Welcome back to Vet Meditation,
A series created with veterinary professionals in mind.
For this car decompression practice,
The intention is for you to take some time for yourself alone,
Either in your car before you've started your drive home,
Or maybe in your driveway or your garage before you go inside your home,
To just allow you some time and space to be with whatever thoughts,
Feelings,
And emotions come up after a difficult day or challenging cases.
It may be challenging to want to take this time for yourself,
But I invite you to observe your experiences with curiosity instead of judgment,
And with compassion instead of criticism.
So if you haven't already started driving,
I invite you to let your eyes close softly,
And if not,
Then just listen to the sound of my voice guiding you through this practice.
As you sit here in your car,
You are in the driver's seat.
Oftentimes,
It can be easy to let our thoughts,
Feelings,
And emotions take the wheel,
But you're here right now,
And you are the one that is at the wheel.
So as you reflect on your day,
Keep in mind that these thoughts,
Feelings,
And emotions are all temporary,
Even though they may reappear over and over and over again.
They never stick around forever,
So as uncomfortable as it might be,
Just let them pass through you as you sit here,
Letting yourself decompress from your day.
I want to start by inviting you to take three deep cleansing breaths,
Inhaling through the nose,
And exhaling through the mouth in a loud sigh.
Repeating that.
Inhale.
And exhale.
And one last time,
Maybe the biggest breath you've taken all day today.
And then gently letting your breath return to its natural rhythm.
And if you have your eyes closed,
Just imagine yourself sitting here in your car.
Maybe you imagine that you have a bird's eye view of yourself,
Or maybe you imagine sitting in the passenger seat next to yourself.
But always keeping in mind that you're at the wheel,
You're in the driver's seat.
And as you're observing yourself from a distance,
You imagine what kinds of things that you would say to this version of you to comfort and support them,
Let them know that they're not alone.
Maybe think about ways that you've supported your fellow co-workers,
Words of kindness that you've offered to clients.
And take a moment to invite those same intentions of comfort,
Support,
And kindness towards yourself.
Many of those thoughts of judgment or criticism or self-doubt that may pop up during this process,
Try to imagine those as birds flying overhead or cars passing by in the opposite direction on the road.
Just things that are only in your life for a moment.
And bring your full focus and attention softly and gently back to comforting and supporting yourself as you're here now.
If you may be having a challenging time with this practice,
I would love to offer up some intentions for you to repeat to yourself.
You had a difficult day and you're doing your best.
You have demonstrated strength and resilience.
You have demonstrated strength and courage in managing these challenging situations.
You are cared for by so many different people in your life.
You have been through so many difficult challenges and you continue to rise above them.
You may not be feeling strong right now,
But you are so very strong.
And your dedication and your determination shine through in every shift that you show up to.
I know that you may be having a tough time and that's okay.
You are supported,
You are cared for,
And you are so very loved.
I want to take some time to close us out with this practice with three more deep cleansing breaths.
Inhaling comfort.
Exhaling criticism.
Inhaling strength.
Exhaling doubt.
Inhaling kindness.
Exhaling judgment.
And gently letting your breath return to its natural rhythm.
Inviting some gentle movement back to the body.
If you had the eyes closed,
Allowing them to open softly.
And keep in mind that you are always in the driver's seat of your life.
Thank you so much for joining me for this car decompression practice and I hope that you find this helpful in supporting your own well-being as a veterinary professional.
Until next time,
Take care,
Stay healthy,
And be well.
