know.
Whenever you feel these waves come again,
You know what to do.
Come back here.
Come back to your senses.
Come back to your breath.
Come back to this moment.
That is always enough.
We are going to gently start coming back now.
Take a slightly deeper breath in and let it out slowly.
Gently begin to notice the room around you again,
The sounds,
The light.
Gently begin to move your fingers and toes,
Roll your shoulders softly if that feels good.
When you are ready,
In your own time open your eyes.
Take a moment before you stand.
Sit with yourself.
You did something beautiful today.
You choose to care for yourself in a moment that felt hard.
That is courage.
You can return to this practice anytime you need it.
It will always be here.
And so will you.
Take good care of yourself.
Until next time.
