Tonight.
We are going to talk about what it is to carry everything on your shoulders.
You might have a sense of what I am talking about.
You are often.
The one others rely on.
People come to you when there is a problem to solve.
You think about everyone's needs.
Sometimes long before your own.
You tell yourself that if you do not do it,
No one will.
And in the evening.
When everyone is asleep.
It is still you who carries in your head.
The list of what will need to be handled tomorrow.
This starts from a beautiful quality.
You are someone reliable and generous.
And often.
It goes back a long way.
You learn.
Very early.
That you had your place when you made yourself useful.
When you took care of others.
So you got into the habit of carrying.
In time.
You carry things that do not belong to you.
Worries that are those of others.
Tasks that others could do just as well.
Your body for its part.
Keeps the trace of all this.
Shoulders that rise.
Upper back that tightens.
Neck that pulls.
This does not concern everyone in the same way.
And perhaps not you tonight.
If none of this speaks to you.
Keep what is useful and leave the rest.
Tonight.
I am not going to ask you to stop taking care of the people you love.
I am simply going to invite you to set down for a moment what you are carrying.
And to feel what your body becomes when there is nothing left on your shoulders.
I recommend that you practice this meditation for at least 30 consecutive nights.
That is the time needed for your unconscious to absorb the content of this video.
And if you fall asleep during the practice.
Do not worry.
It is completely natural.
Your unconscious is listening even while you sleep.
And keeps on reprogramming itself.
Settle into your bed.
The meditation will begin soon.
To begin,
Let your eyes close.
Quite simply.
And feel the relief of having nothing left to look at tonight.
And now.
Without doing anything in particular.
Let your body sink into the bed.
Feel all its weight surrendering downward.
From the tops of your shoulders to your heels.
As if it were becoming a little heavier with every passing second.
You have nothing to hold.
Nothing to carry.
And the mattress receives everything patiently.
As the body settles.
A gentle warmth begins to rise within you.
Quietly.
From bottom to top.
It starts under the soles of your feet.
Warm and heavy.
And it relaxes your toes.
One by one.
It fills your ankles.
Which loosen.
And reaches your calves.
Which finally give back all they have carried today.
It rises into your knees.
Which are not.
Then into your thighs.
Which become wide and warm.
Your hips open and settle.
The lower part of your back flattens gently and gives its weight back to the mattress.
With each inhale.
Warmth takes up a little more space.
With each exhale,
Your body weighs a little more.
It travels through your belly.
Which loosens.
And your chest.
Which widens with every breath.
Then it reaches your back.
Right at the top.
Between your shoulder blades.
That place that tightens when you're carrying everything for everyone.
The warmth enters there.
Patiently.
Like two warm hands laid flat on the upper part of your back.
And this knot begins to undo itself.
It spreads into your shoulders.
Which drop far from your ears.
As if removing from them a soaked coat they had been wearing for a long time.
It flows down along your arms.
Loosens your elbows.
Makes your forearms heavy.
Releases your wrists.
And fills your hands.
Until your fingers gently fall half open by themselves.
It rises further into your neck.
Which lets itself be supported.
And into your jaw.
Which releases.
This jaw that tightens when you hold fast for others.
Your cheeks soften.
The area around your eyes relaxes.
Your forehead widens and becomes smooth.
With every inhale.
Your body lengthens just a little.
With every exhale.
It sinks in a bit more.
Feel your whole body as one single piece.
It rests on the bed in one solid block.
The legs have let go.
The back has let go.
The shoulders have let go.
Nothing within you is holding anything anymore.
And everything is completely relaxed.
With no burden left to keep.
And in this relaxation.
Allow your unconscious to open.
You give it permission.
And it opens.
And now.
Imagine on your inner screen.
A path that gently climbs along a hillside.
In the golden light.
Of a late summer day.
At that hour when the sun slowly descends.
And stretches the shadows across the grass.
You are on this path.
And you are climbing.
Unhurriedly.
Feeling beneath your feet the dry,
Compacted earth.
Firm and reassuring.
Rising with you.
On each side.
Tall grass ripples softly in a warm breeze that caresses your face.
And smells of hay.
And the end of summer.
While in the distance.
Far below.
A dog barks once and then falls silent.
And the light lays golden patches on your arms with every step.
The path supports you.
And it seems glad to see you climbing.
And yet.
.
.
As you move forward.
You clearly feel that something is weighing on your shoulders.
A large pack.
You have been carrying from the start.
Without even noticing it.
And whose strap presses into the top of your back.
It is heavy.
Heavier than it should be.
And you realize that you are climbing this hill with all that weight.
Just as you move through your days.
Without ever setting it down.
So stop for a moment.
In the middle of the path.
And put the pack down in front of you.
In the grass.
Just long enough to look at what is inside.
Open it gently and look.
It is full of small things.
And each of them has a weight.
Here is the worry you carry for someone you love in their place.
Here is the task no one else wanted to do.
And that you took on once again.
Here is the habit of checking that everyone else is alright before asking yourself how you are.
You recognize them all.
One by one.
And you can clearly see that you chose almost none of them.
They were placed there one day.
And you have been carrying them ever since.
Without questioning it.
Close the pack without judging it.
And put it back on your shoulders one last time.
For the final steps.
The summit is very close now.
And the path flattens beneath your feet.
You reach the top of the hill on a wide plateau of short grass.
Open on all sides to the landscape that drops away into the distance.
Golden.
Peaceful.
Immense.
And there in the middle.
There is a large flat stone at hip height.
Warmed by the sun all day long.
It is a stone that has been receiving the burdens of walkers for a very long time.
Other packs than yours have been set down there for a moment or forever.
And it is there.
Solid and patient.
Exactly for that.
Walk up to it.
And this time.
Set your pack on it for good.
Take your time.
Feel the weight leave your back.
Centimeter by centimeter.
Until the pack rests entirely on the warm stone.
And your hands let it go.
Hear the dull sound it makes as it lands.
A sound that resonates a little in your chest.
And then.
The very gentle silence that follows.
And now.
Stay there.
Standing on the hill.
Your hands empty.
And feel what your body becomes.
Your shoulders lift slightly all by themselves.
Then settle back into their true place.
Broad and far from your ears.
Your back straightens effortlessly.
Her chest opens.
And the air flows in more deeply than before.
All the way down with nothing to stop it.
You feel lighter.
Almost surprised to feel so.
Like when you finally take off shoes that were too tight after a long walk.
Know this well before you go back down.
Setting down this pact does not mean abandoning the people you love.
What you were carrying for them.
They can also carry in their turn.
And what truly belongs to you.
You will be able to pick up again tomorrow.
Lighter.
And this time by choice.
But for tonight.
Everything stays there on the warm stone.
And you have nothing left to hold.
Take one last look at the landscape all around.
This golden light stretching all the way to the distant hills.
And breathe it in deeply.
Like someone who finally has space.
The warm wind passes over the grass.
And over you.
And it carries away a little of the fatigue from the top of your back.
Let this image drift away.
Let the visualization go.
Around you the hill remains,
In the evening light that keeps its gold.
And the wind keeps moving across the grass very gently.
You are lying somewhere in this short grass.
Which keeps the warmth of the day and fits the shape of your back.
And the ground of the hill supports you.
Broad and patient.
As if it had known you forever.
A little further away on the wide flat stone.
Your pack is resting.
And it glows faintly in the evening.
Soothed as well.
Kept warm for you.
In peace.
The golden light stretches across the whole landscape and refuses to fade.
As if the evening had decided to stay gentle for a long while yet.
Far below,
The lights of the houses come on one by one.
Each one watching over its own.
And you can.
Set down your own vigil and rest in your turn.
Path.
Lower down.
Is resting too.
And it will wait quietly for tomorrow morning.
Above the hill the sky opens.
Vast and calm.
And a few stars light up softly.
Place there like small warm lamps that keep watch for you.
The wind carries up to you a scent of hay and warm earth.
And each breath sinks you a little deeper into the grass and into rest.
You have reached the very top.
And the only movement that remains is that of your slow breath.
Rocking you.
Your shoulders.
Free,
Spread out peacefully.
And the upper part of your back yields itself completely against the hillside.
As you slip into sleep.
Something within you quietly continues on its own.
Gathering up this lightness.
This space around you.
This back that is finally breathing.
And turning it.
In the secrecy of the night.
Into a peace that will still be there in the morning.
I let the world keep turning while I rest.
I receive with gratitude the help that is offered to me.
My back relaxes and my chest opens.
I choose lightness at my own pace.
I trust life to carry the rest.
I allow myself to ask as well.
My gentleness begins with myself.
I let my shoulders return to their rightful place.
Tonight.
My unconscious lightens what I was carrying.
I set down what I was carrying for others.
My shoulders are free.
And my back straightens.
I take care of myself as much as I take care of others.
I allow myself to receive as well.
I leave to each person the care of their own life.
I have value for who I am.
Quite simply.
I breathe deeply.
With back and mind light.
My place belongs to me.
Fully.
I choose what I carry.
And what I leave.
I trust others to carry their share.
My help comes from a free and joyful impulse.
I fully grant myself the right to rest.
I deserve to be cared for as well.
Each day my shoulders grow a little lighter.
I keep my energy for what matters to me.
I am present for others and present for myself.
Put down the burden.
And I finally breathe.
My tenderness for myself grows each night.
I let the world keep turning while I rest.
I receive with gratitude the help that is offered to me.
My back relaxes and my chest opens.
I choose lightness at my own pace.
I trust life to carry the rest.
I allow myself to ask as well.
My gentleness begins with myself.
I let my shoulders return to their rightful place.
Tonight.
My unconscious lightens what I was carrying.
I set down what I was carrying for others.
My shoulders are free.
And my back straightens.
I take care of myself as much as I take care of others.
I allow myself to receive as well.
I leave to each person the care of their own life.
I have value for who I am.
Quite simply.
I breathe deeply.
With back and mind light.
My place belongs to me.
Fully.
I choose what I carry.
And what I leave.
I trust others to carry their share.
My help comes from a free and joyful impulse.
I fully grant myself the right to rest.
I deserve to be cared for as well.
Each day my shoulders grow a little lighter.
I keep my energy for what matters to me.
I am present for others and present for myself.
Put down the burden.
And I finally breathe.
My tenderness for myself grows each night.
I let the world keep turning while I rest.
I receive with gratitude the help that is offered to me.
My back relaxes and my chest opens.
I choose lightness at my own pace.
I trust life to carry the rest.
I allow myself to ask as well.
My gentleness begins with myself.
I let my shoulders return to their rightful place.
Tonight.
My unconscious lightens what I was carrying.
I set down what I was carrying for others.
My shoulders are free.
And my back straightens.
I take care of myself as much as I take care of others.
I allow myself to receive as well.
I leave to each person the care of their own life.
I have value for who I am.
Quite simply.
I breathe deeply.
With back and mind light.
My place belongs to me.
Fully.
I choose what I carry.
And what I leave.
I trust others to carry their share.
My help comes from a free and joyful impulse.
I fully grant myself the right to rest.
I deserve to be cared for as well.
Each day my shoulders grow a little lighter.
I keep my energy for what matters to me.
I am present for others and present for myself.
Put down the burden.
And I finally breathe.
My tenderness for myself grows each night.
I let the world keep turning while I rest.
I receive with gratitude the help that is offered to me.
My back relaxes and my chest opens.
I choose lightness at my own pace.
I trust life to carry the rest.
I allow myself to ask as well.
My gentleness begins with myself.
I let my shoulders return to their rightful place.
Tonight.
My unconscious lightens what I was carrying.
I set down what I was carrying for others.
My shoulders are free.
And my back straightens.
I take care of myself as much as I take care of others.
I allow myself to receive as well.
I leave to each person the care of their own life.
I have value for who I am.
Quite simply.
I breathe deeply.
With back and mind light.
My place belongs to me.
Fully.
I choose what I carry.
And what I leave.
I trust others to carry their share.
My help comes from a free and joyful impulse.
I fully grant myself the right to rest.
I deserve to be cared for as well.
Each day my shoulders grow a little lighter.
I keep my energy for what matters to me.
I am present for others and present for myself.
Down the burden.
And I finally breathe.
My tenderness for myself grows each night.
I let the world keep turning while I rest.
I receive with gratitude the help that is offered to me.
My back relaxes and my chest opens.
I choose lightness at my own pace.
I trust life to carry the rest.
I allow myself to ask as well.
My gentleness begins with myself.
I let my shoulders return to their rightful place.
Tonight.
My unconscious lightens what I was carrying.
I set down what I was carrying for others.
My shoulders are free.
And my back straightens.
I take care of myself as much as I take care of others.
I allow myself to receive as well.
I leave to each person the care of their own life.
I have value for who I am.
Quite simply.
I breathe deeply.
With back and mind light.
My place belongs to me.
Fully.
I choose what I carry.
And what I leave.
I trust others to carry their share.
My help comes from a free and joyful impulse.
I fully grant myself the right to rest.
I deserve to be cared for as well.
Each day my shoulders grow a little lighter.
I keep my energy for what matters to me.
I am present for others and present for myself.
Put down the burden.
And I finally breathe.
My tenderness for myself grows each night.
I let the world keep turning while I rest.
I receive with gratitude the help that is offered to me.
My back relaxes and my chest opens.
I choose lightness at my own pace.
I trust life to carry the rest.
I allow myself to ask as well.
My gentleness begins with myself.
I let my shoulders return to their rightful place.
Tonight.
My unconscious lightens what I was carrying.
