So finding a nice comfortable meditation posture,
Sitting or laying down,
Whatever feels most comfortable for you right now.
Taking a nice deep breath in,
Breathing out and gently closing your eyes and taking another deep breath in,
Breathing out and allowing your body to sink down into the surface that you're resting on,
Relaxing your eyes,
Relaxing your jaw,
Allowing your shoulders to drop down,
Allowing your whole body to settle and just checking in with yourself,
Noticing the temperature of your emotions,
Do they feel busy today,
Finding their way around your body or do they feel a little cooler and calmer and no need to judge how you are.
It's often when we sit in meditation that all that stuff that's been whirring around all day shows up to say hello.
To give ourselves a fighting chance,
We're going to take our attention to our breath,
So inviting you now just to feel your breath moving in and out of your nose,
Feeling the cool air coming in and the warm air going out,
Just trusting your breath to hold you in this moment and now allowing your breath to move into the background of your awareness and just reconnecting with a sense of you,
This person sitting or laying down right now,
Sitting with all the mess,
All the loose ends,
All the troubles you might have in your life right now,
Imagined and real,
Noticing what it's like just to let everything be as it is,
You can even forget the idea of meditation right now,
Even the word meditation can feel like we have to measure up to something,
Be different to how we are,
But what about being exactly where you are,
Right now and if you can,
Bringing a sense of surrender to anything that feels strained,
Anything that you usually push away or try to pull closer,
So continuing as you are,
With a light touch and a gentle heart for all that comes along and it's not easy to sit with all that we carry each day,
With our pain and worries,
Often wanting to feel another way,
But to allow ourselves to be where we are,
To make peace with the mess,
With the turmoil,
With the unknowns of life,
Gives us a sense of grounding,
To be able to look out at the world and have the courage to make the next step and sometimes that next step is to ask for help and we're all worthy of help,
Even if it doesn't feel like that sometimes,
The idea that we're supposed to have it all figured out is a bit of an illusion,
I think we're all just making it up as we go along to be honest,
Whilst trying to convince everyone that we're alright at the same time,
I think the purpose of our life is to help but also to be helped,
So if you're in a tough spot right now,
I encourage you to ask for help but in the meantime,
Hold your space and be exactly where you are,
Because to deny yourself that,
Is to deny life and there's a certain lightness and ease and lifting of the spirit when we can be in all this mess and smile back at it.
Now I invite you to take a deep breath in,
Breathe out,
Gently open your eyes as we end this meditation and I wish you a lovely day.