Coming Back To Presence: A Grounding Meditation

This gentle grounding meditation invites you out of the thinking mind and back into the body, the breath and the present moment.
Through mindful breathing, body awareness and a gradual softening of tension, you’ll be guided to slow down, relax and settle into a calm, open presence. This mindfulness practice can be especially supportive during times of stress, anxiety or overwhelm, or whenever you’re feeling busy, distracted or disconnected from yourself.
You’ll practise noticing thoughts without judgement, recognising when the mind has wandered and gently returning to the breath and body. Rather than trying to clear the mind, this meditation offers a simple way to reconnect with yourself, ground your awareness and cultivate a greater sense of calm, presence and inner steadiness.
A gentle practice to return to whenever you need to pause, breathe and come back to yourself.

Transcript

Begin by finding a comfortable position, Sitting down. This can be seated on the ground or on a chair. If you are sitting on a chair perhaps just bringing yourself slightly forward so that your back isn't leaning against the chair to allow yourself to be alert but yet at ease. And once you've found your comfortable seat, Gently closing down the eyes. If it feels a bit too jarring to have the eyes completely closed, You may just soften the gaze down towards the ground. Allowing the awareness to be drawn into the body. As you slowly allow yourself to come into a space of stillness. Allow the awareness to rest on the breath. Taking a moment to feel the breath. You may bring the awareness to the tips of the nostrils. To just feel the air. Coming in and out of the nose. You may feel the rise and fall of the chest or the abdomen. Just rest the awareness in wherever it is that you feel the breath. In this moment. Taking a slow yet deep breath in through the nose. Feeling the lungs, Feeling the ribs expand outwards. And just as slowly, Can you release the breath? Sensing and relaxing and letting go. One more conscious breath like that, Slow. Deep inhale. And a slow, Controlled exhale. And allow the breath to resume its natural rhythm. Sense that you can continue to relax and be with the inflow and the outflow of the breath. Feeling your breath from within the body. And notice the points of contact between you and the earth. The sitting bones against the chair or the ground. The feet. Feeling the weight of the body. Gravity grounding you. Rooting you to the earth. And gently bringing the awareness to your eyes. Allow them to soften. Allow the space between the brows to smooth. A softening around the brows. And the temples. Allow the jaw to soften. On the root of your tongue. And the shoulders. Allow them to fall down towards the ground. Releasing any gripping that we may be holding here. As though imagining ice dissolving into water. A letting go. Eyes to water. Allow the hands to rest effortlessly. Softening them. You may even begin to subtly feel your hands. From the inside out. Noticing any subtle sensations. Perhaps a tingling. Or pulsing. Feeling into the life in the palms of your hands. And allow the heart space to be open. Feeling into any sensations here. Can we soften our hearts? If we feel any tightness or gripping here, Just take a gentle inhale through the nose. And sigh out the nerves through the mouth. Letting go. And allow yourself to come back to stillness. Allow yourself to settle. Allow the belly to be loose and relax. Feel into the belly on your next inhale as you slowly draw the breath in. The expansion. Again. And again. Releasing any holding or tightness we may be carrying here. Relaxing down through the legs. On the feet. Allow yourself to be open to feeling. The body all as one. A field of sensation. The aliveness taking place within the body. Sensing into your calm, Open presence. Pure awareness. Of this moment. Allow the breath to connect you to within. And around. Witnessing the changing dance of aliveness. And when you notice the mind has wandered. Notice that very moment of noticing. That is the practice. You're already back. You don't need to let yourself get taken off into the story. Just become aware. Of the thought itself. You may even name it. This is a thought. And let it go. The practice isn't clearing the mind of all thoughts. To become aware. Of when we have a thought. Feeling the difference of being in a thought. To observing one. When a thought arises, You can name it. And without judgment, Just as easy as it came in. We let it go. And if it helps to release the thought with a sigh. Take a gentle inhale through the nose. And sigh out through the mouth. And we come back to the breath. Allow the breath to be an anchor. Keep coming back to. Feeling the whole body sitting here. Becoming aware of the sounds around you. Sounds close by. Sounds a bit farther away. The space around the body. Noticing that presence doesn't require the world to become quiet. Doesn't require the mind to become empty. Just a willingness to return. To this breath. This body. This moment. And perhaps remembering that this place is not somewhere that you need to find. Somewhere you can come back to again and again. Taking one fuller breath in. And a long, Easy breath out. And only when you feel ready. Gently opening the eyes. And coming back. Into the room.