My name is Sarah,
And welcome to today's meditation.
Let's get started by taking a big stretch,
Waking up our bodies,
Releasing our hands into our lap,
Palms facing up,
Getting ready to receive energy,
Taking a deep inhale through the nose,
Filling yourself up,
And exhale through the mouth,
Releasing any tension in the body.
You may gently close down the eyes if you haven't already,
Or keep a soft gaze in front of you,
And simply focus for a moment on the sounds of your inhale and exhale,
Tuning in to your unique rhythm.
Today,
We're going to remove ourselves from the stress and anxiety of the human brain,
And instead do a puppy party meditation.
The idea of this meditation is to release tension and shift your perspective,
To simply feel the joy and purity of a puppy.
So when you're ready,
I want you to anchor your next breath,
And use it to transport yourself to a beautiful field.
The sun is shining.
The grass around you is long and green,
Cool on your bare feet.
The sky is a picturesque clear blue,
As a few clouds float lazily by,
And the sun warms your entire face.
You head over to a big redwood tree,
Which has blankets and pillows arranged in a tapestry of color beneath it.
You sit down and take a moment to breathe in this space around you.
Off in the distance,
You hear the smallest bark,
And turn around to see a litter of puppies bounding toward you.
They all have smiles on their faces,
As they run as quickly as they can,
Straight toward you,
Their clumsy paws too big for their growing bodies,
Tripping over themselves,
But they don't seem to care one bit.
They delight in being outside,
Fresh air on their face,
Wind through their fur.
Their tails wag as they run free,
Looking around them in wonder,
And they crash land into your lap,
Licking your face,
Your hands,
Face planning into your side,
And turning over for a belly rub.
Some of them mill about,
Finding a bone to chew on,
Or a water bowl to splash in that skims their ears.
And you feel your joy bubble over,
As you take in this beautiful moment,
Rubbing their bellies,
Scratching their ears,
Petting their soft fur,
And giving them lots of kisses.
You take a moment to marvel at their relishing of being outdoors,
And think about how you can embody the same feeling the next time you step outside.
As the puppies flop down on blankets and pillows,
You watch the smallest one as she runs to grab a ball and throws it at you.
You play fetch with her for a while,
As she runs to get the ball and back to you with equal enthusiasm each time.
You take a moment to marvel at the fact that this simple game can invite so much excitement.
Each throw is like new,
Each return she comes back just as proud as the last.
As you throw the ball,
You try to think of a situation in your life where you can dedicate more focus to a simple task that brings you joy,
Just like the simple game of fetch for the puppy,
Where you can invite in pride even if you've done something a million times,
Where you can view an old task with new excitement simply from your dedicated focus.
Explore these feelings,
This intention,
As you continue to play fetch.
When you tire,
You lay down under the shade of the tree as the puppy you were playing fetch with goes for a drink of water.
Your mind turns a little stormy as your distraction leaves you and begins to swirl in a negative thought spiral,
Wanting to lose weight or earn more money or maybe have said something differently to a loved one.
And just as you really start to feel this tension in your body,
Another puppy comes up to you and plops right in front of you.
He stares up with the most soulful,
Loving eyes and paws at you to pet him.
You bring him into the crook of your arm and he cuddles you,
Giving you lots of love.
Not caring what happened before or what's to happen after,
All you care about is that you're here in this moment,
Giving this puppy a little love.
As you pet him,
You think about how you can offer yourself the same kindness in the present moment,
How you can be a little more like a dog with an unabashed devotion to yourself and a lack of concern about the number on the scale or in the bank or of your zip code.
The only thing that matters is the love that you give,
Cultivating love in the here and now.
And as we prepare to leave our puppy party for today,
I want us all to breathe in a few lessons that dogs can teach us.
With each lesson I read,
Feel free to inhale and exhale to imprint them in your mind.
When loved ones come home,
Always run to greet them.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run,
Romp,
And play daily.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days,
Stop to lie on your back in the grass.
When you're happy,
Dance around and wag your entire body and when someone is having a bad day,
Be silent,
Sit close by,
And nuzzle them gently.
These lessons in mindfulness and so many more we can learn from our dogs and our other pets if only we allow them to teach us When you're ready,
Allow your mind to travel back on your next breath to the room you're in.
Connecting back to the body.
Wiggling fingers and toes.
Deeply inhaling through the nose to seal in this experience.
And exhaling from the mouth.
Gently opening your eyes and returning to your day with a little more puppy perspective.
Namaste.
