Welcome,
You made it to the end of the day,
Whatever today held,
However it went,
You are here now and here is enough.
Find a comfortable position,
If you are lying down,
Let your body sink a little into the surface beneath you,
If you are sitting,
Let your shoulders drop,
Let your hands rest somewhere easy,
And gently,
When you are ready,
Let your eyes close,
There is nothing you need to do now,
Nothing to solve,
Nothing to plan,
Nothing to figure out,
Whatever is unfinished can wait until tomorrow,
It will still be there,
But right now,
In this moment,
This time is yours.
Let's begin with the breath,
Not controlling it,
Just noticing it,
Just letting it be there,
Your natural rhythm,
Noticing your inhale,
Noticing your exhale and the pauses in between.
Take a slow breath in through your nose,
And a long,
Soft breath out through your mouth,
Like a quiet sigh,
Like putting something down.
Again,
Breathing in slowly,
And breathing all the way out.
One more time,
A long breath in,
And a slow,
Easy breath out.
And now,
Just let the breath find its own rhythm,
No effort,
No control,
Just the natural rise and fall of your body breathing itself.
And if your mind wanders,
And it might,
That's okay,
Just notice and come gently back to the breath,
All the sound of my voice,
No frustration,
No judgement,
Just a quiet return,
Again and again,
As many times as you need.
Bring your attention to your body for a moment,
Notice where perhaps you might still be holding a little tension,
Maybe in your forehead,
Your jaw,
Your shoulders,
Or your chest.
And with your next breath out,
See if you can just let it soften,
Just a little,
Trying to make yourself 5 or 10% more comfortable.
You don't have to release everything at once,
Just one small letting go.
Bringing your attention to your hands,
Let them go heavy and still.
And then your legs and your feet,
Feel the weight of them sinking downwards.
And your whole body now,
Heavy,
Warm,
Held by whatever is beneath you.
You don't have to hold yourself up anymore,
You can just rest.
I'd like to offer you an image,
And if it doesn't quite land for you,
Just let the words wash over you.
There's no right or wrong way to receive this.
Imagine a pool of still water,
Quiet and dark and perfectly calm.
No wind,
No ripples,
Just stillness on the surface and a deep,
Soft darkness below.
This is what the end of the day can feel like when we let it,
When we give ourselves permission to stop.
With every breath out,
Imagine the surface of that water becoming a little more still,
A little more settled.
And if any thoughts drift in,
Which they might,
Just let them float across the surface,
Like leaves on water.
You don't need to follow them,
You don't need to push them away,
Just let them drift.
And come back to the stillness,
The quiet surface,
The soft dark below.
You are allowed to be still.
You are allowed to be quiet.
You have earned this rest.
Before I leave you to rest,
I want to say something.
Whatever today held,
The hard parts,
And the ordinary parts,
And everything in between,
You showed up,
You got through it.
And now you get to put it down.
Tomorrow can take care of itself.
Tonight,
There is just this,
Your breath,
Your body,
This moment of quiet that belongs entirely to you.
Let your breath slow a little more.
Let your body grow heavier.
Allow the stillness to hold you.
You are safe.
You are held.
And you are allowed to rest.
Good night.
