Hey friends,
Welcome back.
Just honoring you as we move into day four and for showing up for yourself,
Whether this started as your first time reoccurring meditation or if this is somewhere along your practice,
I am so grateful to be sharing it with you.
So let's ground ourselves in today's practice with a big inhale through the nose as deep as you can.
Really bring in all of that air,
Hold it at the top,
Maybe one more sip and let it out maybe with an audible sigh and let those shoulders really come down.
Welcome.
This is day four of our wintering and today may offer you as a permission slip to let it be unfinished.
For so many of us,
Unfinished feels scary because unfinished can trigger a story of failure,
Of not doing enough,
Of judgment,
Of losing momentum,
But here's what I'd like to offer.
Unfinished doesn't mean unworthy,
It just means we're human and in winter,
Unfinished is completely natural.
Trees don't compete in winter,
They conserve,
Pause,
Hold.
So if your life feels a bit incomplete right now,
You aren't doing anything wrong.
So today we are going to release the pressure to be perfect,
To have everything in its row and all the ducks in the right places.
Because although these standards aren't bad,
That perfectionism can often be disguised as a form of protection,
At least that's what I found in my own story.
Perfection told me if I do it perfectly,
I'll be safe,
I'll be loved,
I won't get criticized.
And I want to say this gently,
You don't need perfection to be safe.
You need presence,
Care,
Truth.
And the best part about all of those things are those are things that you can give yourself.
Let's practice together.
We're going to place one hand on our chest and I'd like you to take the other hand and place it on your belly.
And before we deepen our breath,
Just notice what does it feel like to just let your belly go?
As humans,
We often want to suck in as often as we can.
Just notice.
And on our next inhale,
I'd like you to deepen it all the way into your belly.
And as we do so,
I want you to bring to mind something unfinished.
Many practices are going to tell you to push these things out of your head and often that is such a beautiful practice,
But for today,
For today,
I want you to bring just one thing.
Maybe it's a project,
A message you haven't sent,
A choice you haven't made,
A routine you should be doing.
If you're listening to this around the time that I'm creating it,
It's the beginning of the new calendar year and there are a lot of shoulds in our lives.
So I'd like you to just choose something,
One thing that feels unfinished.
And now notice what your inner voice is saying about it as you bring it to your head.
Is it completely taking you out of this practice?
Is it urgent,
Telling you it has to get done now?
Is it harsh?
How could you not finish that yet?
Is it shaming?
None of these are wrong.
And don't fight that voice,
Just notice.
And today's practice is softening the grip of that inner voice.
And so on our next inhale,
I'd like you to repeat this with your hand on your heart.
And as you breathe in deep into your belly,
I release the need to finish everything right now.
And on our next inhale,
We're going to say it again,
I release the need to finish everything right now.
That's it.
We're going to take a couple of deep breaths together to really let that land.
So on your next exhale,
Let it all out,
Every single breath of air that you can let it out.
And together we're going to breathe in for four,
Hold for four,
Out for four,
And hold for four.
Oftentimes,
This is called box breathing,
And it can help regulate when we're letting something land.
So our next inhale for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Hold for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And out.
Three,
Two,
One,
Hold,
Three,
Two,
One,
Great.
Keep that box breathing going.
As you remember the words,
I release the need to finish everything right now.
See,
In winter,
There is so much that we can tell ourselves that has to get done.
And so what if we just reframed it?
Maybe instead of realizing that we need to send 10 messages,
We just send one.
Maybe instead of working out for 60 minutes,
We just work out for five.
Maybe instead of clearing the whole house,
We work on the pantry.
So as you continue your box breathing and realizing that you're releasing the need to finish everything right now,
Bring one small doable action to mind,
Or one intentional restful action you can take that would bring you relief.
Let it be small,
Winter-sized,
And let that be your intention.
Five minutes,
One part of the house,
Whatever that one small thing is,
Or maybe it's intentionally putting your phone down for five minutes,
Just sitting.
Now we're going to bring our breath back to normal if you haven't already,
Just in our nose and out our mouth,
And going to end our practice with a couple of reflections,
Things you can journal on or bring throughout the rest of your day as you remain curious.
The first is,
What am I afraid would happen if I let it stay unfinished?
Or maybe who taught me that completion equals birth?
Choose one or both,
But there may be emotion that shows up as you do,
Sadness,
Anger,
Grief,
Relief.
Let it be welcome,
Because when you stop performing perfection,
The truth in your body is set to rise.
Beautiful,
And as we close our practice today and you bring some movement to your fingers and your toes,
A reminder that it's okay for it to be unfinished.
Tomorrow we enter the latter half of our time together in day five,
And we'll focus on softening that inner push when the pressure voice gets really loud and your body wants to sprint and what we can do in this season of slow.
I'm so grateful for your mind,
Your body,
And your soul for showing up today,
And until tomorrow,
Be gentle.
