Let Go Of Stress And Regain Midweek Clarity

Join me on this midweek practice. The aim of this meditation is to give you a pause in the midst of your week. Hump day! As Wednesday unfolds, it's easy to feel overwhelmed or scattered. In this meditation, I will guide you through a gentle practice to release tension, ground your mind, and restore your focus.

By reconnecting with your breath and centering yourself, you'll be able to move forward through the last part of the week with renewed energy and clarity. Take this time to reset, and notice how the rest of your day and week unfolds with more intention and ease; allowing you to flow into the rest of your week feeling calm and empowered.

This is an Insight Timer Live recording.

Music by Piotr Witowski from Pixabay

Transcript

Good morning,

Good evening,

Good afternoon,

Wherever you may be,

Whatever you may be doing,

Hello and welcome to this meditation and thank you for joining.

I I've written this meditation and I hope that it deliberately and intentionally helps transition through what at times can be midweek working blues or that hump day and this is your chance and space to just really pause,

Reset,

Re-look at any intentions that you've set with regards to your approach to work and just prepare yourself for the remainder of the week or support yourself for the remainder of the week.

So let's find ourselves in a comfortable position.

This meditation you can do either sitting or lying down and let's begin.

So as ever,

Let's start with the breath with our eyes still open.

Let's just take a moment to settle.

Just allow everything to just fall into place.

Allow your mind to not wander.

Allow your allow your breath to fall into a steady rhythm.

And just gently allow yourself to relax.

Nothing is more important than being just here right now.

Now let's give us time to actually physically focus in on the breath and we'll take a slow inhale for four seconds.

Hold it at the top and exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold it at the top and exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Gently allow yourself to slow down.

Let's just take that moment to settle.

Just give me one second,

Guys.

Let me just deal with this dog issue.

Apologies.

Sorry about that,

Guys.

So let's just take a deep breath in,

Hold it at the top and exhale.

Allow everything that is outside of this space to find its place outside of this space.

Find yourself not attaching to any thoughts,

Any issues,

Concerns,

Worries that float into your mind.

Just like a feather in the wind,

Watch it float in and float out.

This is our time to be present.

This is our time for us.

And now with our eyes still open,

Find a point in front of you where you can just focus and bring all your attention to that spot.

For some,

It might be a door handle.

For others,

A corner of a cupboard.

For me,

It's the bottom corner of a picture painted by my son.

Just bring all your attention in this moment to that point.

And allow your breath to fall into a rhythm,

A natural state.

And that point,

Just see it gain depth.

See it gain more detail.

And what we're going to do is we're going to take two full breaths,

And on the second full breath,

On the exhale,

We're going to gently close our eyes.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Gently close our eyes.

Now,

Continue with the breath.

Breathing in energy and focus,

Filling your lungs.

And exhale slowly,

Letting go of the noise of life,

Work,

Week.

Allow yourself the gift to arrive fully in this moment.

Allow yourself to settle into the now.

Allow yourself to let go.

Allow yourself to be.

Allow yourself to simply be present.

Bring your full attention to your breath.

Notice the gentle rise and fall of your chest.

As you inhale and exhale.

And as you continue to breathe,

Say to yourself,

I am here.

I am present.

I am here.

I am present.

Let these words anchor you.

I am here.

I am present.

Allow them to like a warm blanket,

Encase you in a place of calm and comfort.

Now,

As we begin,

Gently bring to mind.

Gently bring to mind your intention.

It can be the intention that you set at the beginning of the week,

The beginning of the year,

Beginning of the month.

Bring to the front of your mind that work intention.

Bring it now into this practice.

Let it sit there.

Allow it the place and space to gain energy from this practice.

Now answer this question to yourself.

How do you want to feel by the end of this practice?

Do you want a feeling of more clarity as you move through this day,

Through this week?

Whatever it is,

Hold that intention gently like you're cupping water in your hands.

Just letting it be.

Breathe in through your nostrils and out your mouth.

In and out.

And as we continue to breathe,

Let's shift our focus to the body.

Just sit and listen.

Sit and feel.

Listen to where you may be holding any stress,

Tightness,

Anxiousness.

Let's scan our body for those places.

Let's first bring your awareness to your forehead.

Do you feel any stress,

Tension?

Bring your focus to your eyes.

Any anxiousness there?

Bring awareness to your jaw.

Any worry there?

Are you feeling anxious?

Are you clenching without even knowing it?

Are you grinding your teeth?

On each and every exhale,

Just release tension.

Allow your face to soften.

Now let your awareness travel down to your neck and shoulders.

If it helps,

Roll them.

Roll your neck.

With each breath,

Imagine any weight lifting off,

Melting away.

Let's move this down to our arms.

Is there tension there?

Inhale and exhale it out.

Let's bring our focus to our chest,

The abdomen.

Do we feel a tightness in our chest,

Stone or butterflies in our gut?

Bring your attention,

If it's there,

To there.

Inhale through your mouth and exhale tension.

Let's bring focus now to our hips.

Is there any energy stored in our hips?

Any tension,

Anxiousness?

If so,

Just notice it.

Take a deep breath in through your nostrils and exhale into it.

Let's focus on our legs,

Our thighs,

Our calves.

Any tension there?

Any anxiousness,

Stress?

Inhale and exhale into it.

Now we bring ourselves to our feet.

Bring focus to our feet.

Any stress,

Worry in particular in our feet?

Any worry in our feet?

Inhale and exhale out that worry.

As we go through each place,

Let us give compassion,

Understanding,

Really listen to your body.

And when we exhale,

Let go,

Allow.

Notice each area becoming lighter,

More relaxed.

Notice each area becoming lighter,

More relaxed with each and every breath.

I'll give you a couple of minutes just to go back to that part in your body where you know where you feel you want to bring more awareness to.

I'll hold the time.

Now that your body is feeling lighter,

Let's deepen the calm,

Deepen the focus with a simple breathing exercise.

You'll breathe in for a count of four,

Hold it for four and exhale slowly for a count of six.

We're deliberately slowing the exhale so we can release the mind's tension as we do.

So inhale for four,

Hold for four and exhale for six.

With each exhale,

Imagine and see any mental clutter leaving your body,

Creating space within for clarity,

For calm.

So we'll do one to start.

Inhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Now let's enhance that clarity with a visualization.

Find yourself in a peaceful,

Open space.

Whatever symbolizes peace for you,

Quiet beach,

Side of a mountain,

A field,

Side of a lake,

Middle of the desert.

Whatever feels calming to you.

And as we do this next breathing exercise,

I want you to really visualize yourself there.

The sky is vast,

Clear.

And as you stand here,

See any worries,

Concerns,

Anxiousness that you have.

See them as balloons being held by a string that you are holding in your hand.

See those balloons,

Reds,

Yellows,

Greens,

Blues.

Give the energy of any anxiousness,

Any worry,

Put it into those balloons.

And let's inhale now for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold your breath for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

And exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

And now simply open your hand and breathe in and exhale and see those balloons float up into the sky.

Allow them to just float away.

Watch them rise higher.

See yourself,

Feel yourself releasing any attachment.

Feel yourself getting lighter.

See them disappear,

Leaving nothing but a clear and open sky.

Now take a deep breath in and feel yourself rooted in this clarity and exhale.

Inhale through your nose and exhale through your nose.

And as we come to the end of this practice,

Let's take a moment to notice how you feel.

Is there a sense of lightness,

Calm,

Focus,

Preparedness that perhaps wasn't there 30 minutes ago?

And know that you can return to this quiet place whenever you need to.

Yet in the middle of the day,

Before a presentation,

Before a meeting,

During a call,

This is your place and space to anchor,

Reset and release.

Now let's take one final deep breath in and repeat these affirmations as we exhale and return to normal breathing.

I am complete.

I am whole.

I am enough.

I am ready.

I am complete.

I am whole.

I am enough.

I am ready.

I am complete.

I am ready.

Allow those to anchor you through the rest of the day and the remainder of the week.

And when you are ready,

Slowly bring your awareness back to your body.

Gently wingle your toes,

Roll your shoulders,

Roll your neck.

And in your own time,

Slowly,

Gently,

Open your eyes.

Don't forget you are ready.

You're ready for the rest of your day.

You're ready for the rest of your week.

You're ready for the rest of your month.

You're ready for the rest of the year.

Carry this calm,

Carry this clarity with you for the rest of the day.

Thank you.

Deep bows to you all.

And I hope that helped.

I hope that helped.

Thank you for your time.

And thank you for holding space for yourself.