I welcome you to become intimate with all of the parts of yourself,
To become comfortable.
That's another myth that I'd like to bust in meditation is that you put yourself in this shape and you have to hold it for so long.
Come rain or shine or pins and needles or pains,
I'm here to tell you,
Please don't do that.
Be comfortable,
Be easeful in your body,
Lay down if you need to,
Stand up and walk around,
Dance.
And if you'd rather be out in nature,
Listening to this,
Do it.
This is your practice.
I encourage you to trust your process.
So as you arrive in your practice today,
Choose whatever position is most comfortable,
Comfortable,
Useful,
Whatever feels good and right in your body,
Welcome it,
Acknowledge it,
And then honor it.
So get settled in,
Listen to your breath,
Notice gravity's effect on your body,
Get any wiggles out,
Circling out any joints,
Your shoulders,
Your wrists,
Your ankles,
Fluff up pillows,
Grab a blanket,
Cuddle up with your fur baby,
Whatever is there for you,
I say use it,
Make it a part of your practice.
And so as we are getting settled in,
I would like to share that we all have prana,
This life force that flows within us,
Streams of impulses of intelligent life energy coursing through our veins,
Circulating through our whole being.
And these impulses may take the form of sensations,
Instincts,
Emotions,
Inner and outer movies or stories,
Internal and external sounds,
Smells,
Tastes,
Desires,
Just to name a few.
And when each impulse appears,
Don't meet it with detachment or denial or killing it because you feel that it doesn't belong in your meditation practice.
Do quite the opposite,
Welcome and embrace it,
Every desire.
And once you have let it in,
These impulses,
These instincts,
Your emotions,
Your thoughts,
Even as soon as you allow them in and accept that they are there and that they're not going anywhere,
That is when you can shape it and guide it and mold it,
Direct it into any appropriate place in your life.
Because whatever you deny becomes split off,
You become blind to it.
As my teachers,
Dr.
Lauren Roche and Ms.
Camille Maureen has said,
Repression leads to depression.
So by all means,
Welcome every part of yourself into your practice.
So now that you have arrived,
Become settled,
Please know that at any point,
If you need to shift or reposition,
Please do.
By all means,
Your comfort and ease is the most important in your practice.
That is how you come back to it because it is a safe space,
Place of refuge only for you.
So the intention of today's practice is to connect with our natural,
Instinctive ways of meditating.
Meditative experiences often happen spontaneously when we are immersed in an activity that we love.
Whenever you want to feel thrilled,
Healed,
Or refreshed by our prana,
The life force,
We can remember or relive these experiences.
Allow your breaths to become long,
Full.
Allow your exhales to be as quiet or as audible as you desire.
If you feel that you are able to really drop in with a few sighs,
A few moans and groans,
Say do it.
All that vocalization just signals to your body that it's time now.
Time to rest,
Time to heal.
As you arrive deeper into your practice,
Just consider and recollect when have you felt fully alive?
When was it?
Where were you?
What were you doing?
Who were you with?
Were you doing something that is your favorite experience or activity?
I invite you to tap into a sense of joy or excitement or pleasure,
Wonder and awe even.
Just have a sense as to why these experiences are so indelible,
So powerful for you.
What are some of your favorite ways to rest and recharge?
Do you like to sip tea or sunbathe,
Take naps or garden or take a walk in nature or dance or watch a favorite show or listen to music or read a book?
I invite you to be completely open to your experience.
Give yourself total permission to really enjoy your practice today.
Take a few more spacious breaths to allow your body to truly settle in.
Know that throughout this meditation you can always move or stretch or change positions or locate,
Relocate even.
Listen to what your body needs at this time only if it feels right to you.
Offer yourself some gratitude for making this time and space to meditate and to reconnect with parts of life that you love.
As you remember and recall some of your favorite experiences,
Those times when you naturally have taken a breath,
Felt the joy of being alive,
Select a particular memory or experience that you would like to connect with or welcome all the details of this experience,
Place,
People,
The sounds,
The smells,
The light,
The movement,
The temperature,
Just as you are in whatever position you are in.
Feel what it is like to be in your body while remembering this experience.
How are you breathing?
What thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions are coming up for you?
Give yourself permission to reclaim this wonderful experience that you've had,
That you are having while recalling.
Different associations might come into your awareness,
Different feelings,
Different thoughts,
Different memories.
All this is natural and the welcomed part of the journey of meditation.
Perhaps a word or phrase floats into your awareness that hints at the gifts of this memory.
Let yourself breathe with that word or phrase for a few moments.
This is a way of being deeply in touch with yourself,
Coming home to yourself,
Honoring your own experience.
This is your own natural doorway into meditation,
Into connection,
Into freedom,
Into the feeling of being nourished and supported by life.
Trust your own natural process.
Trust your instincts.
Trust your senses.
Trust your desire.
Gently transition back from your remembering,
From your recollecting.
Just gently bring your awareness to your immediate environment.
Tune your senses to your space,
Whatever ambient noises and happenings.
Just gently reawaken your senses.
And with that,
Start to reawaken your extremities by wiggling your fingers and your tongue.
Circle out your wrists,
Your ankles,
Stretch out your legs.
Stretch,
Yawn,
And move in any way that feels good and right in your body.
Allow yourself a few spacious breaths to transition and reorient to the world around you.
Or just feel free to hang out and relax the awareness.
Join me as we take an inhale together as a community and reach our arms up overhead.
Palms meet and our exhale floats our thumbs down to our heart center.
Say something kind to yourself.
Appreciate and be proud of the work you are putting into living your best life.
And to showing up as your best self for yourself and for those you love.
Thank you so much for allowing me to guide you in your practice today.
As always,
It is my honor and privilege to do so.
Thank you so much.
And thank you for sharing your light and presence with me.
Thank you and namaste.
