Today we're going to do a beautiful meditation where we do some heart-centered breathing and we use the heart sutras.
I'm excited that you're going to be on this beautiful journey with me.
So I invite you to sit in a comfortable position.
You can be sitting with your feet flat on the floor if you're in a chair.
You can be sitting cross-legged on your couch or in a chair on a cushion,
Whatever feels comfortable for you.
Your hands can rest comfortably on your knees or in your lap.
Sit up nice and tall.
Give yourself a very slight tuck of the chin,
Simply elongating your neck and your spine.
And begin breathing in and out of your nose.
Nice,
Long,
Deep breaths.
With each breath,
Feel your body relax a little bit more into this moment.
Feel your body settle into this moment.
Connect with your breath.
Notice how your rib cage expands and contracts on the inhale and the exhale.
And then begin to notice the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe.
These nice,
Long,
Deep breaths are signaling to your body and your mind and your spirit that this is the time to be present,
To be here now,
To give yourself this gift of just a few minutes just for you.
And you can let your breath return to its natural rhythm,
Simply moving in and out without really having to think about it at all.
And I invite you now to focus on your heart center.
It's in the center of your chest,
Right where your breastbone is.
This is the heart center,
Also called the heart chakra.
This is a center of nerves.
And when we focus on this energy center,
Our heart center,
Our heart chakra,
It's associated with things like love for yourself and others,
Forgiveness for yourself and others,
Compassion,
Generosity and kindness.
And it's said that when we focus on this area,
On our heart center,
These beautiful aspects become bigger in our life.
So I invite you to focus on your heart center as you breathe.
You want to feel as if the air is originating from this place and returning to it.
I like to imagine there's a little window in my chest right above my breastbone and the air is moving in and out of this window.
And when I focus here,
I can really feel it and I hope you can too.
Feel the air moving in and out of that window.
Each breath,
Your heart center feels a little more enlivened.
You can let that go.
And now we are going to use the heart sutras,
These words that are aspects of our heart.
And as I say one,
I invite you to repeat it in your head and you're going to repeat it as a pattern.
I'll start you off and then you'll keep going on your own.
And it's sort of the way when you throw a stone into a stream and you see that ripple,
You allow that to happen in your body.
You feel this word in your heart and then you feel it rippling out into your entire body and then out into your energy field and the world.
So the first heart sutra is love,
Love,
Love.
Repeat a pattern and repeat it to yourself silently.
The next joy,
Joy,
Joy.
Peace,
Peace,
Peace.
Let's associate now.
And you can let that last sutra go.
And just come back to your breath for a moment.
We always want to come out of meditation slowly.
This would be a beautiful time to practice a moment of gratitude.
Say your own quiet prayer,
Whatever feels good to you.
When you feel complete,
You can slowly open your eyes.
