Breathing calm happiness.
Before you begin,
Arrange your environment so it's conducive to meditation.
Set up a comfortable seat in a quiet private space and turn off the volume on your phone.
A good seat height sets your hips level with or slightly above your knees.
Consider the lighting,
Sounds,
Visual images and scents so you create a sacred space.
The purpose of this meditation is to turn inward,
Consciously relax,
Align your posture and embody the positive feeling of breathing calm happiness.
As you follow this meditation,
Practice mindfulness by paying attention,
On purpose,
In the present moment,
Non-judgmentally,
Like a curious observer.
If your attention wanders,
Practice the three R's.
Recognize what has grabbed your attention,
Release this,
And return to following the guided cues.
Do this as often as your attention wanders.
Let's begin by sitting comfortably upright,
With the soles of your feet flat on the ground and parallel with each other.
If you're able to,
Sit far enough forward so you feel some weight in your feet,
Perhaps all the way on the front edge of your seat,
So your pranayama is resting on the front edge of your seat and you feel the weight of your feet firmly on the ground.
If you need back support,
You can sit back against a seat back.
Rest your hands,
Palms cupped,
In your lap,
With your right hand resting in the left and the tips of your thumbs touching lightly.
Lightly close your eyes.
Take a moment to check in inside.
Notice how you feel right now.
If you could sum up this feeling in a word,
Phrase,
Or image,
What would this be?
Now,
Focus down into the soles of both feet.
Feel the sensations of contact between the soles of your feet and the ground.
Awaken sensory awareness in your feet and your toes.
Allow your feet and toes to soften and relax as if they are melting deep down into the earth.
Focus into the sensations in your hands and fingers.
Feel the sensations of contact with your legs.
Awaken sensory awareness in your palms and fingers and allow your palms and fingers to soften and relax as if they are melting down into your legs.
As your hands and fingers relax,
Allow your arms and shoulders to relax down,
Releasing any tension in your neck and shoulders.
Imagine and feel as if a string is attached to the top of your head,
Drawing your spine gently upright,
Giving you a feeling of vertical spaciousness up through the core of your body,
Up through your spine,
And through the top of your head.
Feel awakened clarity spiraling up through your spine to the top of your head.
Tuck your chin just slightly,
Gently lengthening the back of your neck.
Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth,
With the tip of your tongue touching the gum line behind your upper front teeth.
Soften and relax your tongue here.
Smile,
A subtle smile of calm happiness.
Allow the feeling of smiling to relax your jaw.
Smile through your eyes and release any tension from your eyebrows and your forehead.
Allow the feeling of smiling to wash down through your whole body,
Creating a positive,
Nurturing inner environment in which all your cells relax,
Open,
Communicate with each other,
And radiate pure positive life energy,
Calm happiness.
Now,
Focus into your lower abdomen and become aware of the sensations of breathing here.
As you inhale,
Feel your abdomen gently expand as you breathe in the feeling of calm.
And as you exhale,
Feel your abdomen relax inward as you breathe out the feeling of happiness through all your cells.
If your mind wanders to other thoughts,
Feelings,
Memories,
Images,
Or sensations,
Gently recognize them,
Release them,
And return to the feeling of breathing in calm and breathing out happiness.
Now,
Feel your body as a whole from the inside.
Sense the entire space inside your skin.
Notice how you feel now.
Feel your body as a whole from the inside.
If you could sum up this feeling in a word,
Phrase,
Or image,
What would this be?
Record this feeling with your word,
Phrase,
Or image in every cell of your body to use as a landmark to return to this experience anytime.
Slowly,
Half open your eyes and begin to take in the space around you together with the space inside.
One space of calm and happiness.
Feel the top of your head,
Your hands in your lap,
And your feet on the ground.
Reflect on your meditative experience.
What were the most poignant moments?
Was there a moment when you let go and became fully absorbed in the experience?
Take a few moments to write down anything you'd like to remember from this meditative experience,
Along with any insights and inspirations.
Breathe calm happiness and share it with others wherever you go.
Well done.
