Welcome,
My name is Anika Francis.
I'm a certified yoga teacher and Qigong instructor.
Thanks for joining me today.
At times,
The world may feel like it's in chaos,
But you don't have to be.
This is why it's so important to find your Zen.
Finding your Zen is all about tapping into a sense of calm,
Peace,
And serenity within you.
We all have access to this state of being.
But the problem is,
We don't always realize this because we're so conditioned to look for peace and security outside of ourselves.
This meditation is designed to help you tune in so you can find your Zen.
Tuning in helps you to get past the noise of your life and to be able to confront that monkey mind.
It's kind of like going beneath the surface waters.
Those surface waters are really susceptible to the winds of change in life.
All of the ebbs and flows,
They hit the surface.
And it's much like that with our mind.
But if we go deeper into the depths,
Things are much less turbulent.
All of those winds and shifts don't affect us quite as much.
And through breath work,
Meditation,
We have this opportunity to go beyond the surface into our depths.
But it takes practice.
Much like learning how to swim,
Finding your Zen requires inner work and practice.
And oftentimes what you'll find is that when you start to quiet the world around you,
You may become more aware of how noisy it is within.
The breath can be a powerful tool to assist in this inner work and helping to quiet the noise.
Mind follows breath.
When we slow the breath,
We slow the mind.
And slowing the mind can create a pathway to more calm and serenity within you.
So let's begin with the breath.
Come to a comfortable seated position,
Lengthening out through the spine.
Just drawing the shoulders up towards the ears,
Back and down.
And just settling into whatever position you're in.
Perhaps you're seated.
Maybe you're lying down.
Just taking a moment to let go.
Just relaxing some of the tension.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Beginning to expand the breath.
And just following that breath inward.
Noticing if it's warm or it's cool.
Noticing the fullness of the breath.
No judgments,
Just noticing.
And as you follow that breath inward,
I want you to feel the rise and the fall of the chest.
Just feeling the expansion that comes from that breath.
As we inhale in,
Becoming full.
As we exhale out,
Just releasing.
Moving from that space of fullness to that space of release.
I want you to draw that breath down into your abdomen.
We're going to work with some abdominal breathing,
Known as belly breathing.
As you inhale in,
Just feeling the stomach expanding out like a beach ball.
As you exhale,
Just gently allow the navel to sink in towards the spine.
Feeling the fullness of the breath,
The expansion of the breath.
Follow that breath inward.
Just flowing into the depths of yourself.
Moving beyond that constant movement of that surface mind.
Allowing that breath to settle your mind,
Even your energy.
Beginning to still the waters.
Inhaling,
Expanding through the abdomen.
Finding the fullness.
Exhale,
Gently releasing and letting it go.
Allowing that breath to become an anchor for the mind.
As that anchor begins to drop and more into those depths of yourself,
Just allowing that mind to settle.
As it begins to settle and to calm,
Connecting with the stillness between the thoughts.
If thoughts come up,
Don't push them away.
Just gently bring your awareness back to your breath.
Connecting to the space between the thoughts.
To the stillness.
Stillness can be just a breath away.
Inhaling,
Breathing through the abdomen.
Finding that expansion and the fullness.
Slowly exhaling and releasing.
Feeling your own ebb and flow,
Much like the waters.
The rise and the fall.
Finding your own inner rhythms.
Enjoying that space.
Enjoying that movement.
Connecting with the stillness,
Just a breath away.
Letting that breath take you deeper.
Deeper into your inner being.
Beyond the busy surface waters of the mind that are always moving.
Affected by the winds of the world.
Focusing on the space.
Connecting to the stillness.
Enjoying the breath.
Bringing your awareness back to that inhale.
To the breath.
That soft exhale.
Slowly bringing your awareness back to the body.
We return to the surface from our depths.
Feeling the breath as it moves across the nostrils.
Noticing what the stomach feels like as we expand and contract with the breath.
Just slowly bring your awareness back.
Still staying soft and inward.
Taking that moment just to reconnect.
Bring your awareness back.
To the moment.
Into your body.
To the breath.
Appreciating this moment just to tune the world out,
Even if just for a moment.
And to tune in.
There's a whole world awaiting for us within.
And that breath can be a powerful tool to help us to make that connection from the external to the internal.
Zen is just a breath away.
Thank you for joining me for this meditation.
