Hi and welcome to today's guided mindfulness exercise.
This session is designed to help relieve feelings of anxiety,
That nasty sensation in your tummy,
The cold clammy hands or just your mind that is in overdrive.
You can do this meditation anytime,
Anywhere,
As often as you feel you need it.
This session will leave you feeling more grounded,
Relaxed and alert to your present moment experience of your body,
Mind and senses.
So let's begin.
Allow yourself to get comfortable in a place where you will not be disturbed for the next little while.
Assume a position that feels good for you in this moment.
Perhaps you'd like to be seated or if you feel you need a bit more grounding,
You can lie down,
Palms facing up or palms facing down,
Whatever feels good for you in this moment.
Take a few moments to let yourself really settle in,
Really arriving in the here and now.
Being aware of the urge to move and just see if you can resist that feeling.
Resisting the urge to move or wiggle.
Feel your body becoming heavier as you start to place your awareness on the breath.
You can imagine a big,
Big heavy bag of potatoes that you've just carried up the hill and as you set down this bag,
Some of the potatoes fall out and roll away.
And then after a little while,
Everything has stopped rolling and you have completely stopped at the top of this hill to catch your breath.
And just like that,
Set yourself down and catch your breath.
There let's take a long,
Deep inhale through the nose and a slow exhale.
Good.
One more time.
Take a nice,
Deep,
Long inhale and an effortless,
Innocent exhale.
Now just let your breath flow naturally as it enters and leaves your body.
Feel how you are becoming more relaxed and allow yourself to let go of any stress that you have been feeling.
Gently give yourself permission to just let it go.
Letting go of tension in the shoulders.
Let go of any tension in your jaw.
Soften all the little muscles around your eyes.
Relaxing the brows and relaxing the space between the brows.
And let your tongue rest in the base of the mouth now.
Noticing the breath without wanting to change or control it.
Simply bring your awareness to what it feels like to breathe right now.
Noticing the physical sensations of breathing.
Wherever that physical sensation of breathing is most vivid,
Place your awareness right there.
You might feel it most in the rise and fall of your abdomen.
Or perhaps you feel it most in your nostrils as you feel the cold air entering and leaving.
Wherever that sensation is clearest for you,
Simply place your focus right there.
In meditation,
This is called an anchor.
Each time your mind wanders,
You can return to your anchor to help stabilize your thoughts and come back to awareness.
Experience the inhale and the exhale.
Experience the in-between.
And each time that you notice that the momentum of your mind has drawn your awareness away from the breath,
Gently,
Non-judgmentally place your attention back on the breath.
Perhaps you might find it helpful to say within your mind,
Inhale each time you inhale.
And exhale each time you exhale.
By silently saying these words in your mind,
You draw your attention back to the breath.
Your mind will wander.
And that's completely normal.
Slowly notice when it does.
And with compassion and love for yourself,
Accept or acknowledge that your mind has wandered and bring your awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing.
Each time coming back to your anchor.
Observe each breath as though it is the first breath you have ever taken.
This is an opportunity to pay attention.
To pay attention to this present moment.
And to this present moment.
Place your attention on your breath in this present moment.
Slowly notice and feel what it feels like to breathe in this present moment.
And as the momentum of the mind draws your awareness away from your breath,
Kindly and gently bring your awareness back to your breath.
Allow yourself to explore this moment.
To be curious about this moment.
To allow your breath to open up the doorway of this moment.
Now I'm going to leave you here for a little while and I will let you know when it is time to come out of meditation.
And as you prepare to come out of this meditation,
Notice how you feel in your body.
Take a moment to feel this feeling of presence.
Take a moment to really experience it.
And to notice what it feels like to be present in your body.
Give yourself a little gratitude for taking the time to be present.
And carry this feeling of presence with you as you go out into your day.
May you be present.
May you be peaceful.
May you be gentle on yourself today.
When you are ready,
Gently wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes and in your own time open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me in today's mindfulness meditation.
Have a wonderful day.
