So my name is Catherine and I'm going to do a practice on confidence today.
But it's inner confidence.
So just a few things to reflect on before we get settled into our practice.
What does inner confidence look like?
And I know for myself I need to practice this every day.
Especially these days when so much is going on in the world.
And not even that but in our own personal lives we might be being affected by external events or events that are happening within our families or relationships.
Maybe in our jobs,
Where we live.
So there is a lot to deal with these days and life can be very challenging.
But inner confidence has a certain strength to it.
And when we sit with our inner confidence it's very present and it says yes to being fully present.
So definitely there is an art of confidence.
It's quiet,
It's calm,
It's not really caught up in thoughts.
And inner confidence takes on a real physical embodiment.
So you are very much in your body and present.
And that's our goal.
When you work on this strength muscle for a little while.
And I'm not talking about the muscle you use in your arms.
But this resilience,
You become very open and energetic towards life.
And this is only one way to approach it so you can try it if you want.
So take a comfortable seated position now.
And let's try and find confidence in our posture.
And just get yourself settled in and just remember you may not be feeling very confident in this moment.
But I want you to just fake it till you make it.
And remember we are just finding inner confidence in the posture now.
That's all.
It's an expression of confidence.
Create a little bit of vitality in your lower back by bringing the lower back in and up a little bit.
Maybe broaden across your chest and when you take a deep breath in,
Just feel the shoulder joints and maybe from the inside out just allow them to just soften and relax a little bit.
You might have to take a few deep breaths in and out here.
You can close your eyes.
And in this posture,
And notice I'm just saying posture,
There's a quality of strength and confidence there.
So on each exhale the muscles might soften a little bit.
Being aware of the head and the back of the neck.
Maybe just slightly bringing the chin in a little bit and down.
The crown of the head just lengthening up towards the sky or the ceiling.
And yet when you exhale,
There's a heaviness in your sit bones and in your pelvis that makes contact with the cushion or the floor.
So there's a real sturdiness and stability to this posture.
And bringing a little bit of awareness to your left sit bone and your right sit bone,
Just seeing if you can kind of balance the awareness between these two places.
Now,
Gently scan your body from your head,
All the way down towards your legs and your feet.
Where is it the clearest that you feel or you might hold a little bit of confidence and strength?
Might be in your hands.
Might be in your face or in your chest.
Feel a sense of strength in your spine,
Or in your legs maybe even.
Even if it's just in your fingers or in your thumbs,
Just notice that energy,
The quality of confidence,
A little bit of vitality maybe there.
A little bit of sturdiness maybe or strength.
Remember,
We're just looking for small qualities of confidence.
Just allow yourself just to sit with that area,
That quality that embodies a little bit of confidence.
Notice how present you are with it.
This is keeping you grounded in the present moment.
Let that confidence just spread through your body into breathing.
You know,
Just kind of almost visualizing your breath going through this network of channels,
And it's being channeled through the breathing.
That tiny little bit of confidence now spreading into your breath and spreading all the way through your body.
A confidence of being here with each breath.
Now remember to just relax and soften on each exhale.
We soften also we soften mentally,
We soften mentally towards ourselves,
And we soften in our thoughts too.
Just allow a sense of openness and courage.
Just letting your thinking mind be quiet.
Letting that inner confidence or maybe even inner strength.
Just be present with whatever is arising.
And of course whatever is arising might be what's causing you fear,
Lack of confidence.
But allow yourself just to focus on the parts of you now that still feel a sense of some peacefulness.
Some calm or stillness.
See we often perceive confidence in a certain way in our head.
But actually,
We can have a calm confidence.
We can have a very still confidence.
We can have a sense of peaceful confidence.
And that's not always associated with confidence or courage.
Confidence can take on quietness also,
And being with ourselves.
And don't let that energy of strength to kind of override the peacefulness settle in and let go.
Let that inner confidence just shift into this inner peacefulness,
Stillness.
No matter how small you're feeling it.
Even it's only in a certain place in your body or certain moment that you grasp that quietness and stillness.
Know that you can still always come back to that with your breath.
And now what we're doing here is we're saying a gentle yes to mindfulness that can be infused with calmness and peacefulness.
Now I want you to just bring your attention to your heart.
Not just the physiological heart but the heart center where we feel many deep emotions.
And as you soften there with your breath.
Just bring a sense of compassion towards yourself.
Maybe just saying this inner mantra towards yourself.
May I learn tools and techniques to help me overcome this and become more resilient in my life.
And let that focus just shift out into the world and just kindly look at the world in a compassionate way.
Notice that ability that we can move beyond fear,
And you may have to return to this practice of showing yourself compassion and the outside world compassion again and again.
Bring a sense of appreciation towards yourself to now in this moment.
Sense of appreciation of all that you've endured.
All that you've put up with.
And yet there's an inner confidence here with you while you stay present.
Let's take a few moments just to sit with our breath.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
