Open To Joy | Breathing & Contemplation Meditation

This supportive meditation inspires you to bloom Joy from within. Abigail seamlessly takes you on an inward exploration through serene breathing methods, gentle inner smile guidance and a mood boosting contemplation. Prepare to alter your state of being through this Joy expander today...

Transcript

If you haven't already closed down the eyes,

Take the next few moments to drop into a space where you're comfortable to allow the eyelids to soften and settle.

You might choose to keep a soft gaze toward the ground if that feels more appropriate for you today.

Otherwise allow the eyelids to completely drape over the eyeballs,

Letting the micro muscles now behind the eyes soften so that the eyeballs can relax completely.

From here just take a deep breath in through the nose and with an open mouth let it go.

Take two more just like that in through the nose and out through the mouth.

With the breath just starting to lean into that joyful quality,

Make that an act of joy you know,

Just to take a simple breath through gratitude,

Through appreciation.

Take that breath in and feel joy expanding within your being and as you exhale you start to release any fear,

Doubt,

Worry,

Tension and you lean towards joy a little bit more.

And if you haven't already,

Just gently sealing off the lips.

We're going to breathe now intentionally through the nostrils.

Nasal breathing,

Letting the lips gently seal,

Breath coming in,

Breath going out.

Don't over complicate this.

Meditation can be simple,

It can be fun.

Try to bring that lightness into play here and now in the way in which you observe your breath in the nostrils.

Notice how that air comes in and it's quite cool and then notice as you breathe out there's a warmer quality to the air.

When we nasal breathe we're actually optimizing the oxygen exchange by 20% instead of breathing through the mouth.

This supports us getting oxygen lower down into the lower lobes of our lungs.

So for the next few rounds of nasal breathing,

Connecting now into those lower lobes in the lungs and just letting them inflate a little bit brighter within each exhale and deflate and decompress a little bit more with each exhale.

If for any reason you need to stay with the simplicity of the breath today,

Please come back to the sensations in the nostrils.

Make that your anchor so that when you drift off or you come out of this,

Remember that the nostrils and the breath is always here as your touch point to come back to.

And as you breathe with your awareness at the nostrils,

As you connect the lower lobes of your lungs through the breath,

Just start to notice any sounds in your environment,

Any sensations on your body and just letting everything that is here be here.

If sounds come up,

Don't see them as a distraction,

See them as something that's infusing your practice with further presence.

If something makes a loud sound you just acknowledge it and you come back to your breath.

And as we breathe here through the nostrils,

We're going to awaken a technique that is drawn from Buddhist practice,

The inner smile.

So you can start by visualizing a smile from within yourself.

So imagine it was just blossoming,

Budding and opening,

This lovely smile here within your space.

And with that,

Just allow gently the corners of the lips to lift towards the eyes.

There's a very soft,

Subtle smile in your mouth.

And as you gently hold that smile in your face,

Just notice what it alters.

Does it create a certain quality?

We're just going to keep that alive for the next few moments and just sense into what it brings.

Again,

Don't try to look for what's not there,

Try and be fully present with what is current,

What is felt.

And ever so gently over the next few moments,

You can start to allow the lips to soften and neutrality softens through the face.

Relaxing the shoulders,

Relaxing the jaw.

We're going to stay within the house,

The home of the physical body for a few more moments.

I'm going to ask you,

As I say the word joy,

Where does it land in your body?

Where do you feel that word?

Just noticing.

And then I'm going to ask you,

When I say the word joy,

What color comes to mind?

And can you place it in that part of your body?

And over the next few moments,

As you're just present and aware,

Visualizing perhaps a spiral moving in this part of your body with that color connected.

And it just starts to grow brighter and larger over the course of the next few breaths.

And it starts to radiate into the room or the space that you're in and changes the tone.

Beautifully done.

And from here,

We're going to work with the gift of our breath a little bit more today.

Our four-sixth breath,

Our calm breath.

You're going to be breathing in for a count of four,

And then you're going to be breathing out for a count of six.

Now,

If you've already worked with this breath before and you want to go a step further,

You can extend the exhale to a count of eight.

If you're new to the practice,

Just stay in for four and out for six.

This breath is designed to support our nervous system,

Dropping into the rest and digest system so that we can start to integrate a process and recover from our lives.

So in your own time,

As your own teacher,

Just taking yourself through that in for four and out for six or eight.

You can stay with the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.

This is the practice for the next few moments.

Stay with it,

Stay connected and try and bring joy into this breath.

Noticing if you came away from that and if you did,

Just coming back for a few more rounds in for four,

Out for six or eight.

And then on the end of the next round of breath,

Just allow the natural,

Easy breath to filter back through.

Notice after that short and sweet,

Calm breath,

If anything has shifted internally.

And as you notice that,

Just dropping back into the body,

Any sensations that might be present.

And we're going to go on a little contemplation together,

So I'll guide you into some questions and reflections.

Keep your awareness open and receptive.

Without trying to change or alter the first thing that comes forward,

Just be with what is present.

I'm going to ask you to find one of your most joyful memories to date.

Is there a particular age or event or moment in your life where you really felt connected to the feeling of joy?

Where were you?

What were you doing?

Who were you with?

And when you sense into this memory,

Where do you feel it in your body?

And if you could invite some of that joy into this moment,

How would it feel to bring it to life?

Beautifully done.

And then just gently releasing that memory,

Thanking it for being part of your life.

And then reflecting on this day or the morning,

Depending on where you are,

Was there anything present in this day that you can connect to joyfully?

Something that brought you some joy?

And it could be a simple thing.

And just noticing what comes forward.

And then I invite you to bring to mind someone that you've either met in person or you know of that seems joyful,

That radiates the essence of joy.

What is it about them that seems joyful?

Just notice it,

Sense it.

And then asking yourself the question,

What can I do for myself over the next day or a week that can expand the sense of joy in my life?

Just notice what comes up and through.

Try and make a commitment to yourself to see that through over the next day or week,

For joy's sake.

And we're going to drop into the heart space.

So just tuning into the space in your chest,

Noticing if there's anything felt or sensed here.

And here in the heart space we're just going to drop into some affirmations surrounding our theme.

I'll leave a pause after each affirmation for you to either repeat internally a few times or to simply let it absorb.

So just creating space in the heart,

In the body,

In the mind,

And let these positive affirmations support you in expanding joy today.

I commit to noticing the simple things that bring me joy.

I let go of regret,

Worry,

Dissatisfaction,

And in place I lean towards joy.

Feeling joyful,

Content,

Vital is my birthright.

By choosing the present moment,

I open the door to joy.

What I appreciate,

Appreciates.

It grows in value.

I choose to witness the good in myself and others today.

Within me is a well of joy that I can go to at any given moment of time and expand contentment from within.

Starting to gently increase the depth and breadth of your natural breath,

Noticing here on the back of these affirmations what is present for you.

Notice if there was some resistance,

Notice if it was easy to connect to those statements.

All is welcome,

It's just greater awareness rippling through.

And starting to feel your body being supported by whatever is beneath you or holding you up.

Noticing any sounds in your immediate environment.

And very slowly with joy,

With a sense of wonder,

Starting to move your physical body a little bit through the fingers,

Toes.

And if it feels good you might take a stretch.

When you're ready you can blink the eyes open and come back into your space.