So as you begin your meditation practice today,
Why not start by taking the deepest breath you have taken all day in through the nose,
Fill up the whole body and release and wash it away.
Take a few more breaths like that in through the nose and out through the mouth.
This morning refresher meditation is all about feeling into refreshment and vitality for the day ahead.
So whatever is with you if you are lingering in dreams or haziness from the night that has been,
Are you able to put that aside and commit to starting again,
Starting afresh.
Take one more refreshing breath in through the nose and let it go and now seal off the lips and continue to breathe through the nose,
Nasal breathing,
Noticing simply the air coming in and the air going out through the nostrils now,
Perhaps you sense the difference in the temperature of that air as it comes in and goes out.
Invite your awareness to drop down into the ribcage as you breathe through your nose.
Start to expand the ribs a little bit more with the inhale and let the ribs soften even more with the exhale,
Starting to allow this to be the new way of breathing here in this meditation.
Inhale expanding the ribs,
Exhale watching them descend and contract and as you breathe here with intention start to bring in the element that vitality is arising every time that you breathe in this tank of prana,
Of energy is expanding and you are enriching the quality of your vitality every time that you breathe.
And imagine that the exhale breath were releasing any stagnancy or any stuckness that has been with you over the last 12 hours,
A release and a refresh every inhale,
Every exhale.
So allowing the breath to take up more residence in your physical body and tuning in to that sense of vitality now.
Vitality is available to us always,
Sometimes we just need the right tools or the right moments to access it,
Sometimes we simply need more sleep,
More rest and other times we need more activation.
Sense in now to what you need today to increase your vital stores.
Is it more rest or is it more action?
And with that bring that essence of what you need into the way that you breathe.
Nicely done.
From here we are going to be placing this fresh vital essence through the various parts of your body.
We begin by acknowledging the top of your head,
So sensing the top of your head now.
Feeling a sense of lightness,
Of brightness,
Openness here in the top of your head and then let that wash down into the facial features,
Into the interior of your head,
The brain,
The eyes,
Ears,
Back of the head,
Neck and throat until you feel the sense of lightness and openness through the entire head and throat and then slowly allow this to trickle and ripple through the entire system,
Moving through the shoulders,
Chest,
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Hands and spend the next few moments here increasing the sense of vitality in your hands,
Perhaps you feel the aliveness through tingling or warmth,
Notice how vital your hands are now and from here allow your awareness to drop into your stomach and cultivating that sense of refreshment and vitality here in your stomach like a swirling vortex of endless energy that is always available to you,
Prana,
Allow that warmth,
That awareness to move down into the hips,
The upper legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
Ankles and feet,
Witness the refreshing quality as you become aware of your feet and you might even choose to imagine your feet gently dipping into a cool lake,
This cool fresh feeling experienced here in the soles of your feet.
Nicely done,
Now we've gone on a little journey of the body,
Let's go on a journey of the heart and tune in there,
So connecting to your heart space now,
The space in the centre of your chest,
We often refer to this as anahata in eastern philosophy and especially yogic philosophy and the colour that we connect to this part of us is green,
So maybe even visualising a green colour emanating from your heart space now and just asking the gentle question,
How is my heart today?
Letting whatever comes through come through and up and then asking this gentle question,
What does my heart most need today?
What does my heart most need today?
And allowing anything that is present to arise and come up and out.
From here we're going to place some affirmations in the heart space to support the day ahead.
I open my heart to what the day brings.
I open my heart to what the day brings.
I open my eyes to the many miracles that happen today.
I open my eyes to the many miracles that happen today.
I commit to expanding my awareness and compassion today.
I commit to expanding my awareness and compassion today.
I acknowledge what I have with gratitude.
I acknowledge what I have with gratitude.
I meet my life with zest and love.
I meet my life with zest and love.
I am ready to be enchanted.
I am ready to be enchanted.
Start to deepen the breath here and now.
Notice on the back of this practice how your breath is and start to increase the way that you breathe in your space.
Expanding and contracting.
Sensing the ground beneath you.
Sensing the atmosphere upon your skin.
Commit to a day that is anchored from your interior space and know that whatever comes up and through today you can meet it with an open heart,
An open mind and a willingness to be enchanted.
Start to blink the eyes open and come back into the space.
