In these few minutes together,
We're going to tend to the depths inside.
You can start to settle in here,
Finding a comfortable spot for your body,
Taking some nice mindful breaths,
Not forcing any cadence of deep breathing that doesn't feel good right now,
But just noticing,
How does my body want to breathe in and breathe out?
Is there anything I want to exhale?
And just taking a moment here to let things settle,
Honoring that first movement of slowing down,
Maybe imagining breathing in some spaciousness,
Spaciousness to slow down,
Placing distractions or things on your to-do list,
Almost on an imaginary shelf or in another room,
Knowing they will be there waiting for you after.
But right now,
You get to press pause,
Be present here.
As you continue those nice mindful breaths,
I also invite you to make some sort of contact with your body.
That might be placing a hand over your heart,
Abdomen,
Shoulders,
Neck or back.
Maybe wrapping your arms around your legs,
Placing the palms of your hands over the top of your feet.
Whatever would feel natural and safe and comfortable to really anchor into your body in this moment.
Knowing that you can press pause if you'd like any more time here before we continue on.
Whenever you're ready,
We're going to spend a few moments tuning in with a space inside that might need some care.
So you might imagine this as your body giving you some feedback,
Letting you know,
Hey,
I really need some attunement.
I really need some care.
I really need some tending toward.
Maybe you've explored some parts work and you notice there's a part of you internally.
It's really needing some attunement and care.
Or maybe you're not sure.
You think,
I really don't know,
But I know that I do need some care.
I do need some attunement and tending toward.
Maybe it feels like everything,
All the things,
Need attunement and care.
If you need more time to set an intention for what you'd like to tend toward,
You can feel free to press pause.
Otherwise,
I'd love to invite you to close your eyes if you haven't already.
Letting your mind be curious about how you envision what you'd like to tend toward.
So maybe you imagine a version of yourself that is exhausted.
Noticing,
What's my posture like?
My facial expression?
What are the things that this exhausted me might be saying?
Maybe even imagining asking the version of you that you're envisioning.
What would you like me to know?
What would you like me to see?
Maybe imagining a version of yourself doesn't connect naturally,
And it's more helpful to think about an animal or a cartoon character,
Character from a movie or a TV show.
Really any embodied expression of what you'd like to tend toward.
Even if it feels silly,
Just going with what's coming up naturally.
Letting your mind be curious about that.
Letting your body be curious about that.
And if your mind is not imagining anything,
Or that's not something that naturally happens for you,
You're more than welcome to adapt this through drawing things out,
Writing things out.
Whatever works for you,
You can adapt as needed.
So whenever you have something in mind that represents what you would like to tend toward,
You're going to get curious about what it might look like to offer care.
Maybe you're imagining there's this depth or corner of your being that's just hidden and buried so deep.
You might think about what might it look like to journey there,
To almost bring supplies to care for those depths.
Whether it feels like it's an exhausted or wounded or scared part of you.
Maybe it's simply pain in your body that's screaming needing relief,
Needing to be heard.
In whatever way that works for you,
Thinking about that response.
This movement of not only hearing and seeing,
But responding and moving toward.
Now sometimes this gets complex and it can feel almost like the ways that a wounded animal might scratch or bite back when we come near.
Sometimes it feels like our very own selves respond that way when we try to offer care.
So if that's where you are,
Simply noticing that.
Noticing,
Okay,
What kind of spaciousness might I bring to that?
Breathing into this scenario.
Noticing if it doesn't feel safe yet for me to offer attunement and care to this part of me,
To this depth.
Not trying to force anything.
Simply being present with what is.
And letting that inform how you'd like to move from some of this imagery that we're playing with here to embodying this movement of tending toward.
Maybe that would translate in your life to giving yourself 10 minutes somewhere in your week to simply lie flat on your back.
Either enjoying silence or a favorite song and not having to do anything,
But getting to simply be.
Maybe tending toward would translate in your life right now into letting yourself spend some time outdoors.
Enjoying what's sometimes called forest bathing.
Soaking in some leaves and trees.
Getting away from screens and noise.
All of the to dos and shoulds of life that just come at us like an avalanche.
Maybe tending toward would translate in your life right now as a simple act of caring for your body.
Maybe that's in the form of going to a yoga class.
Enjoying some yoga at home.
Maybe it's even simply giving yourself two extra minutes at the end of a shower to simply be and exhale and not rush yourself into the rest of your day.
Maybe it's spending 30 more seconds enjoying a snuggle or a hug with a loved one or a furry friend.
Maybe it's placing a hand over your heart.
Letting your body and all parts of yourself know that you're here.
And even if we don't have it all together right now,
To figure out how to care for ourselves.
Even if we feel stuck in muscle memory that has us cycling in stress and exhaustion.
One new movement at a time.
We can start to create new muscle memory.
We can start to create something beautiful and new.
Not only in our own selves and our own lives.
But that will inevitably interact with others.
The communities,
The people,
The world around us.
Now if you'd like any more time to be curious about how you might translate this idea,
Kind of this hypothetical of tending toward into real life.
Into your day or your week.
You can press pause here.
Otherwise,
I invite you to close this time with me with some nice mindful breaths.
Imagining taking with you curiosity about ways and spaces and moments where you might tend toward those depths inside that we can so often live disconnected from.
Knowing that as we slow down and tune in with our bodies,
With the whole of who we are,
Honoring the whole of who we are.
Again,
This extends beyond our own selves.
This can extend to how we view others,
How we interact with others.
And the relational rhythms that we get to be part of cultivating and creating with the people around us.
And so as we've done before,
We'll close with three nice deep breaths together.
Inhaling.
And exhaling.
Finding whatever cadence works for you.
Inhaling.
One last time.
Inhaling.
And exhaling.
Thanks for joining me.
