 Hello art citizens, my name is Courtney and I'm a brain education instructor in Boston. Today I'd like to guide you through a 10 minute routine for releasing sadness and grief. As will be on the floor, please find yourself a quiet and comfortable space you can lie down in. You might like to grab a blanket or a heavy pillow as an optional prop and let's begin. Take your time to lie down on your back and bend your knees into your chest. Start to make slow circles with your knees, letting your back relax into the floor. When you're ready, close your eyes and keep moving mindfully. Emotional processing often calls for the acknowledgement and awareness of what you're feeling. In order to allow those feelings to come to the surface, please remind yourself that you're in a safe space and let's use this initial position to help facilitate feelings of security. Gently switch and rotate your knees in the opposite direction. Take a deep breath in and out, feeling your back melt into the floor. Wherever you're holding your knees or legs, do so intentionally, securely. You may like to set your intention for your meditation and affirm to yourself, I'm ready to release sadness and grief from my body, mind, and heart. Slowly stop. Place your feet on the floor. You might like to lay a folded blanket or pillow over your body, then rest your hands comfortably on your lower abdomen. Take a deep breath, expanding your belly under your hands, release and relax. Again breathe in, expanding your lower belly, hold it expanded, then release and relax. Feel your lower abdomen rise as you inhale and sink as you exhale, once again creating a sense of safety and security in your body. While keeping your elbows on the floor, start to tap your chest with your fingertips. A lot of our unresolved grief and suppressed sadness can become trapped within our chest and around our heart. Tapping will help to both loosen tension and circulate energy. As you tap, emotions and memories may arise. If they do, welcome them with compassionate awareness, giving them permission to come to the surface and keep connecting to the feeling in your body. Breathe in, mouth exhale while making the sound like an ocean wave. Breathe in as much as you need, sigh out, let the sound help push stagnant energy and tension out of your body. Keep going, tapping and breathing with sound. Stop tapping and rest your arms to your sides about 45 degrees. Open your hands slightly and focus on your fingertips and palms. Notice any subtle tingling or changes in temperature as these are signs that energy is already circulating. As you keep feeling your body, imagine a warm, bright light hovers above you. When you breathe in, visualize that light beaming down to the center of your chest as you breathe out in your mind's eye. Try to trace a line from your chest down your arms to your hands. Breathe in bright, warm light into your heart space. Breathe out and visualize energy flowing from your chest through your shoulders down your arms and out the tips of your fingers and palms. Keep breathing this way, allowing new energy to enter your heart. As old energy releases out your fingers and palms, affirm to yourself, sadness and grief are leaving my body, mind and heart. Now extend your legs and start to shake them widely in and out, moving all the way up to your hips and tapping your big toes together. You might like to bring your arms into a cactus posture, but if your shoulders feel tight, you can lower your arms at any time. Keep shaking your legs and come back to your breath. Breathing uncomfortably and exhaling slowly, focus on your breath. Inhale as much as you need and exhale slowly and smoothly with each inhale. Imagine you are drawing in warmth and comfort and with each exhale, releasing sadness and heaviness. Let your breath be a gentle guide into the feeling of your body. As you breathe, take a moment to acknowledge any feelings of sadness that may arise and without judgment, allow yourself to fully feel and accept these emotions. Imagine these feelings as gentle waves coming and going with the rhythm of your breath. Affirm to yourself, I release sadness with each breath. I am strong and resilient, capable of embracing my emotions. As you shake your legs, continue to repeat these affirmations or any words that resonate with you. Allow their hopeful energy to fill your heart. Gently, you can stop moving and imagine that each one of your toes is a gateway that sadness and grief can leave your body. Notice any tingling, vibration or changes in temperature. Sadness and grief are now leaving your body. Breathe in comfortably, breathe out slowly and now try to pause at the bottom of your breath. Breathe in, out and hold to empty your body and mind. Breathe in when you are ready and repeat. Breathe in, out slowly, pause. Breathe in, pause, release your breathwork and one at a time bend your knees, placing your feet back on the floor and bring your hands over your heart center. Visualize a soft, warm light glowing in the center of your chest. This light represents your resilience and capacity for healing. Allow this light to expand with each breath, spreading its soothing energy throughout your body. Feel its gentle embrace reassuring you that you are safe and supported. When you're ready with a renewed sense of calm and lightness, you can open your eyes and turn to one side to sit up. Would you let me know in the comments what you felt? Please remember that healing is a journey and that heavy emotions may need multiple sessions in order to release. Thank you for joining me for this 10 minute routine. If you'd like to experience a full one hour of brain education, find a body and brain center near you. See you next time.