Breaking Your Own Glass Ceiling

Sometimes, the limits we feel are ones we’ve unknowingly learned to live with. Inspired by a simple experiment about fleas in a jar, this guided meditation invites you to explore what old beliefs or stories might be holding you back and what it could feel like to rise beyond them. Through gentle reflection and breath, we’ll soften self-judgment and begin to reimagine what’s possible when we remove the invisible lid.

Transcript

Hi there, My name is Ingrid and I'll be guiding you through a gentle breath work and meditation session. I'm going to go ahead and get nice and comfortable before we start. So feel free to find a seat if it calls for you. Or maybe you'd like to lie down. Feel free to use anything to make you extra cozy and comfortable. Using any cushions, Any blankets if you'd like. And once you found your choice. We'll go ahead and take some last movements here. Maybe wriggling the fingers and toes. Maybe rolling the shoulders up and around. Maybe dropping the head to one side. Taking a few neck circles here. Taking three last rounds of breath. And when you're ready, Let's come back to stillness. Maybe softening the gaze or closing down the eyes here. Now let's start to settle here in your body. As we take three deep breaths. Breathe in through the nose. Can you send your breath all the way down to your belly? And when you're ready, Just breathe it out. Let's try that again. Breathing in nice and slowly. Feel the chest rise. Slowly empty it out. One lucky last round of breath here. Breathing in nice and fully. Send it down to the belly. Feel it rise up to the chest. And then the throat. Breathe it out. Emptying from the throat down to the chest. Down to the belly. Now you're always welcome to keep flowing with your own natural rhythm of breath. But if you feel you'd like to deepen it a little more. You can always come into Samavriti, Which is our box breathing. For Samavriti, We'll breathe in for a count of four. We hold our breath for a count of four. Exhale for four. And hold for four. You may like to visualize a square box. As we breathe in for equal parts. Hold. Breathe out for an equal count. And hold again for an equal count. You can go ahead and start this if you're familiar with it. But if you're not, You're always welcome to join me as I cue you through it. To start off, Let's all take a deep breath in through the nose. A cleansing breath. And then breathe it out. Now inhaling for four. Three. Two. One. Hold for four. Three. Two. One. Exhale for four. Three. Two. One. Hold for four. Three. Two. One. Again, Inhale for four. Three. Two. One. Hold for four. Three. Two. One. Exhale for four. Three. Two. One. Hold for four. Three. Two. One. Inhale for four. Two. One. Hold for four. One. Exhale for. One. Hold for four. One. And again, Keep going with this, Flowing with your own breath. We're here for one last minute. Coming into your last round of your box breath. And when you're ready, Just gently returning to your natural rhythm of breath. Starting to notice the gentle rise and fall of your chest. And know that there's nowhere else you need to go. There's nothing else you need to do. Just be here with yourself. Our meditation this evening is based on a science experiment that I read about. A group of scientists was doing some experiments with fleas. They placed some fleas into a glass jar. And as the lid was off, The fleas could jump in and out of the jar freely. So the scientists placed them back into the jar, Closed the lid, And wanted to observe what would happen. As expected, The fleas kept jumping up as high as they could, Trying to escape from the jar as they did before. However, With the lid there, They ended up crashing into this new ceiling that appeared in their jar. And over time, The fleas began to jump lower and lower. Eventually, They stopped jumping high, Knowing that there was no means of escape. Eventually, The scientists removed the lid of the jar. And while the fleas had the ability to escape, The scientists were so surprised that they kept jumping low. Never really escaping from the jar, Even though escape was so close within reach. So sometimes, We ourselves are like the fleas in the jar. Perhaps at some point in our lives, We hit our own ceiling. A moment that told us, You can't do that. That's too much. It's too scary to take a risk. Stay small, Stay safe. And maybe, Just maybe, We've been moving through life with an invisible lid ever since. Now you're always welcome to stay with your breathing. But perhaps maybe, You'd like to bring to mind just one story. Or maybe one belief, One old pattern, Or one inherited message that may have taught you to stay small, To play it safe, To hold yourself back. Maybe it sounds something like, I'm not enough. I'm too much. I don't belong. What if I fail? Just notice. No judgement, Just curiosity. Like you're observing a flea in the jar. Maybe notice how you've learned to move around this invisible barrier. Now, If you'd like, Bring a gentle hand to your heart, Or somewhere in your body that feels supportive. Maybe on the belly. Maybe giving yourself a tight hug. Can you breathe into that space? And can you ask yourself, What if my lid, Or my glass ceiling, Is already gone? What would it feel like to jump higher again? To move beyond this belief? To imagine yourself free? Let your breath be a soft invitation to expand. Inhale, Opening. Exhale, Releasing. Inhale, Rising. Exhale, Softening. You may even want to try these gentle affirmations in your own mind. Or whisper it out aloud if it calls to you. I am free to outgrow what no longer fits me. I am free to outgrow what no longer fits me. I am allowed to rise. I am allowed to rise. The glass ceiling is only in my mind. The glass ceiling is only in my mind. Let these words ripple through you, And know that you don't have to force anything. Just allow a little shift in your mindset, Even if it's small. Because sometimes that's how liberation begins. As we near the end of our meditation, Gently return to your breath. Notice how it moves through a body that is spacious and wise. A body that remembers how to rise. Carry this awareness with you. Remember that some ceilings are ready to be broken. That the lid may no longer be there. And that you are free and so deserving to take up space. When you're ready, Start to arrive back in your body, Bringing some awareness to it. Maybe start to wriggle the fingers and toes, Or take a full body stretch. And when it feels right, Gently and slowly blink open the eyes. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you have a beautiful day ahead. And I wish you well, As you work towards breaking your own glass ceilings. From my heart to yours, Namaste.