Finding calm in chaos,
A mindfulness meditation for stress relief.
This type of meditation involves being fully present and aware of your thoughts,
Feelings,
And bodily sensations.
Begin by finding a comfortable and quiet space where you can sit or lie down and be undisturbed for the next 15 to 20 minutes.
When you're ready,
Take a few deep,
Slow breaths and then allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm without forcing those deep breaths or without lengthening the inhale or the exhalation.
Close your eyes and start to bring your attention inward.
Notice the sensations of your breath moving in and out of your body,
Noticing the rise and fall of the belly,
The chest,
The warmth just underneath the nostrils,
On the skin above your upper lip.
Without trying to change anything,
Simply observe the sensations of your breath.
As you continue to focus on your breath,
You may notice that your mind starts to wander.
This is completely normal and happens to everyone.
When you notice your mind has wandered,
Gently bring your attention back to your natural breath rhythm.
Simply observe the sensations of your breath,
Noticing if there's any tension anywhere else in the body.
As you observe those sensations in the specific spots of the body,
Stay there and pay attention if it changes,
If it moves somewhere else.
Describe the sensation in your mind.
Is it warm?
Cold?
Throbbing?
Pinching?
Whatever it may be.
And then just do your best,
Once you've understood the location in the body,
The sensations that have come up and descriptions of them,
And do your best to let it go.
Taking a deep breath in through the nose,
Exhaling out of the mouth,
And then come back to a regular cycle of breath,
Bringing your attention back to the breath whenever your mind wanders.
Do your best not to judge or criticize yourself for getting distracted.
Simply notice and return back to your breath.
As you settle into your meditation,
Start to expand your awareness to the physical body,
Beginning at the top of your head,
And scan down to the tips of the toes.
From noticing the sensations from before,
Try to be a little bit more detailed and take your time as you scan,
Noticing any of those areas of tension or discomfort and simply observe them without trying to change anything.
Just simply allow yourself to be present with whatever sensations arise.
You can choose to stay here,
Scanning your physical body,
Or you can add another layer As you bring your awareness now to your thoughts and emotions,
Notice any thoughts or feelings that arise.
Again simply observe and describe them without judgment.
If your mind starts to get caught up in a particular thought or emotion,
Gently bring your attention back to your breath.
At any point,
If you feel overwhelmed with any thoughts or emotions,
Expand your awareness to your environment,
Noticing any sounds you hear,
Any smells in the air,
Or any sensations on your skin,
Simply observing without judgment or trying to change anything.
As you continue to practice this mindfulness meditation,
You may start to notice a sense of calm and relaxation spreading throughout your body and mind.
With time,
Your practice will be able to respond to stressful situations with greater clarity and ease.
You will relate to yourself and others with more compassion,
Enabling you to connect to the world around you more deeply than ever before.
Continuing to scan your body and or paying attention to your thoughts and emotion without falling into the narrative,
Rather observe.
Focusing on the area just above your eyebrows,
Feeling a sense of release.
Softening the area just around the eyeballs.
Feel the skin relax.
Taking a deep breath in through the nose,
Exhaling out of the mouth,
And letting go of a little more tension around the jaw,
The neck,
And your shoulders.
Allowing even the tongue to rest softly in the mouth,
Finding a little more length in through the spine.
As you gently roll the shoulders down,
Lift the chest and heart center forward,
Breathing more freely into the front,
Sides,
And back of your body,
Allowing the ribs to expand up and out and allow them to naturally fall.
Noticing as the mind continues to wander,
Acknowledge it without feeding any energy,
And then bring yourself back in this moment,
At this time.
You're almost there.
If you feel high levels of emotion,
Release it on the out-breath,
Try inhaling the shoulders up to the earlobes,
And then exhale out of the mouth as the shoulders come back to their original,
Relaxed position.
Doing that a few more times,
Whenever you start to feel high tension or a great sense of being overwhelmed.
We have 8 to 10 more breaths together.
Try not to force the inhale or exhale,
Allow this to be your normal breath.
Only when you are ready to end your meditation,
Taking a few deep,
Energetic breaths,
Thanking yourself for taking this time to sit.
Only when you're ready,
Very gently,
Start to open your eyes and allow the natural light to come back in.
Taking a moment and notice how you feel,
And allow yourself to carry this sense of mindfulness and presence as you move throughout the day.
