Find a comfortable position,
Seated or lying down.
Let your body arrive.
Let your breath arrive and let your mind arrive gently right here.
Allow your shoulders to soften.
Let the jaw unclench.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through the nose and a long,
Easy exhale out the mouth.
Let your whole system begin to unwind.
Bring your attention to the natural movement of your breath.
Inhale expanding gently.
Exhale,
Releasing,
Softening,
Letting go.
There is nothing you have to fix.
Nothing you have to manage.
Just allow your breath to move at its own pace.
Each exhale,
A small invitation to soften,
To melt,
To release what you're carrying.
Bring awareness to the forehead.
Let the space between the eyebrows widen.
Let the temples soften.
Sit.
Feel the breath move down the face,
Relaxing the jaw,
The tongue,
The throat.
Feel the weight of the shoulders drop a little more.
Move your awareness to the chest.
Notice any tightness or holding.
As you exhale,
Imagine space opening across the heart.
Let the breath travel to the belly.
If you're holding tension here,
No need to push it away.
Just breathe around it,
Giving it room.
Bring awareness to the hips,
The thighs,
The knees.
Let the legs grow heavy,
Supported,
Grounded.
Move down through the calves,
The ankles,
And into the soles of the feet.
Imagine all the stress that doesn't belong to you flowing out through the bottoms of your feet,
Released into the earth.
Imagine you're standing beside a calm,
Clear river.
The air is gentle.
The water is slow.
You feel safe here,
Supported by the steady presence of nature.
Beside you is a small basket.
Inside the basket,
Place one thing you're ready to release today.
A thought,
A worry,
A pressure,
A story.
There's no right or wrong.
Let your body choose,
Not your mind.
Place it gently inside the basket.
Then imagine placing the basket on the surface of the water.
Watch as the river carries it away,
Slowly,
Peacefully,
Without effort.
You haven't lost anything.
You've simply created space.
Take a slow breath in and a long,
Complete breath out as the river continues to carry your burdens downstream.
Bring your awareness back to your body,
The presence of your breath,
The support beneath you,
The steadiness inside you.
Notice how your body feels now.
Maybe a little lighter,
A little softer,
A little clearer.
Take one last deep inhale,
Hold for a moment,
And exhale fully.
When you're ready,
Gently wiggle the fingers and toes.
Blink the eyes open.
Carry this ease,
This spaciousness,
Into whatever comes next.
