Hi,
My name is Nora and welcome to today's meditation,
The antidote to stress.
So first let's agree,
What is stress?
Stress is how you respond when your needs are not met.
So we all have 60 to 80 thousands thoughts a day,
And this is very natural.
But we are not our thoughts,
We are the space between the thoughts.
And meditation,
As explained by Patanjali thousands of years ago in his book,
The Yoga Sutras,
It is the progressive quieting of the fluctuation of the mind,
So you can remember who you truly are.
So when some of these thoughts cause stress,
Our body responds either physically or emotionally,
Fight or flight,
And this happens 8 to 15 times a day on average.
But when we build up this stress,
It blocks the natural flow of energy,
It affects the clarity of our mind,
Our efficiency and the overall balance in our life.
And everything,
I mean everything that we don't process,
Gets stored in the body.
And the body is so intelligent,
First it whispers,
It signs,
But if we keep ignoring them it starts to scream,
In the form of pain or dis-ease.
So stress can trigger either an emotional response,
Such as emotional defensiveness or aggressiveness,
Or emotional withdrawal.
Or it can trigger physical response,
Such as increased heart rate,
Blood pressure,
Shallow breathing,
Muscle contraction.
You may notice tension in your eyebrows,
Jaws,
Neck,
Your lower back.
How do you feel in your body when you experience stress?
What needs are not met?
Feel free to keep observing that during the day.
How do you feel in your body?
Which parts of your body hold tension when you experience stress?
The deeper you relax,
The more balance and clarity you regain.
So I am here today to remind you of only one thing.
Relax.
Not only during this meditation,
But throughout the day.
Whenever you remember,
Pause,
Check in,
Which part of your body is holding tension.
Breathe deeply into it.
Osho said that the path to enlightenment is by allowing the ego to dissolve completely until we are again a blank slate,
Liberated from the constrictions that we have layered onto our tender heart.
Enlightenment is not something to be achieved,
It is our natural state.
That reveals itself once these layers of conditioning,
The ego,
And the false identities dissolve.
So I invite you now to find a comfortable position.
Gently close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Relax.
One more time,
Deep breath in.
Relax your forehead.
Relax your eyebrows.
Let them soften completely.
Relax your temples.
Relax your jaws.
Slightly open your mouth to relax the nose and release the tension.
Relax your neck and shoulder.
Breathe in.
And let your shoulders drop.
Relax your chest.
Open your heart.
Relax your chest.
Relax your belly.
Relax your upper back.
Your lower back.
Relax your arms,
Your elbows,
Your wrists,
Your hands.
Each finger,
Soft and free.
Relax your hips.
Relax your knees,
Your calves,
Your ankles.
And keep relaxing.
Relax your feet.
Your right feet.
Your right toes.
And your left feet.
And left toes.
And now scan your body completely and relax any part that needs more relaxation.
Today we will use a mantra.
So hum,
I am.
So hum,
I am.
So keep repeating the mantra and allow any feelings to come up.
The only way to process your feelings is to feel it.
So hum,
I am.
So if you feel like adding any emotion after I am,
Feel free to express it in your mind.
And feel it.
So hum.
As you repeat the mantra you may drift away to thoughts or sounds.
Treat them like clouds,
Let them pass.
Don't resist them and don't cling to them.
And when you notice that,
Simply come back to the mantra.
So hum,
I am.
Open your heart to feel.
Open your heart to receive.
Open your heart to be.
If feelings arises,
Feeling of sadness or anger or grief,
Allow.
By feeling it fully,
You process it,
You transform it.
If tears fill your eyes,
Let them flow.
I am before the thoughts,
Before the feelings,
Before the words.
Open your heart even more.
Imagine angels softly touch the center of your heart,
Sprinkling the magic of life,
Of feelings.
Open your heart to joy.
Open your heart to love.
So hum.
Let go of all judgment of what is coming up,
How it should be.
So hum.
Release the mantra and together take a long deep breath to the miracle that you are.
Relaxed,
Rejuvenated and fully alive.
Before we close today's practice,
Remember the deeper you relax,
The more balance and clarity you regain.
So your only job for today is to relax.
In the middle of a tough conversation,
Relax.
When things pile up at work,
Relax.
If you are a parent and your children are giving you a difficult time,
Relax.
When we relax,
We also give permission to others to relax.
So pause,
Check in,
Which part of your body is holding tension,
Breathe into it and relax.
Thank you for opening your heart today and for co-creating the magic that is you.
Special thanks for Meditative Mind for chanting Om So Hum.
This is Noora.
I love you.
I see you.
I honor you.
Namaste.
