Welcome,
My name is Alex and thank you for joining me today in meditation.
This will be a simple meditation for grounding into our breath,
Body,
And present moment to just be.
So often the ebb and flow of life can become overwhelming and loud.
It seems we have to elbow our way through a crowd of thoughts sometimes to be able to find some solace of peace.
This meditation uses a simple visualization to hold all of our anxious thoughts and mental ruminations while we take a break and simply breathe in silence and stillness.
When you're ready,
I invite you to come into a comfortable seat,
Preferably with your spine tall and supported.
You're welcome to sit up against a wall or at the foot of your bed if you do need some spinal support.
Ground through your sitting bones by visualizing that you have mighty tree roots growing out of them,
Connecting and anchoring you down into Mother Earth who holds you in this space.
And feel that grounding run through your legs and your feet and your toes.
And allow a deep heaviness to settle into your bones as you take a full breath in and a resounding breath out.
Let your belly soften as you breathe,
Taking up space as it receives each inhale.
And as you continue to breathe,
Allow each exhale to ground you a little bit more into your seat.
Heavy ground,
Soft belly.
Continue to breathe,
Now adding a bit more depth to your inhales until your belly and chest are full with new oxygen and take a resounding breath in and a resounding exhale out.
As the lungs fill with breath,
Allow your heart space to soften by releasing the weight of your shoulders down the back.
Let your arms and hands be heavy and let your heart remain open.
Imagine that the crown of your head is growing towards the sky above you,
Lengthening the back of your neck.
And as you do this,
Pull your shoulders ever so gently down your back,
Exposing your heart even more.
And then breathe into this new and open space,
Inhaling fully,
Exhaling deeply.
Your sitting bones are connected,
Heavy.
Your belly is soft.
Your heart is open.
Your spine is long and supported.
Your eyes are heavy in their sockets and your jaw is relaxed.
Breathe in to receive.
Breathe out to release.
Stay and breathe right here.
The mind will naturally pull us towards this thought or that,
It's okay.
Instead of fighting against it,
I'd like you to visualize a beautiful basket by your side.
Into this basket,
Imagine that you're setting down all of the thoughts that are clinging to your attention.
Stories,
To-do lists,
Ideas,
Projects,
Anxious overthinking,
What ifs,
What thens,
And hows.
And take all of these thoughts that so often require an immediate response and place them into this basket.
They are safe and quiet here.
Now come back to your breath and to your body sitting in this meditation.
Feel your breath moving through your body effortlessly and feel your body connected into your seat,
Feeling the clothes on your skin and the subtle movement of your belly and your chest as the inhale comes in and the exhale moves that breath out.
There may be some extra little peace about you now,
Some added quiet with all of your thoughts in this basket.
Enjoy this peace,
This quiet.
Your sitting bones are connected.
Your belly is soft.
Your heart is open.
Shoulders are relaxed.
Your spine is tall and supported and breathe into this space,
Into this space of rest,
Into this space of simply being with yourself.
That's all that matters now.
That's all you Stay here as long as you'd like.
And only when you're ready begin to wiggle your fingers and toes and make any other small movements with your body.
Keeping your eyes closed in your space of introspection,
Visualize your basket again.
What's ready to come back out with you?
What are you happy to leave behind?
What may feel lighter or changed?
Know that you always have a choice now with fresh new eyes.
When you're ready blink your eyes open and come back into your full attention.
May this ease and peace follow you always.
Namaste.
