WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:07.280 You are here. That is enough. You have arrived, and 2 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.480 you do not need to explain how you got here 3 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:15.759 or what it took to get here. You are here now, 4 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.359 and that is the only thing that matters. In this moment. 5 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:24.359 There is a seat for you in this quiet. There 6 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:27.679 is a place for you in this breath. You can 7 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:31.719 arrive however you are. You can arrive with the day 8 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:36.439 still clinging to your skin, with the morning still ringing 9 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.560 in your ears, with the weight of what happened still 10 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:43.960 sitting in your chest. You do not need to be 11 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:47.280 different than you are to be here. You do not 12 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:52.240 need to be calmer, or clearer or more settled. You 13 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:56.439 only need to be present, and presence is something the 14 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:01.039 body already knows how to do. You are here, you arrived. 15 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:04.959 Let the room hold you the way a hand holds 16 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:12.400 water gently without grasping. Let the air find you. Let 17 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.719 the moment be what it is, which is simply this, 18 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:22.920 you breathing here now. There is nothing else required of 19 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:27.079 you in this minute. There is only the breath and 20 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:33.120 you and the quiet that has opened up just for you. 21 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.079 You are allowed to be here, You are allowed to 22 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:42.159 take up this space. You are allowed to stop even 23 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:46.359 if the day is still moving around you. You are here, 24 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:52.560 and that is enough. Now, let us begin with the breath, 25 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.000 Not the breath you are supposed to take, not the 26 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.280 breath that will fix anything, not the breath that will 27 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:05.799 make this better. Let us begin with the ordinary breath, 28 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:11.919 the breath that is already happening, the breath your body 29 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:17.159 has been doing without your permission all morning long. Notice it. 30 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:21.879 Notice the air coming in through your nose. Notice the 31 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:26.080 way it touches the inside of your nostrils. Notice the 32 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:31.240 slight coolness of it, the way it arrives without being invited. 33 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.360 Notice the paws at the top of the inhale, that 34 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:39.960 tiny stillness between breathing in and breathing out. And then 35 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:45.439 notice the exhale. Notice the air leaving your body. Notice 36 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:49.280 the way your ribs fall, the way your belly softens, 37 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:54.000 the way the air carries something out with it, something 38 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:57.120 you do not need to name. This is the breath. 39 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:01.199 This is the only breath you have to manage right now. 40 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:03.960 The next breath will come, and the one after that, 41 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.000 and you do not have to orchestrate any of it. 42 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:12.039 The body knows, the body has always known. Let your 43 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:16.639 shoulders soften. You are holding them somewhere up by your 44 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:20.159 ears maybe, or maybe you have been holding them like 45 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:23.759 this for so long you do not even notice anymore. 46 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:30.199 Let them drop, Let the muscles release, let the bones settle. 47 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:33.719 The breath does not need your shoulders to be tight. 48 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.800 The breath only needs space, and space is something you 49 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:44.039 can give right now. In this chair, in this room, 50 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.879 in this body you are sitting in. The breath is 51 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.240 landing in you. You are landing in the breath. Let 52 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.960 them meet, let them find each other. This is the 53 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.159 only arrival that matters. This is the part no Whee 54 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:05.080 tells you. The breath is not something you have to do. 55 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:10.719 The breath is something that is already doing, something that 56 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:13.879 has been doing for you your whole life, without you 57 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.560 having to ask. The breath does not need your management. 58 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:24.839 The breath does not need your optimization. The breath is 59 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:28.000 the one relationship in your life that does not ask 60 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.560 anything of you. It does not ask you to be 61 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:36.959 faster or more efficient or more productive. It does not 62 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:40.560 ask you to be better than you were yesterday. It 63 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:44.160 only asks that you let it in and let it out, 64 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:50.199 and let it keep going. The breath holds you, not 65 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:54.000 the other way around. You are not holding the breath. 66 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:58.839 The breath is holding you. It has been holding you 67 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:02.360 since the first moment of your life, and it will 68 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:06.439 hold you until the last moment and in between. It 69 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:09.879 is holding you in every single moment that you forget 70 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:15.959 to notice it. Right now, the breath is holding you. 71 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:18.839 You can feel it if you stop trying so hard. 72 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:23.279 You can feel the air moving through you, and you 73 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:26.720 can feel the space it is making, and you can 74 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:29.839 feel the way your body is being supported by something 75 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:34.279 larger than your to do list, larger than your anxiety, 76 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:39.600 larger than the morning that has been too much. The 77 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:44.120 breath is holding you. You are allowed to leave it. 78 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.360 You are allowed to stop carrying the weight of your 79 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:53.759 own breathing and let the breath carry you instead. This 80 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:57.600 is the invitation. This is the only thing we are 81 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:01.319 doing here. Let the breath hold you the way the 82 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:07.720 room holds the sound of your voice, gently, completely, without judgment. 83 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.920 You are held. You have always been held. You are 84 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.800 held right now. Now. Let us look at what the 85 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:20.240 morning has asked of you. You do not have to 86 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.639 do anything with this. You do not have to solve 87 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:26.800 it or fix it or make sense of it. You 88 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:30.600 only have to let it be seen, just for a moment, 89 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:35.399 just here, in this quiet where nothing is being asked 90 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:40.000 of you except that you breathe. The morning asked things 91 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.439 of you before you were ready. The morning asked you 92 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:46.720 to be present when you were still half asleep. The 93 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.800 morning asked you to be patient when patience was the 94 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.160 last thing you had. The morning asked you to hold 95 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.839 space for things that had no space in them, things 96 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:00.920 that were too big, things that spilled over, things that 97 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:04.040 you had to catch with your bare hands because there 98 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:09.079 was no basket ready, no container prepared. The morning asked 99 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.480 you to be kind when kindness felt impossible. The morning 100 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.319 asked you to keep going when every cell in your 101 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:20.000 body was asking to stop. The morning asked you to 102 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:25.040 answer messages you did not want to answer, to sit 103 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:30.279 through meetings that felt like sieges, to perform a version 104 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:33.920 of yourself that was more put together than the version 105 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:38.800 you actually are. The morning asked you to hold your 106 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:43.439 tongue when you wanted to scream. The morning asked you 107 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:48.160 to smile when your jaw was clenched so tight it ached. 108 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:53.120 The morning asked you to be fine, and you were fine, 109 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:58.079 or at least you performed fine, and that performance took 110 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.279 something from you that you are a loud to notice 111 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.839 is gone. This is what the morning asked. You do 112 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.319 not have to carry it all. You do not have 113 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.519 to keep holding it the way you have been holding it, 114 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.360 tight in your chest, tight in your throat, tight in 115 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:21.920 the space between your eyebrows. You can set it down, 116 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.720 not all at once, not right now, but you can 117 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:31.680 begin to let it go. The morning asked, you answered, 118 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:36.159 that is enough. You do not have to keep the receipt. 119 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.879 Now I want you to try something. I want you 120 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:44.000 to let the exhale be longer than the inhale, not 121 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:49.039 by much, just a little, just enough to feel the difference. 122 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:54.600 Breathe in and notice how long that takes. Two seconds, 123 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:59.360 three seconds, whatever it takes. And then let the exhale 124 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.399 be one beat longer. Let the air leave your body 125 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:07.679 and let it take its time. Let the ribs fall 126 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:11.519 all the way, Let the belly release all the way. 127 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:17.519 Let the exhale be a letting go, not a push, 128 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:23.480 not a forced thing, but a slow unwinding, a long sigh, 129 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:27.320 a door opening into a room that has been waiting 130 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:30.759 for you. You do not have to force this, You 131 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.279 only have to allow it. The body knows how to 132 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:39.399 exhale longer than it inhales. The body knows this from sleep, 133 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.480 from the moment you fall asleep and the breath deepens 134 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:47.799 and the exhale takes over, and the nervous system finally, 135 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.159 finally begins to settle. You are giving yourself permission to 136 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:56.720 exhale longer. You are giving your nervous system the signal 137 00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:00.200 it has been waiting for all morning. It is safe 138 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.399 to let go. It is safe to release. It is 139 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:07.360 safe to let the air do more leaving than coming. 140 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:12.080 Because what is leaving is not you. What is leaving 141 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:17.120 is the residue of the morning, the stress, hormones, the tension, 142 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:22.200 the bracing, the waiting, the holding. Let it go, Let 143 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:29.039 the exhale carry it out. Breathe in short, simple a gathering, 144 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:36.200 and then breathe out long, slow, a release. You are 145 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:40.639 allowed to exhale longer than you inhale. You are allowed 146 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:43.799 to let go more than you hold on. The breath 147 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:47.960 knows this. Let the breath teach you. Now, we are 148 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.480 going to let the exhale last a little longer. Not 149 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:55.240 because you have to, not because it is a technique 150 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:58.960 to master, but because the body knows what a longer 151 00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:03.759 exhale can do. The body knows you do not have 152 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.480 to understand the nervous system for it to respond. When 153 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:13.639 you breathe out a little slower, a little longer, the 154 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:19.840 body receives a signal. It is an ancient signal, older 155 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:24.679 than language, older than the to do list, older than 156 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:29.240 anything you have ever learned in a meeting or a classroom. 157 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:36.039 The signal says safety. It says you can rest now. 158 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:41.039 It says the thing you are bracing for it is 159 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:45.360 not here, not right now, not in this breath. So 160 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.600 let's try it. Breathe in through the nose if that 161 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.080 is available to you, or through the mouth, if that 162 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:58.200 is what your body wants. Let the air arrive. Let 163 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:02.320 it fill the space behind your ribs, the space beneath 164 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:07.000 your collar bones, feel the chest rise or the belly, 165 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:10.960 however your body does it. That is the right way. 166 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:18.320 And now let it go slowly, not pushed, not forced. 167 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:22.759 Just let the air leave like it has somewhere gentle 168 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:28.279 to go. Let the exhale take its time. Let there 169 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:32.200 be a small pause at the bottom when the air 170 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.799 has gone out and the body has not yet decided 171 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:39.960 to breathe in again. That pause is where the nervous 172 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.480 system gets to rest. That pause is where you are 173 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:51.440 not performing, not producing, not preparing for what's next. You 174 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:56.960 are just here in the pause, in the quiet. We 175 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:00.440 are going to do this a few times together. You 176 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.919 do not have to count, You do not have to measure. 177 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:08.440 Just follow the breath and let the exhale be a 178 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:13.919 little slower than the inhale. That is all. Breathe in, 179 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:21.080 feel it arrive and exhale. Let it go, let it 180 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:28.480 go all the way and pause. Breathe in again, let 181 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:36.000 it fill and exhale slower this time. Let the body 182 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:44.000 lead and pause one more. Breathe in and out. The 183 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:50.039 body knows how to rest. The body knows, and pause. 184 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:57.080 Breathe in and out slower, soft. You do not have 185 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:00.360 to earn this rest. You only have to let it 186 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:09.200 in and pause, bree in and out and pause. Let 187 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:12.679 us go to the hands. Now, the hands have been 188 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:19.279 doing so much. The hands have been gripping, holding, carrying, reaching, typing, 189 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:25.679 holding coffee cups too tight, holding phones too tight, holding 190 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:31.639 steering wheels, holding yourself up, holding it all together. Let 191 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:36.559 us let the hands rest, Let the hands open, let 192 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:41.919 the fingers uncurl, Let the palms face upward or downward, 193 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:46.399 or whatever way feels like. Release The hands do not 194 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:50.120 need to be fists right now. The hands do not 195 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:54.120 need to be ready for anything. The hands can just be. 196 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:58.080 Hands can just hang at the ends of your arms 197 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:01.360 like they have forgotten they were supposed to be doing something. 198 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:05.840 Let them be heavy, Let them sink into your lap, 199 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:10.279 or rest on your thighs, or fall open at your sides. 200 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.480 However they land, Let them land without your having to 201 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:19.240 arrange them. The hands know how to be still. The 202 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:23.759 hands remember a time before the Morning asked things of them. 203 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:30.360 The hands remember being held, being comforted, being held by 204 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:37.519 someone else, or holding something soft, or simply being empty, open, 205 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:43.440 available to the air. Let the hands remember that. Let 206 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:48.120 the hands be the first place where the morning lets go. Now, 207 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:52.279 let us go to the jaw. The jaw has been clenched. 208 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:57.639 The jaw has been holding so many words, so many 209 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.279 things you did not say, so many things you wanted 210 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:05.320 to say, and swallowed so many things that sat in 211 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:10.320 your mouth like stones. Let the jaw soften, Let the 212 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:15.840 teeth separate, Let the lips part just slightly, Let the 213 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:19.279 tongue unstick from the roof of your mouth. Let the 214 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:23.519 jaw be a place where the body stops bracing. This 215 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:28.120 is not a failure. This is a releasing. This is 216 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:30.679 the body letting go of the thing it has been 217 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:35.039 holding in place for hours. Now, let us go to 218 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:38.960 the chest. The chest has been holding the breath you 219 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:44.000 did not get to take. The chest has been tight maybe, 220 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:48.279 or maybe it has been heaving, or maybe it has 221 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:51.759 been so still it forgot it was supposed to be moving. 222 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.759 Let the chest rise and fall without force. Let the 223 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:01.360 chest be soft. Let the ribs ex band and contract 224 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:05.680 in their own time. The chest is allowed to be soft, 225 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:10.240 The chest is allowed to be open. The body knows. 226 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:14.200 The body has been waiting for you to notice this. 227 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.119 Now we are going to let the attention move to 228 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:23.079 the hands, not to change them, not to fix them, 229 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.519 just to notice what they have been holding. The body knows. 230 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:32.799 The body has been keeping score in its own quiet language. 231 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.720 And the hands have been carrying more than you probably realize. 232 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:41.240 Picture this morning. The hands that are resting right now, 233 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:45.359 they held things. They reached for the phone before your 234 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:49.640 eyes were fully open. And that small gesture, that reaching, 235 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.839 that was a hand holding the weight of every notification, 236 00:17:54.680 --> 00:18:00.119 every headline, every message, waiting for a response. The hands 237 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:02.920 held the phone. You do not have to put it 238 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:08.000 down forever, Just notice that they held it. Later, the 239 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:11.720 hands held the mug, the warmth of it, the weight 240 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.039 of it, the way the ceramic or the metal pressed 241 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:19.039 into the palm. The hands held the mug, and maybe 242 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:22.440 they held the coffee inside it, And maybe the coffee 243 00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:26.119 was the first warm thing you felt today. That matters. 244 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:30.000 The hands knew that, even if you did not stop 245 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:34.200 to notice. The hands held the steering wheel or the 246 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:38.599 handle on the bus or the train, the grip, the tension, 247 00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:42.440 the way the fingers pressed down. That was the hands 248 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.359 carrying the weight of getting somewhere, of being on time, 249 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:50.079 of navigating a world that asks so much of the 250 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:54.400 body in motion. The hands held the wheel, and the 251 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:58.200 arms above them held the shoulders, and the shoulders held 252 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:02.559 the whole tired architecture, the day so far. The hands 253 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:07.440 held the door handle opening, closing, pushing through into the 254 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:13.039 next room, the next conversation, the next hour. The hands 255 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:17.720 held the door. The hands have been opening and closing 256 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:21.920 all morning long. And that is a kind of carrying too. 257 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:26.920 That is the body saying I will get you through 258 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.839 this door, and the next one, and the next one. 259 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.359 Even if you do not have the energy to notice, 260 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:39.400 and the hands held the conversation, maybe you are turning 261 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.759 over a specific one, the one where you had to 262 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.559 say something difficult, or the one where you said yes 263 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:50.400 when you wanted to say no, or the one where 264 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:54.319 you listened and held space for someone else and had 265 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:58.240 nothing left at the end of it. The hands were 266 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:02.680 not literally holding that car conversation, but the body was. 267 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:06.480 The body holds every word you speak in the jaw, 268 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:12.000 in the throat, in the chest. The body holds what 269 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:17.880 you did not say, too. The body knows. So now 270 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:21.559 we are going to do a small body scan, just 271 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:25.240 for a moment, just to notice what is true in 272 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:28.960 the body right now. I am not going to ask 273 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.400 you to change anything. I am only going to ask 274 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:37.119 you to feel. Let the jaw soften. The jaw holds 275 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:41.160 a lot. It holds the words you swallowed, the things 276 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:44.680 you did not say, the clenching that happens when the 277 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:48.920 day gets to be too much. Let the jaw be heavy, 278 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:54.400 Let the teeth part slightly. The jaw does not have 279 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:59.319 to hold anything right now. Let it rest. Now the shoulders. 280 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:03.519 The shoulders are up by the ears, or maybe they 281 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:08.000 are tight, or maybe they are dropped but still holding 282 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:12.960 tension like a memory. Whatever they are doing, notice it. 283 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:18.519 You do not have to fix it. Just notice that 284 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:24.680 they have been carrying the shoulders, carried the bag, the coat, 285 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:30.039 the weight of arms that reached for so many things 286 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:35.880 this morning. They have been working. Let them be held 287 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:40.880 by the chair, by the breath, by the permission to 288 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:47.319 do nothing. Now. The chest, the chest where the breath lives, 289 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:51.920 the chest where the heart beats its steady rhythm, whether 290 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:56.279 you are paying attention or not. The chest has been 291 00:21:56.319 --> 00:22:03.839 holding the coffee, the phone, the conversation, the early morning light, 292 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:09.880 the disappointment, the small win you did not celebrate because 293 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:14.119 there is no time. The chest is holding all of 294 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:18.759 it right now. Let it be held back. Let the 295 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:22.799 breath move in and out of the chest without asking 296 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:28.119 anything of it. The chest does not have to perform. 297 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.640 It just has to be here. It just has to 298 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:35.079 be the place where you are breathing right now. And 299 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:40.039 that is enough. That has always been enough. Here is 300 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.720 what you are allowed to put down. You are allowed 301 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:47.359 to put down the performance you have been giving all morning. 302 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.440 You are allowed to put down the version of yourself 303 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:55.839 that was more capable than you felt. You are allowed 304 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:59.119 to put down the impression you have been trying to make. 305 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:02.519 You are allowed to put down the thing you are 306 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:06.400 supposed to have finished by now. You are allowed to 307 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:10.079 put down the guilt about the thing you did not finish. 308 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.000 You are allowed to put down the email you have 309 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:19.240 been dreading opening. You are allowed to put down the 310 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:24.480 conversation you have been putting off. You are allowed to 311 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:29.559 put down the need to be understood. You are allowed 312 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:34.200 to put down the need to explain yourself. You are 313 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:37.799 allowed to put down the weight of being the person 314 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:42.559 everyone counts on. You are allowed to put down the 315 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:46.799 story you have been telling about how you are handling everything. 316 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:52.960 You are allowed to put down the story about how 317 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:58.200 you are not handling everything. You are allowed to put 318 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:02.119 down the story about how you are not handling everything. 319 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:06.759 You are allowed to put down the need to be okay. 320 00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:10.960 You are allowed to put down the need to not 321 00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:15.759 be okay. You are allowed to put down the need 322 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:20.359 to know what comes next. You are allowed to put 323 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:24.799 down the need to control what comes next. You are 324 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:27.880 allowed to put down the thing you keep replaying in 325 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:31.960 your mind, the moment that did not go the way 326 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:35.640 you wanted, the thing you said that you wish you 327 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.480 had not said, the thing you did not say that 328 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:43.640 you wish you had said. You are allowed to put 329 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:50.240 that down. Not forever, not permanently, just for right now, 330 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:54.640 just for this breath. You can pick it back up 331 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:58.839 later if you need to, But right now, in this moment, 332 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:02.720 in this room, in this breath, you are allowed to 333 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.799 set it down. The body knows, the body is ready 334 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:11.680 to set it down. Let it go, Let it go 335 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:19.279 the way the xay goes slow long release. Let us 336 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.880 pause for a moment and notice the room you are in. 337 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:28.000 You do not have to change anything about it. You 338 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:33.519 only have to notice it. Notice the walls. If there 339 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:38.599 are walls, notice the color of them. Notice the way 340 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:42.759 the light falls across them. Notice the floor beneath your feet, 341 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:47.240 or the chair beneath your body. Notice the texture of it, 342 00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:50.920 the solidity of it, the way it is holding you 343 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:56.640 up without asking anything in return. Notice the window, if 344 00:25:56.680 --> 00:25:59.880 there is a window, notice what you can see through it. 345 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:05.400 Notice the light, Notice the way it moves or does 346 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:10.160 not move. Notice the quality of it, whether it is 347 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:15.559 bright or soft, whether it is warm or cool, whether 348 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:17.799 it is the light of mid day, or the light 349 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:21.559 of a cloudy day. Whatever it is, let it be 350 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:25.720 what it is. Notice the sounds that are in the room, 351 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.839 the sounds that are close, and the sounds that are far. 352 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:33.680 The hum of something electrical may be, or the sound 353 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:37.359 of your own breathing, or the sound of nothing at all. 354 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:42.559 Notice the silence that is underneath the sounds. Notice the 355 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:46.000 space the room is making for you, the way it 356 00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:49.720 holds you without crowding you, the way it gives you 357 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:52.960 room to breathe. You are not alone in this room. 358 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:57.480 The room is here with you. The walls are here 359 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:02.200 with you, the light is herewith you, the air is 360 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.880 here with you. You are held by the room the 361 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:09.599 way you are held by the breath. You are contained 362 00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:14.039 by something larger than your anxiety. You are held by 363 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:18.000 the space around you. Let that be a comfort. Let 364 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:20.920 that be enough. The room does not need you to 365 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:24.720 be anything other than what you are. The room does 366 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:28.480 not need you to perform. The room is simply here, 367 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:33.720 and so are you, and that is enough. Now we 368 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.480 are going to pause, and we are going to let 369 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:42.599 the senses open, not to analyze, not to judge, just 370 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:45.920 to notice. The room you are in has been here 371 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.640 the whole time it has been holding you in its 372 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:55.119 particular kind of silence, its particular kind of light, and 373 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:58.480 you are allowed to finally look at it. You are 374 00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:03.000 allowed to see it. First the sounds. Let the ears 375 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:07.279 receive what is already arriving. Maybe there is a hum, 376 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:13.039 the refrigerator, the heater, the ventilation system, the sound of 377 00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:16.039 a machine that has been running so long you stopped 378 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:20.200 hearing it, but it is still there. Both of those 379 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:27.079 things are true at once. Now the light, Let the 380 00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:32.880 eyes soften and receive what is coming through. Maybe it 381 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:38.400 is morning light, pale and cool, arriving at an angle 382 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:43.599 that makes everything look softer than it really is. Maybe 383 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:49.759 it is afternoon light, warmer, more golden, the kind that 384 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:55.200 makes dust visible in the air. Maybe it is artificial light, 385 00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:00.400 the fluorescent hum of an office, the warm glow of 386 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:03.880 a lamp, the blue light of a screen you have 387 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:08.119 not looked at yet today. Whatever light is in the room, 388 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:12.400 let it land on your skin. Let it remind you 389 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:15.720 that you are in a place, that the place is real, 390 00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:19.599 That the walls and the ceiling and the floor are 391 00:29:19.640 --> 00:29:23.240 holding you the way the breath is holding you. They 392 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:26.079 are all holding you, and you are allowed to feel 393 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:32.359 that now. The air. This one is harder because air 394 00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:37.440 is invisible, but you can feel it. The temperature of 395 00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:40.240 the room, on the skin of your forearms, on the 396 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:43.200 back of your neck, on the places where the body 397 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:48.319 meets the chair. Is the air warm or cool? Is 398 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:52.799 it still or is there a draft somewhere? A small 399 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:56.839 movement of air against the cheek. The air has been 400 00:29:56.839 --> 00:30:00.519 breathing with you this whole time. The air in this 401 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.519