Welcome to this taking a break from the busyness meditation.
Get comfortable.
Sitting in your chair or lying down.
Close your eyes if you'd like.
Let your eyelids feel so heavy as you gently relax.
In your own time,
Take a long,
Deep,
Full breath in and let the air just fall out of your mouth on the out-breath.
On the next breath,
Try to take it in and out 20% more slowly than ever before.
And on this third breath,
Let your shoulders relax down away from your ears and let your jaw just hang loosely open.
Really feeling into the support of the surface under you.
Not just the main areas of your back or bottom,
But also other little crevices that are being supported.
The back of your legs,
Your arms,
Your heels.
Feel really held and supported.
Let your body and mind really soften on each out-breath a little more each time.
As you're breathing in and breathing out,
Imagine the words soften and let that word come to gentle life throughout your arms,
Your legs,
Your head,
Your neck,
Your torso.
Everything's just letting down,
Letting go,
Softening.
Take a deep breath in and a breath out.
We're taking a break from the busyness of everyday life,
Letting go of what we were just doing before and what we plan to do after.
What would you like to let go of right now?
Let all this just drizzle out,
Drizzle down to the ground,
Into the earth,
Soaking through the building that you're in,
The soil,
The earth,
The rocks,
Away,
Away.
Just be here now.
In your imagination,
Breathe in,
Thinking the word I.
Breathe out,
Am.
Breathe in,
Here.
And breathe out,
Now.
I am here now,
In my body,
In this chair or bed,
In this moment.
Settle in,
Let that land and take some deep breaths.
As you breathe in,
Feel your belly extend out with the in-breath and then sink back down with the out-breath.
Feel your whole torso 360 degrees around,
Widening with that deep breath in,
Shrinking back down with a deep breath out.
And feel the ribs and back expanding and shrinking too.
Take your time exploring this.
Taking this break on your own in a quiet place helps fill your tank back up.
We may be feeling a little tired,
Depleted,
A little overwhelmed,
Perhaps a little unable to make a decision about what's next.
These are all signs of needing to take a break.
And here we are,
So calm in this moment.
Breathing at our own pace,
Taking a much needed break.
It's empowering to be able to recharge ourselves.
And it's so simple,
Breathing in and out.
Check back in with your jaw and shoulders,
Letting them hang loosely down,
Grounding into your seat or the bed.
Let anything that's come into your mind,
And it's normal if it does,
Just flow out,
Down through your body,
And out through your feet into the ground.
Poet Mary Sarton says,
The most valuable thing we can do for the psyche,
Occasionally,
Is to let it rest.
Wander,
Live in the changing light of the room.
Not try to be or do anything.
Whatever.
And that's what we're doing here in this restful pause.
Taking a break from the busyness,
Allowing what is and who we are.
Take a breath in and out,
And feel that breath in your body,
However your body feels it.
How does your body feel now?
Your breath.
Your mind.
Remember this feeling,
And know you created it within yourself,
And you can come back to this space whenever you want.
Enjoy as much time as you need in this moment,
In this calmness.
And when you feel ready,
And really check in when you feel ready,
There's no rush.
You get to make the decision of when to wiggle your fingers or toes.
Perhaps flex your feet and rotate your ankles and wrists.
And slowly,
When you're ready,
Lift those heavy eyelids back open,
And reenter your day more grounded,
More present,
And more regulated.
Thank you for taking the time out to meditate with me today.