So,
To settle in,
I'm going to share some body-oriented practices with you,
And these are specific practices that help release trauma.
What I want you to do,
Just as you get cozy,
I want you to look around your room with your eyes and notice where the exit is.
If you were to leave your room,
How would you get out of your room?
Maybe there are multiple ways,
But notice all of the exit points from where you are.
And once you do that,
Feel into your body,
Get a somatic sense for how you are in your physical form.
Take a deep breath and move your head over your left shoulder.
Move your head over your left shoulder so you look behind you.
And take a deep breath again,
And gently move your head over your right shoulder and look behind you in that direction.
And now another deep breath and get as centered as you can.
And this time,
Turn your whole torso so that your hips move as you look behind you.
So,
This time you want to make sure you rotate your hips as you look behind you.
And come back to center.
Take a deep breath.
And the other direction,
Look behind you by rotating your whole torso,
Including your hips.
And now,
When you settle back down,
Find a cozy seat or a place to lie down and begin to relax everything.
Allow your breath to slow.
Notice how you are in your body.
Allow your eyes to be open and find a gazing point or close your eyes and rest.
Breathe through your nose if you're able,
And if not,
Your mouth is fine.
One of the things that breathing through your nose does is it slows down your breath naturally.
Allow your exhale to be a little longer than your inhale.
So as you breathe,
Focus on breathing out for as long as possible and even a little bit further.
And now,
On every inhale,
Be sure your belly is blowing up like a beautiful balloon,
Filling with air.
And on every long and lengthened exhale,
Make sure your belly is shrinking down,
Releasing all of that precious air.
Allow your breath to presence yourself.
With every exhale,
Let go of the past and notice what parts of the past you are letting go of.
Acknowledge any loss.
With every inhale,
Breathe in hope,
Breathe in light,
Presence yourself.
Allow yourself to be fully present right now.
Surrender to this moment.
Surrender to any physical pain.
Surrender to grief.
Surrender to whatever might arise for you right now.
As you surrender to this moment,
Imagine in your mind's eye the day blind stars above you.
That means if where you are is daytime,
There are still stars above.
We just can't see them because of the sunlight.
I want you to imagine how even in the daytime the stars are shining down upon all of us.
Feel your feet upon the earth or your back lying down or the chair beneath you.
Feel how the earth supports you.
The earth is still supporting human life.
I welcome you to be grateful for this amazing planet that holds us every day.
In fact,
The earth allows us to let go into her.
Anything you're holding on to can be let go of.
Give it to the earth.
Allow her to hold you.
Allow anxiety to settle into the earth.
Notice how she takes it and purifies the energy,
Renewing the energy of emotion to be brought back to us through weather and water and plants and animals.
Give your earth,
Give your blessed,
Beloved earth,
Give our planet your energy.
She needs it.
Feel how the earth's energy is rising in you.
Listen to what she has to say.
How does the planet speak to you?
What is the planet's message for you?
How is the earth helping us to create something new?
Allow yourself to relax into the earth.
And also allow yourself to feel the earth energy rising into you,
Supporting you,
Helping your efforts,
Helping you to grow just like the trees grow.
As you find the courage to surrender more and more deeply into this present moment.
As you find the courage to surrender more fully to our planet earth.
Notice any inkling arising,
Any inspiration,
Any spark of what you would like to do to meet the chaos and crisis in our world.
This could be something personal in your personal life,
Chaos or crisis in your personal life.
It could be in your local environment,
The national environment,
The world.
It could be planetary and directly meet the earth and mother nature.
Where do you want to share influence?
Notice what sparks are alive in you that want to grow bigger and light up the world with your light,
With your unique light and shine.
Grief and emotions are teachers.
Feel them.
Feel your emotions.
Meditation is a safe space to feel and emote.
Have tissues nearby if you cry or a soft cloth.
When you're in a safe space and you can use your voice,
You can moan or scream or yell or sound in any way you'd like to,
To get out what wants to move.
Emotions love to be felt.
I encourage you to feel them,
Whatever emotions are present for you and including the joy,
Including the happiness,
Inspiration and hope.
Sometimes those are the scariest to feel.
Feel the fear.
Emotions clean us out.
They renew us.
New ideas spring from the ability to feel fully.
Return to your breath.
Consciously breathe.
Allow your breath to rise up to your chest.
This enlivens the body,
Gives the mind a little more energy.
And still on every exhale,
Relax completely.
