For When We Need A Total Body Reset- 23-Minute Meditation

Meditation for when we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or tired from the day. Give yourself the luxury to take a few moments for ourselves to get reconnected.

Let the body feel rejuvenated after this 23-minute meditation.

Transcript

When you take time for yourself to acknowledge that grounding your body or taking a moment for yourself is needed, That's a really great first step to just start to honor our own needs, Our own selves. So I just want to give you kudos for that. So let's start with just this very gentle settling in and just starting to notice the areas that make contact with the body and the floor, The body and the furniture. You can gently kind of notice the toes pressing further into the earth or the heels kind of rubbing against any nice texture that pads the feet or softens. Notice this very experience. Notice how the body can effortlessly be held with the chair, With the furniture, Just allowing us to recline back a bit today, To let the body sink down, Rooting into the foundation. And we'll start with just noticing a couple of nice cycles of breath right here, In and out, Finding our own rhythm and our own pace, Almost as if just kind of tuning in, Listening closely to what the chest wants us to know today. What song, What rhythm does it play for us in this moment? It's almost as if we're leaning into a small animal that's gently breathing in and out. And we're just paying attention to the soft, Gentle flow of breath. Maybe the shoulders melt down a bit, Or the body sinks in further. We're simply just letting the body know you are safe, You are seen, Nothing to do, Nowhere to be, But just be here. So from this space of rooting down to the foundation, We can start to gently spring up, Moving gently in a very kind of effortless way. So you can start to wiggle the toes, Or perhaps gently sway the legs back and forth, Almost like a plant gently blowing in the breeze. And what we want to do here is simply just notice what that experience is like. Checking in with the body to find what feels good. And you might notice that the body kind of takes on its own experience, That we don't really have to think about it. It just might start to generate stretching out, Or moving left to right, Or bending the knees, Kind of on its own. Breathing in, Breathing out. Lovely. And so we're here just inviting some curiosity, Some openness, Again, Just like the plant, The stems of the flowers, Of the branches, Just blowing in the wind. That these movements are within the realm of what we can handle, But also it's not pushing us to feel like in pain, Or reaching the limit where the body lets you know. So we're just starting here to just see what it's like to start to move the muscles today, Very gently, At the pace that we would like. And maybe it feels nice to hold a stretch, And just breathing in to let that airflow seep all the way in to the cracks and corners, And release. Nothing to do, Nowhere to be, But just to rejuvenate and renourish. So we'll breathe in, Really as if that breath is going right into that area, As if fresh flowing water is trickling down, Flushing away the stagnant, And just starting to gently invite in movement and flow in a stream, Washing away the day, Washing away the weeks, Tiredness or stagnant. Breathing in, And just letting that fall, Flow down and away, As if going back into the earth, Back into the atmosphere, With each exhale. Beautiful. From the legs and the knees, We'll start to move up to the hips and the trunk, The strong center, And again, Just starting to notice that micro-movement of the breath as it gently rolls through the chest, Softening, Cushioning, And renourishing from the inside, Flowing in, Seeping through, And releasing out. We can invite in some movement with the shoulders as we gently rotate, And then the other. We can gently move the neck back and forth, Moving the nose down, Pausing in any spots that might feel nice for you this morning, And again, Just letting the freeness, The ability to move openly, Take over, Letting the body signal what feels nice for you, As we stretch and open up space for ourselves. Breathing in, Releasing out, Just like a little animal, Again, Rolling around in the grass, Or like my cat or dog that likes to push their paws down, Stretching them out, Moving the spine. We're the same way, Just being gentle with ourselves and finding what the body would appreciate. We'll start to rotate the arms, Our branches of this tree, The limbs of this animal. You can start to open the fingers, The hands, Tightening them, Squeezing them into a ball, And then opening up, Stretching out these muscles, And again, Just honoring these spaces and everything that the body does for us. So if you do find any areas of tenderness today, As you're moving and twisting or shaking, Or just acknowledging the work this body has done for us, Now is the time to renourish, To slow down, And just kind of let the circulation breathe into those spaces, And release out. We can move the arms up, Moving our branches towards the mountains, Towards the sky, Towards the earth. Whatever direction would feel nice, As we rotate and again invite in circulation for what's comfortable today. Breathing in, Breathing out, Again as if the trickle of fresh flowing water goes right into those cracks, Those crevices, Those tight spaces, And releasing out, Back into the atmosphere, Back into the earth. Moving to the other side, And again, Just like leaning in to tune into the breath, It's just this awareness of leaning in to tune into the body, To see where it's at today. And if at any given point you do notice the mind jumping to different thoughts about the future, About the past, Just know that that's normal, And that's okay. Know that that's the brain trying to help us, Reminding us with its activity. Just like how the feet are active, Or the breath is active, The brain is always active too. But in this exercise, You can notice that there are points where we focus more on the sensation of the body, And what it feels physically, Through touch, Through smell, Through sight. And we want to bring it back to that, In honoring the body. Letting it just feel the sensations, And releasing them out. We'll make a note, Mentally, Labeling it as if to say, Oh, The mind is thinking about blank. Just take that as information, And we'll put that on the shelf for now, Or leave that at the door for now, Because it's very important. But in this moment, We're slowing down to just lean in towards the body. Nothing to do, Nowhere to be, But to just be here with what the body would like to show us today. So we'll come back into this movement, Into this flow, With the final part of the body, The neck, The face. Down to the chest, And the heart. So any simple gestures here to bring comfort, You can place a hand near or around any tight areas of the face, Of the neck, If that feels comfortable for you. You can gently tap with our fingers, Or just simply place a hand there to bring in warmth, As if to say, Towards the soft animal, Towards another person that we love, Placing a hand near them or around to just acknowledge, Oh, I see that there's tightness here, Or discomfort. I know I can't fix it, But I hope to make it a little bit better, Lighten it just a bit. So if that feels nice today, The hand can sit near or around spaces that might be tight or tender, Massaging the jaw, The eyebrow line, Behind the glasses, And just letting the face go neutral, Not needing to posture, Not needing to be anyone that we don't need to be, Other than just ourselves, Other than just letting the body do what comes naturally. Nothing to do, Nowhere to be, But just be here with me, Says the body. So just notice what feels nice as we bring in these moments towards ourselves, This loving act of just noticing. And then finally, One kind of big overall unity of the entire body, Moving in the way that you would like today, Going from the ground with the feet, Knowing that it's there to support us, Take us to wherever places we need to go, Held by the foundation of the ground and the earth that's got us. And then moving around the room, If you like, Or in place, As we just notice the strength of our ability to move with our limbs, The strength of the spine and our trunk, The ability to move freely with our arms like they are wings, Like they are branches, Like they are branches, Reaching up toward the sky. And then, Of course, The crown of the head that lays above the heart. Breathing in, Breathing out. So we'll just take a few moments here to let everything settle. Notice any sensations that have come up. Thank you for taking this time to honor yourself and your body. And finally, We will end the meditation here.