Sudden Loss

Hello, and welcome to this exercise. My name is Eve, and I'll be your guide. In a way, see me as your friend who is sitting beside you, holding your hand as we do this exercise together. So taking a moment to get comfortable. It is perfectly okay to lie down for this exercise, or you can sit in a chair, or perhaps on the couch. And I want to start by saying how sorry I am that you've lost someone. Right now, the world is probably not going to make much sense, and the ground beneath you may feel very unsteady. I lost my father very suddenly three years ago. One moment he was there and the next he was not. My world turned upside down in a matter of seconds, and in those first few days and weeks, nothing made sense. It felt like my heart had been crushed. So my heart is with you today, and please know that you are not alone. Losing someone suddenly can leave you feeling shocked, and it can be difficult to process the magnitude of what has happened. Right now, it is okay that you can't make sense of it. It's okay if you feel angry, heartbroken, scared. Whatever you are experiencing right now is okay. We're not trying to change it in any way. Instead, we're cultivating a safe space for you to be how you need to be in this moment. In this exercise, we're going to do a very simple breathing exercise together where we will take some time to connect with our physical surroundings. Deep breathing helps to send a signal to the brain that we are okay. It activates the calming centers of the body. Even in the midst of tragedy, we can invite the body to settle, and I'll be with you every step of the way. But if at any point you need to let go of my guidance, that is totally fine. So we're going to keep our eyes open for this exercise, and I'd to invite you to gently take in the space that you're in, perhaps scanning from one side of the room to the other. Nice and slowly, but just orienting yourself with the physical surroundings, noticing the different physical objects. So as we settle into the exercise, inviting you to settle your gaze on a spot or an object about three feet in front of you. You can also choose to settle your gaze on something outside, if you would prefer. It could be a tree, for example. So breathing normally, naturally, not staring too intently, but letting the gaze soften as it rests on this object. It's okay if there are tears, let them flow. And taking a big deep breath in through the nose and then out through the mouth. So taking a moment to feel the contact of your body on the chair or the surface beneath you, that sense of your body being held and...