Hello,
This is Amy Ruthie,
And this is a meditation to help you cultivate confidence before a big event.
Maybe you have a presentation coming up,
Or a big bike race,
Or a difficult conversation.
So I invite you to settle in and get as comfortable as you can.
You can sit upright,
Or lie down,
Whatever is most comfortable for you right now.
Begin by noticing your breath and how your belly moves out as you inhale and back in as you exhale.
Maybe placing your palm over your belly,
Noticing as your belly rises as you inhale,
And falls as you exhale.
A few more breaths like that.
And now bringing your awareness inward and noticing where you feel the nervousness.
Where do you feel it right now?
Maybe your heart?
Maybe in your hands?
Perhaps your mind feels a little cluttered?
Maybe hip flexors?
Your feet?
And now bring your awareness to that point in your body.
Maybe it's your stomach?
Wherever it is in your body right now.
And inhale the feeling of calm from the universe.
Inhale that into your heart,
And as you exhale,
Send it directly to that body part where you feel the nervousness right now.
Inhale calm into your heart,
And exhale calm to that body part.
Inhale calm,
Exhale calm.
A few more rounds like that.
And now imagine how you want to feel during this big event.
Maybe you want to feel confident,
Or carefree,
Or prepared?
Perhaps calm?
How do you want to feel during this upcoming event?
And now I invite you to take that feeling and turn it into a positive statement,
Such as,
I am confident,
Or I am capable,
Or I am prepared,
I am strong.
Creating a positive statement in the present tense,
From that feeling that you want to cultivate for this upcoming event.
Now repeat that as your mantra for today.
Gently inhaling and exhaling that positive statement in the present tense,
Over and over.
And in a moment I'll leave you here in silence to repeat that.
And please remember that it is very normal for your mind to wander during meditation.
It's completely normal.
And every time you notice that your mind has drifted away,
Try to kindly and lovingly bring your mind back to your positive statement,
And continue repeating it over and over.
So I'll give you some time here in silence to repeat that positive statement.
And if your mind has drifted away,
Just bring it back to your positive statement.
If your mind has drifted,
Just gently come back.
And now for the next few breaths,
I encourage you to really feel that statement.
Really feel that feeling in your body as if it's already happening.
So,
I am confident.
And as you repeat that,
Really feel confidence flowing through your body.
Or,
I am prepared.
Or,
I am strong.
Whatever your positive statement is today,
Really feel that in your body during the next few breaths.
And one more big inhale here.
And exhale,
Release that positive statement.
And for the next portion of this meditation,
If you are in a private place,
Please join along on this more physical part of the practice.
So if you can,
I invite you to stand up.
And we'll take three deep breaths together.
On the inhale,
You'll inhale through the nose.
And as you exhale,
Exhale through the mouth with your tongue sticking out as far as you can.
It's called lion's breath.
And it can help you release some of that nervous energy that you might have right now.
So inhale deeply through the nose.
Tongue out,
Exhale through the mouth.
Two more times.
Inhale.
Tongue out,
Exhale through the mouth.
Releasing that nervousness one more time.
Inhale.
Tongue out,
Exhale through the mouth.
Back to your regular breath,
Your natural rhythm of breath.
And if you are in a private place where you can do this,
I invite you to widen your stance a bit.
Your feet are a little wider than hips distance apart.
And arms out and up.
So you're making an X with your body.
And take three big breaths here.
Inhaling that positive statement again.
I am confident.
I'm strong.
Whatever your statement is today.
And exhale that out.
Two more times like that.
Inhaling that into your body.
Really believing it,
Really feeling it.
And exhale out.
One more time.
Inhale that positive statement.
You've got this.
You can do this.
You've got this.
You can do this.
And exhale that out.
And then lower your arms.
Maybe shake your arms a little bit.
Shake your legs a little bit.
Bend and straighten your legs.
Just kind of shake it out a little bit.
Shake it out.
And now bring your body to stillness again.
And palms together at heart center in prayer position.
And we'll end this meditation with one OM together.
Inhale to prepare.
OM OM I hope this meditation helps you with your big event today.
And I hope that you'll return back to this meditation anytime you have a big event coming up.
Or even a small one.
Anytime you're a little nervous about something coming up in your life,
Just come back to this meditation.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Namaste.
