Welcome.
This is a short practice to help you pause,
To reset and to gently step out of this mode of overdrive.
You can do this practice either seated or lying down or even standing,
Whatever feels supportive and natural to you right now.
There is nothing to achieve here in these next 10 minutes.
You don't need to perfect relaxing.
Just allow yourself to arrive right here as you are.
Let us ground ourselves in our own body.
Begin to notice how your body is in contact with what's supporting you,
The surface underneath your feet or your legs.
Just feel the weight of your body being held,
Whether it's a chair or the floor or a cushion,
Any kind of surface beneath you.
If you like and it feels comfortable,
Place your feet flatly underground.
Let your hands just rest easily in your lap or by your side.
Take a slow,
Intentional breath in through the nose and a longer breath out through the mouth.
And again,
A gentle inhale through the nose and a slow exhale through the mouth.
There's nothing you need to fix in this moment.
Just notice what comes up when you pause.
Sometimes when we are shifting out of this mental overdrive,
You can feel almost jarring.
So just notice if that's the case for you.
If your mind feels busy or tired or distracted,
That's okay.
Busy mind often belongs to a system that's been working very,
Very hard for you.
So instead of trying to quiet the mind,
Just let it be in the background.
Instead,
Bring your attention to your physical body and your physical sensations,
The feeling of your breath,
The weight of your body against the surface underneath you,
The temperature of the air in your skin.
You don't need to stop your thinking.
Just don't follow any particular train of thought and return to just sitting with your breath instead.
The breath is this beautiful anchor,
An effortless way to feel your body.
So let us go into some gentle breathing,
Just observing how you're breathing naturally.
You don't need to change it in any way.
Just observe where the breath is most noticeable.
Maybe it's the nose itself.
You feel the cool air.
Maybe it's your chest.
Maybe your belly.
It helps you can see in as the breath comes in and out as the breath leaves.
Just take each exhale as an opportunity to let go of effort and simply be.
I like you to bring awareness to your body and see if there's any area or areas of your body that feel tight,
Heavy,
Compressed,
Even fatigued.
Often we hold tension in the shoulders,
The jaw,
Chest,
Sometimes even the eyes or the forehead.
See if that's true for you today.
Instead of trying to release the tension,
Simply acknowledge it.
You can see silently and notice.
On your next inhale,
Imagine breathing out any of that pressure,
Not the tension itself,
Just the pressure behind it.
The tension is more of a symptom of the pressure behind it.
For the next few moments,
See if you can rest in the idea of enough.
Enough effort,
Enough awareness,
Enough presence.
You might want to repeat,
I am enough.
I have enough.
I do enough.
You don't need to earn rest.
It is not a reward for hard work,
But it is how you sustain yourself by pausing and resting and allowing your system to reset.
Now gently reawaken our body.
You can bring some small movement into your fingers or toes,
Wiggle them or stretch your ankles and wrists.
You can take a slow and deeper stretch if that feels good.
Just notice how you feel in your body right now.
Maybe see if there's a difference to when we first started today.
There's no right or wrong answer.
It's just awareness.
Just seeing if there's a difference,
If there's a shift in your body and your energy.
If so,
See if you can carry that small sense of calm,
Of steadiness,
Bring it with you into the rest of your day.
Just know that you can come back to taking a break,
Taking a pause,
Checking in with your physical body.
Coming back to the breath and releasing pressure and tension.
Just shifting away from an overdrive mentality.
A need to achieve.
A need to hustle.
Prove our worthiness.
Just remember that you are enough.
You have enough.
And you do enough.
You are worthy of care.
And I'm grateful that you spent this moment with me and with yourself.
And I hope you can take it into the rest of your day and feel a bit more ease.
Take care.
