A warm welcome to this guided meditation and good morning to you.
Find yourself a comfortable place to sit when you are ready.
And we will begin our practice in a moment.
Allow your hands to rest in a place that feels right for you this morning,
Perhaps on your lap,
On your stomach.
All over your heart.
This is your time.
As you start to embrace this brand new day and welcome it in,
We will work together to gradually wake up your body and your mind.
To connect with that which you are grateful for.
And to lay the foundations for your day ahead.
We will begin by gently regulating the nervous system,
Starting off the day with a calm and clear mind.
So,
When you are ready,
Just exhale any remaining breath that you have until you feel that urge to breathe in.
And when you do inhale deeply through your nose allowing your belly to expand.
Hold it at the top just for a moment.
Exhale on a long slow out-breath through gently pursed lips.
Good,
Again,
Inhale through your nose.
Home.
And release,
Long and slow.
As we go deeper into the practice you can try to gradually extend the holding time and the time of your out-breath.
This longer exhale is a really fantastic way to calm the body.
Calm the mind.
And calm the nervous system in a relatively short space of time.
Continue to breathe in this way for a minute or so and just go at whatever pace is comfortable for you this morning.
Remember we are working without judgment today there is no right or wrong here so feel free to make any adjustments that you need or want to in order to be comfortable and now you can just allow your breath to come back to its natural rhythm and take a moment to check in with your body to notice any new feelings or sensations.
Give yourself permission to be still this morning.
To be calm and to be present with yourself.
And now,
You can start to bring something to your mind that you are feeling especially grateful for this morning.
It might be something recent or something that is ever-present.
Maybe there is more than one thing this morning and that is absolutely fine.
Remember there are no judgments today and no right or wrong.
This is a time for exploration.
Curiosity and acceptance.
Allow the image of this thing that you are grateful for to become clearer in your mind.
Like a painting being gradually completed as all of the details come into focus.
And now keeping this image or these images in mind you can take the palm of your hand and draw very slow circles over your heart space becoming aware of this part of your body as you connect to your gratitude.
Embrace your heart space.
Allow the gratitude and the love to fill up inside of you.
With each breath it grows stronger and stronger.
You breathe in love.
And gratitude.
And you breathe out any lingering tension or worry.
Sit with all of this for just a moment and if your mind wanders then know that this is normal.
If or when you notice it just acknowledge it without judgment and bring your focus back to these images of gratitude and to your breath And gradually,
Now,
Let us slowly shift to the day ahead.
You start to think of an intention for today.
It might be big.
It might be small but whatever you choose remember to do it with kindness to yourself keep connecting to your heart.
Allow it to lead the way today,
For it knows what you need.
Imagine that this day will unfold with ease because you are ready.
You have given yourself this time to prepare,
And you know that with a clear and confident mind,
You are capable of so much.
You know that you are worthy of all your desires.
You are the writer of your own story and you have the power in you to move forward with clear intentions.
You are opening yourself up to this beautiful day,
Accepting that events may bend and curve like a winding river.
You are at peace with the fact that things might change,
But you are choosing to show up as the best version of yourself regardless.
And you remind yourself that the most precious moments in life,
Or the best things that happen are sometimes,
If not often,
Those that are unexpected.
And from this place of peace that we have nurtured this morning,
You know that you are in control of any emotions that might arise throughout the day.
Whether they come from thoughts or from things that happen.
You are mindful.
You are thoughtful.
And you are prepared.
And now let us find a word that you want to take with you going forward today.
For me,
When writing this meditation,
I chose the word patience.
Find a word that feels appropriate for you now.
Breathe in that word.
Feel the meaning.
And breathe out your intention into the day.
If it helps,
You can speak this intention a few times,
Perhaps in rhythm with your breath and really allow yourself to imagine how this word actually manifests in your day.
An example might be that patience manifests as a smile to the overworked barista who makes your coffee this morning.
Again this manifestation might be big.
It might be small.
It really doesn't matter.
What matters is what comes up for you and what you choose to focus on And,
Gradually,
You can take one final deep breath in.
And release out on a long exhale as you bring your focus back to the room around you.
You can be grateful to yourself for showing up today.
For taking the time to join me in this meditation.
And for starting your day with love.
Gratitude and intention.
This practice can be used daily,
Either to reinforce a single intention or to try and incorporate multiple intentions throughout your week.
You can come back here anytime that you like.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning and I hope you have a wonderful day ahead.
