Welcome,
And may you find peace within yourself.
When I look back on my life,
I can see that the river of my life has had lots of twists and turns.
No river ever runs completely straight because a river will always follow the path of least resistance.
All of us could learn a great deal from just watching a river because it constantly flows no matter what gets in its path.
If a river encounters a boulder in its path,
It simply flows around it,
Or over it,
Or under it,
Or through it.
Given enough time,
A river will wear down anything that gets in its path.
It will gradually make it a part of itself.
It will work on the obstacle until it's no longer an obstacle.
The river perseveres no matter what.
When we learn to view our life like a river,
We can learn to overcome obstacles in our path as well.
I've canoed a lot of rivers,
And they all have one thing in common.
There's always something different around the next bend.
And any river worth canoeing is going to have some rapids,
Just like your life will.
Rapids on rivers are classed on a scale where one are the easiest and level six should only be attempted by a few professionals.
Once again,
That's just how your life is.
Some problems are relatively easy,
Like running out of gas.
And others,
Like having a stroke at age 29,
Can seem almost impossible to overcome.
But please notice that I said almost impossible.
Just like the river,
You can look at a problem,
An obstacle,
And see if you can go around it.
Or maybe you'll have to go over it.
Or perhaps under it.
And if not any of those,
Maybe you can go through it.
No,
Your river might not move as fast as it once did.
But a river never quits.
It never stops.
And neither should you.
Close your eyes now.
Let's begin to settle in.
Let yourself begin to relax.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Laying down or standing.
Let's begin by taking a deep breath and then gently exhaling.
Continue to breathe naturally and don't force anything.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Ease any tension in your face.
Relax your neck.
As you breathe,
Feel yourself getting heavier with each and every breath.
Feel yourself sinking into the surface you're on.
Relax your arms.
Relax your hands.
Begin to feel so heavy.
Relax any tightness in your chest or belly.
Let your legs and feet relax.
Don't clench your hands,
But breathe.
Just breathe.
Your breath is like a river of calm.
A stream of tranquility and peacefulness.
It doesn't matter what the problem is or what the obstacle is.
It only matters what you do in this moment.
It only matters how you react to the obstacle in your path.
You control your breath.
And by doing that,
You control the way you react to things.
If your breath is calm,
You will be too.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time.
Listen to the flow of your breath as it moves gently in and gently out.
Your body is heavy.
Your body is relaxed.
And your breath is slow and calm.
Just continue to breathe.
Slowly in and slowly out.
I've said before that our minds are so powerful and we can tap into that power by getting in touch with our breath.
Life is special and beautiful,
But all lives experience difficulties.
The river of your life will have its share of rapids,
But you can navigate the choppy water by getting in touch with your breath on a regular basis.
When you canoe a lot of rivers,
You learn to read the water,
To see which way the water flows and where it's shallow,
To determine where there are rocks and where you can avoid them.
The river of your life can be like that too.
Getting in touch with your breath is something you can perfect if you just decide to do it.
I can't emphasize enough just how much mastering your breath can impact your life.
Being in touch with your breath helps you with obstacles in a number of ways.
First,
It helps you to completely calm yourself.
Second,
It helps you to focus on the task at hand.
When your breath is calm,
All obstacles appear in a new and better light.
Things are clearer.
You can see them more clearly and calmly.
Being in touch with your breath helps you to center yourself so you're better able to deal with any obstacle that lies before you.
By getting in touch with your breath on a regular basis,
You can deal with anxiety,
You can reduce and manage pain,
Improve sleep,
Improve your sense of well-being and so much more.
You don't need special positions or poses.
You don't need a special outfit or a certain room.
You don't need any equipment or an investment in hundreds of books.
You just need to be able to invest the time to focus on your breath multiple times a day.
Only for two or three minutes if that's all you have.
Just breathing in and breathing out,
One breath at a time.
In my first live session,
Which I hope to do soon,
I'll talk in more depth about how mastering my breath has impacted my life.
As we come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Notice how relaxed you feel.
Take one deep breath and let it out through your mouth,
Letting it out a sigh.
You're ready to resume your day,
Feeling a greater sense of peace and calm.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session.
Until next time.
