Welcome,
Friend.
Before we begin,
Take a moment to recognize what pressing play here represents.
It represents a deep knowing in you that the constriction and heaviness of your heart deserves compassion.
It represents a choice and a gift from this version of you to a future version of you.
It represents an allowing to let your hurt hurt,
And letting what's hard feel hard,
Without forcing it away,
Ignoring it,
Or exaggerating it.
Not only that,
But choosing this meditation as a saying yes to receiving gentleness inside of what's hurting.
Letting two things be true at the same time,
That the heart aches and is worthy of being held and uplifted.
Begin first by taking a breath with that.
No need to force or change the breath,
Just like there's no need to force or change your feelings right now.
Take a breath with the intention to notice lovingly and to receive your own tender care.
Take a breath of gratitude that you've chosen to pause in the midst of these heavy feelings in order to soothe yourself instead of recycling,
Intensifying,
Or living from them.
Begin to get as physically comfortable here as you can.
Let it take all the time it needs to take,
Even if that means you pause this recording to do so.
Fidget,
Wiggle,
Stretch.
Give yourself support.
The more cushioned and held you feel by whatever surface is beneath you,
The more relief and comfort you can invite in.
After getting comfortable,
Welcome a bit of stillness to the legs,
Torso,
And head.
Check in with the heart now.
Just by being aware of this space,
You might come face-to-face with a waterfall of emotion.
Choose to listen in with mercy toward yourself.
See what has made a home in you here,
And begin to name what you notice.
Grief,
Struggle,
Anger,
Loneliness,
Regret.
Perhaps it feels as though these emotions are encasing your heart in cold,
Hard wax.
How natural for the heart to feel rigid,
Frozen,
And brittle when carrying this much.
What would it feel like to offer this hard wax the necessary warmth and patience to melt a bit?
Stay curious about the ability of these emotions to be impermanent and malleable.
Try to rub the hands together with as much force as you like.
Listen to that sound,
And find a rhythm that feels soothing.
The space between the hands begins to get hot from the friction.
Maybe you can feel your pulse more clearly,
Or a gentle tingle comes to the palms,
Reminding you of your aliveness in the midst of this heaviness.
When the hands are warm to your liking,
Cover the heart space with them.
Perceive the warmth and weight of your hands.
Gently,
Gently,
Gently.
The warmth here,
Like a flame to a candle,
Begins to soften what is hard.
It is a greeting and a friend.
The hands are meeting the body as a friend.
Meeting the breath as a friend.
Meeting emotion as a friend.
Saying hello.
Hello grief.
Hello struggle.
Hello anger.
Hello loneliness.
Hello regret.
I am here to soften your edges,
To help thaw and melt what is frozen and rigid in you.
Not to make you disappear,
For you are wise and can teach me much,
But to loosen your grip.
We practice loosening our grip on these feelings,
So they can loosen their grip on us.
The warmth of the hands represents an encompassing sense of compassion toward yourself and your heavy heart.
How human of you to hold so much.
How human of you to feel this deeply.
The warmth is here to protect and soothe as it melts the waxy coating around the heart.
Breathe deeply with the hands over the heart.
Breathe to fill the heart and chest.
Weave the breath between the ribs.
Feel that perhaps there is a widening and expansion,
Possible now that didn't feel possible before.
Because you have chosen to lean into your own warmth and loving attention,
Maybe it does feel possible now.
Feel free to rub the palms together again,
As many times as you like,
To connect to the sensation of melting and thawing.
Listen to the sound of the next ten exhales.
Observe what is present now.
What has shifted?
What has diminished?
What has changed its shape or size or potency?
Perhaps the warmth of the hands here can now represent hope and peace,
And the gentleness that is always available to you when you pause.
We open ourselves to receive it,
Even when things are hard.
Especially when things are hard,
Because that is what we deserve.
Ultimately,
That softening will help us stay more connected,
Grounded,
Clear-headed,
And resourceful in times of hurt and heaviness.
Thank you for trusting this practice today.
Thank you for trusting yourself today.
May this ritual continue to be a comfort in all the days to come.
