Holding Space And Oppositeness At The Same Time

Please find a place to get comfortable and just settle in so that we can take an exploration,

A bit of a journey for the next 15 minutes or so.

Choose a spot that's a little bit quieter and out of the way.

And when you're settled in,

We're now going to take a break.

And when you're settled in,

Bring your awareness to your breath.

If it's comfortable,

Allowing the inhalation in through the nose and the exhalation out through the nose or mouth.

Just following your own breath,

Being right with it.

We're not looking to change it.

We're not looking to dissect it or think about it,

But really just be with the inhalation and the exhalation.

And bring your awareness to what seems to be occurring with your breath.

Perhaps you notice it's slowing down.

Or maybe the inhalation is getting deeper,

Longer,

Bigger.

And maybe you're also noticing that the exhalation is getting larger.

Put a little more force.

Just allow.

And give yourself another two cycles of your focus or awareness right with your breath.

And now I invite you to shift your awareness to your body.

Almost as if you're doing a body scan.

Just having your awareness on your physical body and just taking notice.

Are there any places that you are feeling something?

Maybe something that you're holding?

Just scan your body.

Just notice.

And don't attach any stories.

Just be aware in observation,

Not judging anything,

Just giving it a nod.

And remembering that you are still with your breath.

Tracking the inhalation and the exhalation.

Now I invite you to go back to that scan of your body.

And if there were places where you were feeling something,

Maybe holding something,

I invite you to bring your awareness there.

And if you need to,

While continuing the breath,

If you need to release while exhaling,

That's okay.

And if there are a couple of spaces or spots within your body,

Go to the next one.

And feel into what is being held.

And if it resonates,

The inhalation with the new,

The exhalation with the releasing.

And now I'm going to invite you to pull back a little bit,

Almost back into that observation.

And I would invite you to go to spaces in your body that weren't holding anything.

Maybe just the space in between,

The empty.

And with your breath,

And with your awareness,

Go to the spaces of empty,

Where you did not feel anything being held.

And just be with your breath in the empty,

And just allow.

And now I'm going to invite you to go back to those places that you felt something,

And go back into those.

Bring your awareness,

Your observation.

And just notice.

Again,

Not looking to change anything.

And once again,

I invite you to now go back into the empty within your body.

And having the awareness with your breath in the empty.

So now I am going to shift it up a bit,

And invite you to bring that breath and your awareness right down into your center,

Which would be the heart chakra,

The sternum.

And allow yourself to drop right down in,

Right there.

And you may notice that if you do roll your shoulders back,

You open and extend wider that chest area,

That heart chakra,

That center.

And I invite you to land even a little bit more deeply,

Just really to drop right into you,

With your breath,

And just with observation.

Just allowing.

And as we are in this center,

I invite you to just bring into your awareness,

Your whole being.

The breath,

And how it helps us to release all the busyness,

And really come home to ourselves.

And the awareness that we were able to come to parts in our body that are holding things.

And at the same time,

Parts in our being,

That was the space in between,

Holding the empty.

Allowing so much to go on at the same time.

So I invite you really to breathe in with that,

Understanding that new awareness,

And allowing your exhalation,

Being with your breath,

And the awareness of the duality,

The holding different parts at the same time.

And as you continue to breathe from the center,

From this very center,

I invite you to expand your awareness,

And remembering that this is the seat of love,

Of your light,

Of joy.

This is the origin,

This is the place to come home.

Breathe with that,

Just knowing that you've got a place that,

No matter what's going on,

You can work with your breath,

Drop right into center,

And this is your home,

Your origin.

And while sitting here,

I invite you to expand your awareness,

And just think about something in your day,

Or in your week,

Or in your present life,

That might be holding questions,

Intensity,

Crowding.

And just,

If something comes forward right now,

Just bring it in,

Into where you are sitting in your center,

Almost like you're holding it right in front of you.

And just be aware of it,

Don't take on any of the judgments or feelings,

Just have an awareness,

A curiosity,

And breathe in with it,

And exhale.

And in whatever you're holding in front of you,

Take the opportunity and see,

If you're holding opposites,

Duality,

Two sides of a coin,

Just like earlier,

When you were invited to step into some area that your body was holding something,

And then to step into that space of empty.

So going back to what you're holding in front of you that is something from this week,

Or in the present,

Just observe.

And I invite you now to allow yourself to,

In your mind's eye,

Speak to that part that holds the something,

And just ask,

What is it you need?

What do you want me to see?

And upon,

Depending upon what you're hearing,

You may also want to ask,

How can I help lighten this?

And don't worry about details,

But just receive,

Just allow.

Give it a nod,

You've brought awareness.

And now I invite you,

Coming back right into that center,

To then extend yourself to that other part,

The empty,

The spaciousness.

Allow your breath with the inhalation and the exhalation,

And allow yourself just to feel what that other part is.

Allow your curiosity to come.

Allow whatever's coming forward to just really bring a smile to your face,

Really shift how you're holding things.

Now I invite you to come back into your center,

And taking a look at what you're holding.

The one aspect that might feel the heavy,

Might feel the busy,

The crowded,

Whatever resonates,

It's different for each of us.

And then just observe the other part,

The spaciousness,

The leaning in,

The smile on the face,

The creation.

And I invite you one more time to lean back and just look at this now,

The duality,

The two parts,

As actually part of one.

And I invite you to realize that everything is so deeply interconnected.

And from our center and from our breath,

We can work with both and hold both with the inhalation in of the new and the exhalation of just releasing some of the emotions and physical feelings around it.

So we may bring a newness,

And we may release a little stress,

Control,

Anxiety,

Or just a releasing.

Allow yourself while holding it to be breathing in and out,

Allowing this duality of this situation just to settle in.

Maybe see it with a little more light.

And now I invite you to,

As you see it with a little more light,

To realize that you can actually expand this space within you around this situation.

And that we don't have to worry about the confines and the limitations,

But just open that up.

And as you breathe and as you hold this,

Allow yourself to feel in the essence,

In the energy,

How you can hold and explore both parts.

And I invite you now just to,

What you're holding in front of you,

Just give it a nod.

And in your mind's eye,

Say,

Thank you.

Thank you for giving me a new perspective,

A refreshing look,

A new way to hold this.

And then give yourself permission to release it and allow it to go back out so that now you are sitting within your center,

Within your heart chakra,

That landing.

And as you're here,

I invite you to expand your awareness and realize that you can draw up energy from the earth,

Almost like it's a recharging,

A refueling,

A feeding.

And allow yourself to imagine that connection from your center through your body,

All the way to the earth.

Allow when you're drawing up inward to you this recharging,

This refueling,

This expanding.

Allow a smile to come across your face.

Allow new ideas,

New ways of looking and being to expand from your center.

And when you're ready,

Draw up that last bit of recharging energy,

Bringing it back,

Coming right to where you are in your center.

And now I invite you to figuratively,

You can step out and bring your awareness to your inhalation and to your exhalation.

Allow yourself to come back,

Feeling more grounded,

Feeling more centered,

Being okay with exactly being here in this moment.

Allow yourself another few cycles of breath.

And when you feel ready,

Allow yourself to start coming forward for the rest of your day,

Beginning with a little movement in your hands and your feet and your body,

And giving a nod,

A thank you to yourself for taking these few minutes just to explore,

To release,

To recalibrate.

And in gratitude,

Thank you.