There's really only one thing that I know for certain.
Everything,
Everywhere,
Will change all the time.
Hello friend.
This is a guided meditation for accepting change.
Take a few moments to get into a comfortable position for your body.
Maybe that's sitting in a chair,
Upright.
Or perhaps you lie down.
There's no right or wrong here.
All that matters is that you're comfortable.
But if you're feeling particularly overwhelmed,
Or if you happen to be experiencing lower back pain,
I recommend lying down with your legs elevated.
This might mean lying on the floor with your legs resting on a chair or a couch,
Or you could be in bed with a bolster or some large pillows under your knees.
As you get comfortable,
You might take some time to lightly stretch,
Reaching your arms up overhead,
Maybe pointing and flexing your feet.
Or maybe you roll your head down towards your chest and between your shoulders from side to side a couple times,
Just helping to open up your neck.
There's no rush with all of this.
Take your time.
And if you need to pause this recording,
Please do so.
And then once you've settled,
Go ahead and close your eyes.
We're going to move through a couple centering breaths all together.
With your mouth closed,
Begin to inhale slowly and fully until you can no longer take in air.
Now hold at the top of your inhale for a count of 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale somewhat forcefully out your mouth,
Maybe sighing if it feels right to completely empty your lungs.
And then hold at the bottom of your exhale for another 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Let's do that two more times.
Inhale through your nose slowly and fully.
Now hold at the top of your inhale for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale out your mouth.
Now hold at the bottom of your exhale for another 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
One more time.
Inhale through your nose.
Hold for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale out your mouth,
Really allowing your whole body to melt with this release.
Holding at the bottom of your exhale one more time for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Alright,
Gently inhale and let your breath return to a normal pattern.
Now go ahead and place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest.
As you continue to breathe,
Try to imagine a wave of breath moving through your body,
Where your inhale begins just below your navel,
Expands up into your chest and then maybe to the crown of your head.
As you exhale,
Your navel starts to fall back first and pulls everything else down with it.
Inhale,
Your belly rises,
Your breath expands upwards and outwards in every direction.
Exhale,
Your belly drops and your breath recedes back down towards your navel center.
We'll do this just a couple more times.
Inhale,
Your belly rises,
Your breath expands upwards and outwards in every direction.
Exhale,
Your belly falls and your breath recedes back down to your navel center.
Inhale,
Your belly rises,
Your breath expands upwards and outwards.
Exhale,
Your belly falls,
The breath recedes back down.
One more time.
Inhale,
Your belly rises,
Breath expands upwards and outwards.
Exhale,
Your belly drops,
Breath recedes back in from every direction towards your navel.
Now see if you can't maintain this same pattern of breathing throughout the rest of this meditation.
If you'd like,
You can let your hands rest down by your sides or you can keep them where they are if it's helping.
At this moment,
As in all moments throughout all of time as we know it,
Change is happening.
Change is happening to us,
For us,
Around us and within us.
In the universe as we know it,
Change is really our only constant.
As you observe your wave of breath moving through your body,
See if you can also notice any changes that might be happening within you.
How did you feel before beginning this meditation?
At this moment,
Has that changed at all?
Don't worry if it hasn't.
We are here to let go of our urge to control so that instead of resisting change,
We might begin to allow it to move through us,
With us,
Whatever that might look like.
If certain emotions or thoughts begin to surface,
Please allow them to do so.
Then,
Without trying to change the emotion or the thought,
Simply just bring your attention back to the wave of breath moving through your body.
With each inhale,
Maybe see if you can imagine it bringing in new and refreshing energy to all the cells of your body.
Then,
With each exhale,
As your wave of breath recedes back down to your navel center,
Maybe try to imagine that that wave is carrying away any stagnant or dull energy that may have built up inside of you.
Keep moving through this process as many times as you need.
I'm going to stop talking now,
But I will be right here,
And I'll continue on with our meditation in a few minutes.
All right,
Friend.
Without moving,
Begin to deepen your breath slightly,
Inhaling for a count of 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Now hold at the top of your inhale for 3,
2,
1.
Exhale out your nose for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold at the bottom of your exhale for 3,
2,
1.
Inhale through your nose for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold at the top for 3,
2,
1.
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold at the bottom 3,
2,
1.
Inhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold at the top for 3,
2,
1.
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold at the bottom for 3,
2,
1.
Inhale gently,
Starting to let your breath return to a natural pace.
With each inhale,
Belly rises first.
Breath expands upwards and outwards in every direction.
Exhale,
Your belly begins to drop,
And your breath recedes back towards your navel from every direction.
Allow a few more waves of breath like this to pass through your body.
Change happens to us whether we are active participants or not.
The thing is,
If we decide to embrace the flow,
We often end up more satisfied with the journey,
And we might have a little more say in where we go.
But if we try to fight it,
Misery is really all we create.
It's kind of like a Chinese finger trap.
The harder we resist change,
The stronger the grip misery takes on us.
In order to accept change,
We have to continuously remind our whole self,
Mind,
Body,
Spirit,
That we were born to flow,
To learn,
And to grow with the cosmos.
Suffering is often simply a reminder from the universe that it's time for us to flow on.
I'm going to allow three more slow waves of breath to pass through you.
And then when you're ready,
You can start to let your mind make its way back into the space where you are.
Maybe blinking your eyes open.
Maybe your breath deepens a little bit more.
And if it would feel good,
You might take a full body stretch,
Reaching your arms up overhead,
Pointing and flexing your feet,
Just for a few more breaths.
As you go about the rest of your day and week,
If you notice yourself feeling resistance to change,
Try to take five minutes to pause.
Create that same wave of breath in your body.
Simply breathe,
Letting whatever thoughts and emotions that need to come up to do what they need to do.
And then refocus your attention back on your wave,
Doing this over and over again as many times as you need.
Or,
If you like,
You can come back to this recording,
And I'll be happy to take you through this again.
Thank you,
Friend,
For joining me in this meditation.
I'll see you next time.
