In today's meditation,
You'll be offered the opportunity to take a deep rest.
And this is obviously not something that is safe if you are driving or operating heavy machinery.
So be safe.
From Shane Pinata,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Everyday Magic for Ukraine.
Today we honor the exhaustion of ongoing war.
Welcome to the circle.
Welcome to Everyday Magic for Ukraine,
Where we honor Ukraine and also practice self-care to stay strong as allies.
If you're new here,
Welcome.
So to begin today,
I would like to again honor your body,
Honor the space you are in and the work you are doing and the ways you are moving through the world.
And I would like to invite you to take a little bit of a break.
To rest your body and your heart.
So perhaps we can begin this rest by taking a deep breath.
And if you are in a place where you can make a little noise,
Maybe take another breath and let it out with some kind of sound,
Maybe a sigh.
And maybe now take a third breath and see if there's a way you might be able to yawn or stretch a bit.
Maybe gently stretching your arms or your shoulders,
However your body is comfortable moving in a safe and easy way,
Maybe rolling your wrists or wiggling your toes,
Maybe blinking your eyes,
Making crazy faces,
Just stretch your face.
Maybe reaching up to the sky if you can,
If that works for your body.
Maybe rolling down,
Releasing your back.
And if you are someplace where you can rest your body and see what that would feel like to drop a little more fully into your chair or let yourself lean back on the couch or on a bed or lay on the floor or the ground if that's something you want to do in the space you're in,
Just see if you can get into the most restful and restorative position possible just for a few minutes.
So experiment,
Play around and see how can you really,
Really rest,
How can you physically rest in this moment.
Even if you're going to remain standing or sitting upright,
See if you can find a really good balance point where you can relax as many of the muscles as possible so only the ones that really need to work are at work.
And as your body softens and grows more quiet,
Perhaps you notice your mind is growing a little more quiet as well.
Just see what it's like to experience deep rest.
Maybe allow this time of resting,
This little micro rest,
Maybe allow it to begin to restore you.
When we rest,
We release what we don't need,
Like we released those extra muscles that were working and that release creates room for possibility.
So just another few moments here of resting,
Really feel into it,
Really appreciate the richness and the lushness of deep rest.
And when you're ready,
Maybe begin to very,
Very gently wake yourself back up.
Just super gently,
Maybe just wiggle one finger or one toe and say hello to yourself and your space.
Maybe begin to notice where are you,
Who's around,
What do you hear,
What do you see.
And you might begin to move a little bit more.
Now maybe rotating your wrists or your ankles,
Taking a deeper breath into your lungs,
Out into your ribs.
And see how you feel.
Little micro rest breaks are pretty cool,
Little 10 minute power naps can work wonders.
And the reason we did this today,
In addition to having the benefit of a small rest and experimenting with a how to have a small rest,
The reason we did this is to honor that this kind of rest we just had can be elusive for our friends in Ukraine when there is chronic constant stress,
Chronic constant threat.
And I,
Oh God,
Do not have a way to fix that.
But I want to focus today on that topic,
On what I have heard from my friends for over a year and a half.
We are so exhausted,
You have no idea.
And as an outsider,
I certainly don't pretend that I know what it's like.
But I wanted to get us together to presence that reality,
To acknowledge it because nobody talks about it.
Nobody talks about how incredibly exhausting it is.
I want us to champion that cause and do anything we can to support our Ukrainian friends and remind others who are not in a war situation of what we're hearing from our Ukrainian friends about that level of exhaustion.
May we always remember our friends in Ukraine,
And how completely exhausting this war is on their hearts.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Your presence,
Your energy and your heart make all the difference in healing our world.
Remember to breathe today,
Breathe and expand.
And I hope you join us again next time.
Please consider inviting a friend.
