Hello and welcome to your journey to mindfulness.
My name is Letitia and today I'll guide you through a 20 minutes meditation for your nervous system.
This is a gentle and nurturing practice focused on downregulating your stress responses.
So when you are ready,
Find a quiet place where you can sit or lie down comfortably.
Let your hands rest loosely and if you like,
Place one hand over your heart and the other hand over your belly.
Allow your eyes to close gently or if that doesn't feel right for you,
You may just keep a soft gaze towards the ground.
And allow yourself to find a bit of softness here.
Relaxing every single muscle in your face.
Softening the tongue in your mouth,
Softening the lower jaw.
Letting your shoulders drop further away from the ears.
Allow yourself to find softness in your breath as well.
Breathing in through the nose and perhaps exhaling through the mouth,
Sighing the breath out.
And start to slowly bring your awareness to the places your body touches the earth.
Your feet,
Your legs,
Your back,
Perhaps your hands.
And imagine roots growing from these points into the ground.
Deep and strong.
And with every exhale,
Feel yourself sinking heavier into this support.
Letting the earth hold your weight.
And perhaps whispering softly to yourself,
I am grounded.
I am supported.
I am here and now.
I am grounded.
I am supported.
I am here and now.
And we'll slowly start shaping the breath together.
Begin a slow and steady breathing rhythm.
Inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of six.
Inhaling for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Start again inhaling for four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale for two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Keep going with this pattern.
Inhaling for four,
Exhaling for six.
The longer exhale taps into your parasympathetic nervous system,
Your rest and digest magic.
If it feels right,
You can even deepen the exhales.
Sigh it out softly through parted lips.
And you can also visualize your breath as a warm,
Golden mist flowing through your body and soothing every nerve ending.
With every single breath,
Feel the tension melting like ice in the sun.
And take four more rounds of breath here.
Drawing full breath all the way up through the nose.
Letting the breath empty gently for a count of six through the mouth.
And once you're done with your four breaths,
Gently come back to your natural rhythm of breathing.
And I'll invite you to tenderly turn your attention to different parts of your body.
Start at the crown of your head and work your way down.
Forehead,
Eyes,
Jaw,
Neck and shoulders.
And with each place you visit,
Imagine a warm,
Honey-like liquid pouring over it.
Relaxing it,
Inviting it to soften.
And if you find tension,
Greet it with kindness,
Not judgment.
Maybe silently saying,
You are allowed to rest now.
I am taking care of you.
Allowing yourself to feel fully supported by the earth beneath you.
Allowing yourself to be here and now.
Allowing yourself to rest.
And allow any emotions that rise to come like waves.
You don't need to fix them.
You don't need to change them.
You don't even need to understand them.
Just become a witness and notice.
You are a safe container for all your feelings.
Breathe and hold yourself the way a mother would hold a tired child.
With infinite tenderness.
With unconditional love.
And perhaps even whispering within yourself.
All parts of me are welcome.
All parts of me are welcome here.
Invite any emotion that wants to come forward.
Even the ones you usually push away.
Whether it's sadness,
Frustration,
Weariness,
Joy.
And can you feel it as a sensation in your body?
Maybe it even has a texture or a color.
A temperature.
Just notice.
No judgment.
No rushing.
Just infinite patient love.
If tears arise,
Let them flow.
If numbness appears,
Let it go.
Just honor that too.
You don't have to change anything.
You are the calm lake holding the rain.
And you can rest here for as long as you need.
Breathing.
Allowing.
Acknowledging.
And loving.
And remembering that every feeling is welcome here.
All parts of yourself are welcome here.
Your whole human experience is welcome here.
Notice whatever is there for you.
And perhaps offering these sacred words.
As the sensations and the emotions arise.
Silently saying,
I see you.
I thank you.
And I release you.
And very slowly start to deepen your breath once more.
Perhaps gently wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Slowly awakening the body with tenderness.
And when you feel ready,
Place your hands over your heart.
And whisper to yourself as you breathe.
It's a blessing.
I honor myself.
I am whole.
I am home.
Whenever you are ready,
You can open your eyes softly.
Carrying this feeling of sacred refuge into your day.
Knowing that you can always come back to this place of inner calm.
That is always within you.
Thank you so much for sharing this meditation with me.
I wish you a beautiful day.
And I hope to see you soon.
Take care.
