Welcome into this practice as you make your way in and begin to prepare for your practice to make space for your grieving parts.
You might consider the ways that grief can soften you,
Can teach you,
Can expand you if you choose not to resist the intensity of its presence.
So letting go of the stories about what you're feeling,
Letting go of any judgments,
Beliefs,
Shame,
Just coming into the fullness of whatever is presenting itself to you right here and right now.
Moving into a space of openness and curiosity for what is present in your body,
So feeling and sensing into what's present,
Whether there's any aches and pains,
Any tension,
Any tightness,
Where you feel relaxed and what that feels like in the body.
It's interesting,
We grow up and we are taught what sadness is and what anger is but we are not taught how to feel because feeling is sensation,
Feelings are sensations in the body.
That's how they manifest and so we're taught to label,
We're not taught to feel,
So just feeling into your body now by noticing any sensations present in the physical body and while you're scanning,
Just releasing tension,
Stiffness,
Contraction and holding so that you're creating space with your attention up above,
Receiving any support from the spiritual realm,
The ancestors,
Just making that connection,
Remembering that connection.
You may be carrying grief from your lineage,
From your ancestors,
Many of us are,
So tune into and feel any grief that may be unresolved here and just notice.
Stretching the back of your neck,
Lengthening,
Creating some space,
Feeling the crown of your head stretch up,
Reaching toward the cosmos,
Extending that connection physically with your body and then finding space between your head and your shoulders,
Between your chest and your abdomen,
Between your hips and your legs,
Space between your calves and your ankles,
Your ankles and your feet,
Really rooting down,
Finding stability,
Letting there be space and room between each part of you,
Creating space,
Remembering space.
Tune in for a minute and listen to the sound of your breath,
It's whisper moving in and throughout your body.
Just listen and breathe,
Feel and sense the breath moving through your body,
Bringing your awareness down toward the ground,
Toward the root,
Your roots,
Your feet,
Parts of you most closely connected to the earth,
Greeting the earth,
Reintroducing yourself,
Feeling the earth's steadiness and taking refuge and being held here,
Being connected to the all around you,
No matter what surface you're on right now or how far you actually are from the ground,
You might be a few floors up,
Maybe you're on a bed,
Maybe you're actually touching dirt or grass,
Whatever the material you are resting on is made of earth,
So rest knowing you are connected,
You are held.
Now starting from the crown of your head,
Breathe in and out with a steady rhythm of your choosing,
But if you're feeling a lot of tense energy that needs to move,
Let your breath be faster,
Releasing,
Cleansing,
Focusing on steady circular breaths.
If you're feeling particularly tender right now,
Maybe you need a slower,
Softer breathing cycle,
Slow,
Focused,
Nourishing and steady.
Let your body lead the pace of your breath while you focus on keeping it moving in a steady circular manner,
So allowing it to be smooth and steady,
So feeling and sensing what might be present here.
At the crown of your head,
Breathing into the top of your head and out the top,
Breathing in,
Receiving,
Breathing out,
Let go.
Two more times,
Feeling and sensing what's present here,
Tuning into the subtlety of the breath and the way that it moves energy in and out of your body.
Your forehead,
Breathing in through the front of the forehead and out,
Watching your breath soften.
Your jaw,
Breathing in and out,
Letting the breath release any tension here,
Any holding.
Your throat,
In and out,
In and out.
Two times,
Slow,
Steady or fast and rapid,
Whatever your body's calling for,
Just making it smooth and steady.
Your neck and your shoulders,
Breathing in,
Receiving,
Breathing out,
Letting go.
One-to-one breath,
Even breath in,
Even breath out,
Tamo Riti.
Now watch as your breath teaches you how to move with cycles,
Beginning with cycles ending and then beginning again.
Into your heart now,
Breathing into the space with all of the love that you can muster.
And letting go,
No resistance,
No clinging.
Love never leaves,
It never ends.
Love is omnipresent.
It's our emotions that shift,
That change.
It's our attachments and ideas of love that change.
So rest here a moment in the steadiness of love.
Love is the reason why grief even exists.
It's all love,
Breathing steady,
Remembering to complete each cycle of breath.
And bringing attention to the space around and in your lungs.
In traditional Chinese medicine,
The lungs are associated with grief.
So tuning into any lingering sadness or grief here,
Being with it all,
Breathing with it all.
Steady breath in,
Steady breath out,
Honoring,
Accepting,
Feeling.
What sensations do you notice here in the lung space?
And you're breathing in this way,
You're using your whole body,
Even if you're not moving your whole body.
So really focus all of your attention on your steadiness of your breath,
Moving in and out of these different parts of your body.
This is the transmutation.
So be with it all and then move with it all.
Steadiness,
Cycles,
Completion,
Beginning.
If you're feeling any emotions come up right now,
You might need to rock yourself.
To sway,
To hold yourself,
Maybe give yourself a tight or a loose hug.
Feeling into any ways that your body needs to be supported right now.
Whatever it is you need to feel supported and feeling the depths of the emotions present in your body right now,
You have full permission.
If tears are coming,
Let them.
If sounds are arising,
Sound them.
My favorite way to be with grief is to allow it to soften me and then to dance with it,
To cradle it,
To smell it,
And notice the texture of it.
To rock it like a baby,
To let it rock me,
Move with it,
Let it move you.
Let it move you.
We know that we cannot control what causes this grief in this life.
We don't choose these experiences,
They choose us.
So how can you honor being chosen in whatever way feels right for you and surrender,
Let go.
This is love expressing and moving through you.
Let love in,
Let love move in through and as you.
Feel the depths of it,
Don't shy away.
Remember you are deeply supported and you have everything you need.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Feeling and sensing the breath moving in,
Moving out.
Notice what's happening in your body as your breath begins,
Travels,
Journeys,
Ends,
And begins again.
Notice if there's any tension in your stomach and gut area.
Being with this part of you now,
This portal of power,
This energy center of strength,
Of creativity.
Notice the ways the breath can support letting go of any tightness or holding,
Any contraction.
Any contraction,
Just breathe,
Softening this place of power,
This place of strength.
And now I invite you for this part of the practice to breathe like waves crashing on the shore and joining the vastness of the ocean over and over again.
We're going to take a steady and rapid pace.
Breathing with grief,
Moving with grief,
Really transmuting this energy,
Allowing it to be liberated from your body.
Any energy that wants to be liberated,
Let it.
30 more seconds.
Breathing like your life depends on it.
Breathing like your love depends on it.
Love grief with every bit of breath you can muster.
Crying it out,
Sounding it out,
Shake it out,
Yell it out if you need to.
And 10 more breaths.
You got this.
Ah Last breath,
Holding at the top,
Holding,
Holding,
Holding,
Squeezing,
Releasing,
Contracting every muscle in your body and now letting go.
Relax,
Release,
Liberate.
Now rest here in this nourishing,
Resonant,
Cleansed spaciousness that you've just created.
How beautiful it is to rest in this place and enjoy.
Noticing any tingling sensations in the body.
Maybe the temperature in your body has changed.
Where do you feel coolness?
Where do you feel heat?
Locating any tingling or buzzing sensations.
Notice where you feel more spacious.
Notice if you notice any tightness or tension still present.
Just be with the body.
Be with it all.
Now an invitation to place your hands on your heart.
Tapping,
Holding,
Rubbing the space in your body that creates the experience of love in your reality.
The reason you feel so deeply connected.
We grieve because we are connected.
Remember that.
Remember the connections.
Remember joy,
Laughter,
Hugs,
Cries.
Remember tension and strife.
Remember the meals shared,
The calls,
The walks,
The texts.
Remember the moments of transition.
The moments that you wanted to last forever.
Just remember your body remembers.
So take a moment of gratitude for the love that you are,
The love that you feel.
This is a completion of the cycle of grief.
It's a return to love.
May you move with the winds of change with ease.
May you embrace and savor and enjoy the cycles,
The moments fleeting though they might be.
Do not waste a moment of them clinging or resisting.
Staring up at the sky and noticing the clouds and the way they shift and change with every passing moment is a beautiful reminder of the ways that we can be with cycles.
So just be in the moment with life as it is.
I wish you a lifetime of beautiful moments and of beautiful cycles and a lifetime of dancing with grief.
Thank you for activating your inner magic with me today.
Be well.
