When things feel shaky, the first thing to find is the ground.
So let's start there.
Sit on a chair, a cushion, or the floor.
Or lie down if that feels safer Whatever today.
you pick is the right choice.
Let your weight sink Really down.
let the seat hold You you.
don't have to hold yourself up for the next six minutes.
Close your eyes,
or lower your gaze to the floor in front of you.
Breathe in through your nose, slow and low, into the belly.
And breathe out through the mouth, a little longer than the in-breath.
Again.
In...
feeling your belly rise.
And out...
feeling yourself get a little heavier.
Now bring your attention to the very base of your spine.
The bottom of your back, where you meet the seat.
This is the root chakra.
In Sanskrit it's called Muladhara, which roughly means root support.
It's linked with feeling safe, and with having a place in the world.
You might feel pressure there, or warmth, or not much at all.
Any of that is fine.
You're just noticing.
Picture a small glow of warm red light, right at the base of your
spine.
The color of embers, or of clay after rain.
It turns slowly.
No rush.
Like a wheel that's in no hurry to get anywhere.
With each breath in, it gets a little warmer.
With each breath out, it spreads down into your hips, your legs, and the
soles of your feet.
If it's hard to see a color, you can just feel warmth instead.
That works just as well.
Imagine that warmth sending roots down through the floor, deep into the cool, dark
soil below you.
Most of us carry some worry down here.
About money.
About home.
About whether we're really okay.
You don't need to solve any of it right now.
Just notice which one feels loudest today.
Breathe in...
and let the red light find that worry.
And breathe out slowly,
letting some of its weight drain down into the ground.
Once more.
In...
And out...
the earth can take It's it.
been holding heavier things than this for a very long If time.
your mind grabs the worry again and starts that's planning, okay.
That's what minds Just do.
come back to the warmth at the base of your Let's spine.
say a few words to that root.
Silently, or out loud if you like.
I am safe.
I am supported.
I belong here.
I have what I need for If today.
one of those didn't feel true yet, that's honest.
Say it a anyway, little softer.
Some words need a few tries.
Now picture a mountain.
Wide at the bottom.
Old.
Not going anywhere.
Storms roll over it.
Clouds sit on top of it for days sometimes.
The mountain just stays where it is.
Your hips are its base.
Your spine rises up like the slope.
You're steady like that too, even on days you forget.
Stay here as the mountain for a while.
Heavy and warm, with nothing to do.
If a worry drifts past like a cloud, let it pass over.
You don't have to go anywhere with it.
Slowly now, start to come back.
Press your feet into the floor.
Feel how solid it is under you.
Wiggle your fingers.
Maybe rock gently side to side, feeling your weight shift and settle.
And when you're ready, open your eyes.
Take in the room.
It's still here, and so are you.
Stand up slowly when you get up,
and keep a bit of that mountain with you.