Journey to Self-Love

Let's start by getting comfortable in your chair.

Place your feet flat on the floor,

Sitting up straight with your shoulders back and a gentle arch in your lower back.

You can place your hands on the arms of your chair or simply in your lap with your palms facing up.

And now gently close your eyes and begin to notice your breath.

There's no need to change it or alter it in any way.

Simply become aware of its presence.

Notice your chest and your belly rising and falling.

You're noticing your breath as it enters and leaves your body.

And as you continue to monitor your breath,

You become aware that you're slowing down.

You're becoming calmer and more relaxed.

In a moment,

You're going to take a nice deep breath in through your nose,

Expanding your belly and then your chest.

At the top of that breath,

You're going to hold it for a few seconds and slowly let it out through your mouth.

With every exhale,

You'll be releasing any stale air,

Releasing all tension or worry.

Let's take that deep breath,

Inhaling through your nose for a count of four.

Hold it for a moment and slowly let it out through your mouth.

Let's take another deep breath in through your nose.

Hold it and gently let it out again through your mouth.

Feel your body slowly sinking into your chair,

Your shoulders dropping,

Your jaw loosening.

And becoming wonderfully relaxed.

Let's take one last deep breath,

The biggest one yet in through your nose,

Expanding your belly and expanding your chest.

Hold it and slowly let it out through your mouth.

And now simply continue to breathe normally.

Become aware of your entire body,

Bringing your attention to any place that's tense or uncomfortable.

Slowly notice those feelings,

Those sensations without any need to change them.

As you continue breathing,

You feel the oxygen filling your body.

With every breath you take,

You feel refreshing air filling every space in your body.

Every cell is being rejuvenated.

And with each exhale,

You're releasing any stress,

Any tension,

Any worry.

With every exhale,

You feel your body softening,

Your muscles slowly relaxing.

In your mind's eye,

I want you to imagine the air entering your body.

Feel it swirling around every space within you.

Picture it like a vapor,

Softly entering and filling your entire being.

It's warm and soothing and it's making its way around every muscle,

Every organ of your body,

Bringing total peace,

Relaxation.

It's so warm,

So soothing.

Feel it wrapping itself around any air of your body that is tense or in discomfort.

And with every exhale,

You're getting rid of any tension,

Pain or worry.

As you picture this warming clouds swirling around you,

Your mind may wander.

That's fine.

If those moments occur,

Then simply return your focus to your breath,

To the feeling of it cooling your nose as it enters,

Filling up your belly and your chest and bringing with it that soothing warming sensation.

Imagine now that warmth is beginning to fill up your feet.

Feel it in your toes,

In all the muscles of your feet,

In the tendons,

Every space.

It's so warm.

And now feel that warmth,

That cloud rising up your legs,

Past your calves and your knees and each area that it touches brings a relief.

Any area that it touches releases any tension and as it moves along,

It heals.

Feel that warmth making its way into your abdomen and your chest,

Gently pushing out any discomfort or tension with every exhale.

Feel it in your arms,

All the way down to your fingers,

Every joint,

Every muscle,

Every cell in your body is relaxed.

And now feel that warmth in your head.

And once again,

You may notice thoughts entering your mind.

That's totally natural and totally expected.

And again,

When it does happen,

Simply return your focus to your breath.

And now the feeling of your body totally immersed in this warming,

Healing light that has filled you.

In your mind's eye,

I want you to imagine yourself walking in the woods.

You're on a worn path and the only sounds you hear are those of the birds or the sounds of small animals scurrying through the leaves in the distance.

You stop and you look up at the sky and it's cloudy,

A little dark.

You can't quite make out the sun through the trees or the clouds.

You start walking again along this path.

And as you walk,

You feel the first raindrops hitting your skin.

It doesn't bother you much,

But soon the rain is coming down a little harder.

You feel it soaking your clothes.

And while it is a little chilly,

You don't worry.

It's just you and your clothes.

You are carrying anything with you or in your pockets.

And up ahead on your path,

You see a cabin with a porch and you see smoke coming from the chimney.

And just as you notice that the rain begins to pick up,

To fall hard,

You hear it coming down all around you,

Hitting the leaves and the trees and it's drenching you.

It's soaking you.

You pick up your pace to get to the cabin as the rain comes down harder and harder.

You get to the cabin and climb the stairs and stand on the porch watching the rain pour down under the roof.

You feel calm watching the rain come down and torrents in the forest.

You feel your clothes so heavy with rain.

And I'm noticing that you walk inside the cabin.

In that moment,

You realize that there's no one in the cabin despite the fire.

The cabin is for you.

And from the door,

You see the fireplace with a roaring fire going on inside.

You hear an occasional crack of burning wood break the silence.

Your clothes are drenched.

And as you turn to close the front door,

You see a white terry cloth robe hanging on a nail.

Since it's for you,

You get out of your wet clothes and you slip it on.

It feels so warm and you feel so relaxed.

You walk over to the fire and you feel the heat come over you.

There's a soft full rug in front of you.

So you gently sit down and bask in the warmth of the fire.

You feel so at peace,

So calm.

And as you relax by the fire,

You notice that you don't hear the rain anymore.

And it's then that you notice a door to the right of the fireplace.

You stand up,

Tying your robe and decide to see what's on the other side.

When you open the door,

You're amazed to see that it's the door to the back of the cabin.

And yet the view is amazing.

It opens onto a huge,

Huge lawn.

And now the rain is gone and the sun is pouring through the trees and shining all over the backyard grass.

In the middle of this lawn is an old fashioned bathtub with ornate cloth feet.

And next to it is a standing full length mirror.

You step out the back door and walk towards the tub.

You feel the grass under your bare feet.

It is so soft and slightly damp from the rain.

But as you walk further into the backyard,

You feel the sun on your face,

So warm.

And when you get to the middle of the lawn,

You're standing in front of the mirror.

You know that you're alone and that there's no one around for miles.

As you look at yourself in the mirror,

You catch your eyes.

You look into them.

They're gentle and warm.

You look closer,

Seeing your face.

You smile.

You feel so happy and calm.

You see nothing but beauty.

You don't see blemishes or wrinkles.

You see your eyes and your smile and you feel blessed.

You feel blessed to be who you are in this moment.

Blessed to be standing in this amazing setting.

You step back to see yourself fully in the mirror and knowing that you're alone,

You undo your robe and let it fall to the ground.

You see yourself standing naked in front of the mirror without judgment.

There's no need for judgment.

You're standing looking at your body,

Thankful for all the things it has allowed you to do up to this point.

You look at your arms and remember the last person you hugged so tightly,

Feeling so much love.

You see your legs and thank them for giving you the ability to walk to this place,

To walk in general.

And as you stand there feeling the warmth of the sun,

You look around at the beauty of this forest.

You look up and see the bluest sky imaginable.

And in that moment you realize that you are part of all that you see.

You are part of this beauty.

You are part of the universe.

You simply feel a sense of belonging.

You look to the tub and see that it is full of crystal clear water.

When you walk over to it,

You dip your hand in to feel the temperature.

And as you expect,

It is so warm and inviting.

You step over the edge of the tub and gently lower yourself into the water.

As you lower yourself down,

You feel the water melting away the last bit of tension you possess.

And leaning back,

You take in all the sights around you.

The forest on both sides of you and the edge of the forest far away on the other side of the lawn.

As you soak in this tub,

Bathed in sunshine,

You realize the many people that love you.

The people that when they see you,

They smile.

You think of people who come to you for comfort,

For support,

For wisdom.

You think of the people that look up to you.

And as you feel the warm water all around you,

You realize that you are loved.

With a day so bright now,

You find it hard to believe that minutes ago you were cold and wet.

And you think about that,

That minutes ago you were in the cloudy woods,

Cold,

Rain pouring down on you.

And now you're warm and refreshed and so relaxed.

In a few moments,

I'm going to count from one to 10.

When you hear my voice,

It will be a subtle reminder that it's time to bring yourself back to your room.

When I reach 10,

You'll be fully back in your room feeling totally calm,

Feeling totally at peace.

At 10,

You'll gently open your eyes and be fully back in the room.

Good night.

It's time to come back now.

One.

Two.

Three.

Feeling totally relaxed,

Totally calm.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Starting to feel the room around you.

Seven.

Almost back.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Gently open your eyes.

You don't need to get right up.

Just sit for a moment,

Reflecting on the moments you just spent.

Think about the people that entered your mind as you sat in that tub.

And when you're ready,

Then you can begin or continue your day knowing that you matter.

Knowing that you are love.

Take this feeling of peace with you and know that you can come back to it at any moment.

The peace that you feel right now can be achieved at any time simply by taking a few deep breaths like the ones you took at the beginning of this brief journey.

And as you continue on with your day,

Know that you touch the lives of many,

Many people simply because of who you are.

Namaste.