And just find a comfortable seated position,
One that allows you to feel supported,
To feel held.
And start by taking a deep breath in and out.
And see if you can get a sense that you're being held.
You're being supported by the chair or the cushion,
Which is held up by the floor and held by the building and supported by the earth.
See if you can notice all those contact points,
All those levels of support.
And if you can,
Turn inward,
Meaning that you start to be curious about your body and notice without trying to change anything.
Imagine you're experiencing yourself for the first time,
Becoming aware of any strong sensations,
Some strong thoughts,
And just keep your breath very long on the exhale.
And see if you can tune in to what's more subtle,
The subtle sensations of the body.
Typically,
These can be contact points between you and the couch or you and the chair,
Your feet on the floor,
The temperature of the air on your skin,
Any smells,
Fragrances in the room.
And then with just noticing without trying to change anything.
And maybe there's some sensations that are pleasant.
If that feels too unreachable,
Maybe there's something that feels neutral,
Allowing yourself to become aware of those,
Those sensations.
If you find yourself drifting in thought,
Just gently bring yourself back.
No need to sledgehammer our way back to the breath,
To the body.
It's natural to be carried away in thought.
It can be helpful to just label it,
Oh,
That's a thought,
And let it drift away.
And I wanna encourage you to bring to mind an experience that feels joyful.
The experience can be something from childhood,
Something that happened recently,
Something that maybe just brings a smile to your face,
Something that makes you laugh.
It could be a funny person or an interesting situation that you found funny,
A coincidence.
Allow yourself to be there in your mind.
Who are the people?
What does the space look like?
What are the sensations?
Really try to be there for just a moment.
Again,
If this feels unreachable,
Start with something that just feels lighter.
Maybe it's a memory or an experience that's all right,
It's neutral.
As long as we're able to be with it,
It's all that matters.
We're just trying to be with ourselves right now.
And again,
Noticing what these memories and experiences do in our body.
Has anything shifted as we brought these experiences to memory?
See if there's any shifts,
Even subtle ones.
And just take another deep breath in and out.
And just say thank you to that experience.
Send it appreciation.
Send it acknowledgement.
It was meaningful for you.
It was impactful for you.
Again,
Going back through the body,
Noticing if anything shifted while we were being with something joyful,
While we were being with something neutral.
Have we softened,
Even just slightly?
And just take a few more deep breaths in and out.
And before we end this meditation,
Just becoming aware of the space again.
Maybe you wiggle your arms.
You start to shift in your chair.
Move your feet up and down.
Helping us transition back,
Back into the real world.
Back into the moment.
Knowing that we can come back here at any time if we need it today.
We can come back to this.
And we can also bring a little bit of this into our day.
We can drop a little bit of the reactivity and invite more of a pause.
Okay,
So take one more deep breath in and out.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
