Hello and welcome.
My name is Julie and I'm glad that you're here for this Parent Break.
If your eyes are open,
I invite you to close them,
And let's settle in for today's meditation.
To begin,
I invite you to place one hand on your heart,
And let's take our first breath together to move from the outside in.
We'll inhale,
Release.
Now let's move one hand to your solar plexus.
Place the other hand on your ribs at the side of your body.
Let's inhale,
Release.
Again,
Inhale,
Release.
Did you notice any change in the depth of your breath?
Let's place our hands on the abdomen.
Focus our attention there,
And inhale,
Release.
As you continue to breathe normally,
I invite you to direct your attention to the inner right corner of your mouth.
Notice how it feels.
Invite some movement there and to the areas of the face directly around it.
Continue to notice.
Let's spend one more breath there.
Check in to notice whether there's a difference in feeling between the right and left inner corners of your mouth.
I invite you to now focus your attention on the inner left corner of your mouth.
Notice the feeling in the areas of the face directly around it.
Invite some movement.
Notice whether there's been any change in the feeling around your mouth from before we paid attention until now.
Continue breathing freely,
And let's scan the body from head to toe.
Move slowly and notice if there is anywhere in your body where tension is residing.
Take your time.
Our bodies hold tension in different locations.
Slowly scan and notice anywhere that draws your attention.
If you find any tension,
I invite you to gaze internally at that part of the body.
Let your eyes give an inner smile there,
And let's breathe into that area,
Inviting the tension to melt with each exhale.
Let's focus on that area and inhale.
Release.
Inhale.
Release.
Keep checking in with the body to focus your attention in areas of tension.
We've been focusing on our own bodies today.
When we give something attention,
It can feel better without having to act up to get our attention.
And when a part of the body starts to act up,
We can focus our attention and help it to feel better.
These same principles can be used in parenting.
When things are going well,
And we give our attention,
No one has to misbehave to get that attention.
When the smallest things start to ask for our attention,
Giving it early means that no one has to misbehave to get our attention.
Let's take one more breath together and move forward into the rest of the day.
Let's inhale.
Release.
If you're joining me live at Parent Break,
I'm going to put eight minutes on the clock for some private journaling.
And if you're joining us on a replay on Insight Timer,
I invite you to do the same.
I'm so glad that you were here today at Parent Break.
