Taking a moment to arrive in your seat,
Feeling the weight of your body as it makes contact and is held here.
Ensuring that you have a comfortable position and posture of the body,
Perhaps rolling the shoulders up back and down here,
Allowing the shoulders to sink deeper and allowing for any tension in the body to release.
Taking a moment here to notice your feet on the floor,
Grounding here.
Taking this moment now to start engaging in our mindful breathing,
Choosing a technique that resonates with you best or perhaps trying out the equal breathing technique,
Which is breathing in and exhaling out for the same count.
So perhaps you're breathing in for a count of four and exhaling for a count of four.
You can use a word somewhat like a mantra to help you on each side of the inhale and exhale,
Such as choosing a word like peace or ease.
As you mention this word in your mind,
Peace breathing in and peace breathing out.
Choosing to count in and out or to choose a word for this inhale and exhale.
Practicing your mindful breathing of equal breathing here now.
Noticing if the mind is wandering just with the gentleness and a kindness coming back to your breathing.
Keeping the mouth closed,
If you are practicing the equal breathing,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.
Starting to notice the effect of this mindful breathing on your body.
Continuing here.
Allowing the breath to really support you here as you ground into your experience and into your body,
Knowing that there is nowhere else that you need to be.
Just breathing here and allowing the body to return into a calm state.
And as you breathe here,
Noticing any sensations in the body.
Is there a tightening or a tension?
Is there a fluttering,
A lightness,
An expansiveness?
Is there a swooping sensation or a tingling?
Just noticing anything that's coming up in the body here.
And placing the awareness now on any sensation and noticing if there is an emotion connected into this sensation.
What is this feeling perhaps telling you about your emotional state?
Naming the emotion here now.
Perhaps there is a tightening in the stomach that might feel like anxiety.
Is there a tingling in the chest?
Perhaps excitement.
Is there tension in the jaw?
Perhaps anger.
Just sensing into any sensations and their connection to a feeling,
If any are coming up now.
Noticing what's here and naming the emotion.
Staying with it for a few cycles of breath and as you stay with this emotion allowing for some softening,
Some acceptance and some allowing of this emotion in your experience.
Instead of trying to push it away or move through it to the next.
As you notice and name the emotion,
Can you soften into being with it for a few breaths?
Really be in the space of accepting and allowing it to be here no matter how challenging or perhaps light it may be.
And as you stay with an emotion for a few cycles of breath,
Noticing if it moves through you and perhaps another emotion comes to the surface.
Breathing into this emotion now.
Perhaps it's a similar one to before or perhaps it's different.
Can you name the emotion that's here?
Really softening into accepting and allowing it to be part of your human experience right now.
Placing a hand at the heart or the stomach or both if that's helpful and comforting for you.
I'm taking a few cycles of breath with the emotion that's here now.
Getting curious around it,
Finding the emotion and the name that fits just right.
Breathing into it.
Softening and allowing.
As you stay with an emotion for a few cycles of breath,
Noticing as it moves through you,
This acceptance and softening,
This allowing,
Allows for the emotion to run its course and move through our body and our being instead of resisting it,
Ignoring it and it becoming somewhat stuck or becoming larger than it once was.
Noticing the emotion,
Softening in,
Allowing it to move through.
Practicing your mindful breathing here again as you are complete in noticing emotions,
Taking all the time that you need.
If it was equal breathing that you are practicing,
Coming back to you breathing in for your count of four or whichever count you are going with or coming back to your word for the inhalation and the exhalation.
Taking a few rounds here of your mindful breathing.
And as you come to an end in this practice,
As we worked through emotions that were in our experience,
Perhaps asking yourself what you need right now.
If there were any feelings that brought up something that you were needing.
Taking information from this practice with you into the rest of your day as you provide anything that you may need.
Whether that be a moment of self-care such as a bath or stepping outside to breathe some fresh air or perhaps a hug from a loved one or journaling out.
Maybe it's getting some exercise or cooking a comforting meal.
Allowing this practice to move with you into the rest of your day and continuing your mindful breathing whenever you may need it today and for your days ahead.
