So we will begin by returning to a natural rhythm after those few first breaths that are a bit deeper,
Finding a comfortable place for the breath.
I gently invite you to settle into your body,
Settle into being in this space amongst friends who are here to support each other in our practice.
For today's practice,
I'd like to set two anchors,
Two areas that we can return to at any moment if we're finding that we're getting into our head in a way that's uncomfortable.
The first anchor being the breath.
So let's take a moment to spend some time noticing where we feel most comfortable feeling the presence of the breath.
This may be at the belly where we feel the breath entering deeply into our bodies,
Noticing how it comes all the way deep into our abdomen and settling where we're sitting before it gets again released naturally into our surroundings.
Or this may be in the rise and fall of our shoulders,
Noticing the breath as it manifests in other parts of our bodies that aren't necessarily the lungs or the places where we naturally turn to when we think of breath,
But more on the external surfaces,
The feel of our shoulders or elbows,
Maybe our upper lip,
The places where the breath is sort of tangential,
It's on the outside of where we most normally feel it the strongest,
That of the lungs and the nostrils,
Becoming present to how the breath can be very subtle.
Now I invite you to use the second anchor of our hands,
Noticing the sensations in our fingertips and also clasping one hand in the other and feeling the comforting sensation of being held.
When I go into thoughts,
Sometimes in meditation,
I find that using the hands as an anchor,
For me,
Can be a more comforting source of returning to that sense of being held,
Being supported,
The warmth of one hand being held by the other and knowing that I can return to this,
This comfort that's always with me and that I'm always able to feel my fingertips,
Feel the hands holding each other.
If I start to feel unsettled,
I can return to this as an anchor.
So now that we've become present to two separate anchors that we can turn to,
I'd like to turn into our thoughts.
Notice what is arising for you in this moment.
What emotions or feelings are wanting to be heard and felt?
What have you been pushing down deep into your heart space that you're now willing to open to?
Breathe into these emotions and relax your body as you do so,
Noticing if you're holding tension in your face or in your eyes,
In your throat or in your chest,
Giving yourself the permission in the room to allow what arises to arise,
Noticing your hands or your breath there to comfort you and hold you in this space.
As you watch the thoughts arise to your mind,
Allowing what needs to be heard to be heard,
And then as gently as you allow them to arise,
Allowing them to pass as well.
I see these thoughts in my mind as clouds,
Watching them come,
Becoming curious to their shape,
Their density,
The lightness or the heaviness of them,
And then watching them pass as seamlessly as they entered my mind space.
Notice what your body and your mind and your heart are calling for to arise.
Just watch how you approach the feelings.
If you notice any resistance,
Invite some compassion in for yourself,
Noticing where you need support in this practice,
Making room for the healing and for that love to show up in your practice for yourself.
In the meta-visualization practice that I have led us all through in the past,
What it looks like is visualizing yourself as either a child that needs comforting or in your current form and offering yourself in your mind phrases of love or comfort.
It can be in the first person or in the third person.
It is okay or I am okay.
I offer you love or may you be happy.
Whatever phrase of comfort you find to be most natural,
Allowing whatever arises to arise,
Becoming present to the emotions,
To the feelings,
To the thoughts,
To the sensations in your body.
Now in this visualization component of this practice,
I invite you to bring in those who support you into your mind.
It can be your ancestors,
Healers,
Loved ones,
Family members and others.
Feel their presence surrounding you and supporting you in the practice of becoming in tune with your emotions and your felt experience of these emotions.
You may feel this as the presence of images of these beings or as the felt energy of them through the warmth,
The presence of light that you feel on your skin or through the lightness of your eyes as you keep them lightly closed.
However you feel the presence and the energy of those who are supporting you,
The earth that is supporting you at your feet,
The sun that's casting light on your face and on your eyes,
Breathe into the energy that's surrounding you.
Notice if there's resistance to offering support and love to yourself.
And when you feel that resistance,
Breathe.
Breathe into that space,
Allowing all who are in your circle and outside of your circle to enter.
Now bring your awareness back to your breath,
Drawing a few deep breaths,
Drawing the breath deeply down into your abdomen and your pelvis,
Feeling yourself being supported by your sit bones,
By your legs,
By the feet and the ground that's supporting your feet,
Noticing the earth supporting us in this practice,
Coming back from our thoughts to the presence of our hands and the breath and the body,
Breathing into the comfort of our hands,
Bringing ourselves back to this space and offering some gratitude for ourselves for making the space and the time for practice.
When you hear the bell chime,
I invite you to stay seated until you hear the end of the chime and then roll your shoulders and feel your body however it is.
It feels most natural to feel the body and gently return back to our call.
