Stillness By The River, Finding Focus In Overwhelm.

So this will be a short practice,

Around four minutes,

And you are welcome to extend this for longer if that feels like something you need.

So bringing your awareness to your breath,

And I'm going to invite you to extend your out breath.

Drop your shoulders,

And resting in your body,

There's a lot to do,

The world is chaotic,

You're here,

Let that be enough.

Sitting here,

Extending your out breath,

Your breath in your body,

Noticing the points of contact that you're making with the earth,

The fabric of your clothes against your skin,

This is information,

And this is as much a part of the story as anything else.

And I'm just going to invite you to step to the side of your river of thoughts,

And settle down for a moment.

Observing what's here as an impartial witness,

What thoughts are floating past,

It might be going past quickly,

They might be huge rocks or pebbles at the side,

Might be leaves,

The river might be fast,

It might be slow,

It might be cold and harsh,

Or it might be a warm day and an inviting place to step into,

But we're going to rest at the side and just observe.

Nothing to do,

Nothing to fix,

Nothing to change.

Now I'm going to invite you to step away,

Notice the points of contact that you're making with the earth,

Follow the flow of your breath,

Extending that out breath if that feels helpful,

Breathing in and breathing out,

And an invitation to place a hand on your heart and one on your belly.

You can say these words out loud or internally.

The river is infinite.

I am not.

I will do what I can and let the rest flow past.

And you're welcome to rest here,

For a little longer,

And as best you can taking this sense of connection and awareness into what you have left to do with your day.